UNICEF NZ (UN Children’s Fund)
Media Release
Thursday 19 April

UNICEF NZ Consult Wellington Youth on Sustainability

UNICEF NZ (UN Children’s Fund), with support from the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, is giving young Wellingtonians a chance to get their views heard by world leaders at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20.

UNICEF NZ is leading consultations with young Kiwis in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch as part of the lead up to the international conference which will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June. The information and opinions shared at these consultations will be put into a report to be presented to the NZ delegation going to Rio.

UNICEF NZ and the NZ National Commission for UNESCO are working with other youth focussed social and environmental justice organisations, 350 Aotearoa, Generation Zero, Global Poverty Project, P3 and UN Youth, to ensure that young people can exercise their right to have a say in decisions that will affect them.

The consultation will be held on Saturday 28th April at the Memorial Theatre Foyer, Student Union Building at Victoria University from 9am-5pm. The day will involve informative workshops, where young people will learn about sustainable development issues like jobs, energy, cities, oceans, food, water and disasters.

Participants can then express their ideas on these issues so they can be shared with the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and other key decision makers, providing a youth voice to NZ’s participation in Rio+20. The consultations are free and open to all young people aged 15 – 24, who need to register to attend the event at www.unicef.org.nz/thefuturewewant.

Pip Bennett, Advocacy Officer at UNICEF NZ, said ‘We want to provide a space for NZ young people to share their views on issues of sustainable development and enable them to take action on issues that affect them. We want to make it known that young Kiwis care about the world they live in and what the future will look like.”

World leaders, along with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other groups, will come together at Rio+20 to shape how we can reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection on an ever more crowded planet to get the future we want.

For more information and to register visit www.unicef.org.nz/thefuturewewant

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About UNICEF
UNICEF is on the ground in over 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence.

UNICEF is the largest emergency response agency for children and the world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries. UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS.

UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

Every $1 donated to us is worth at least $10 in the field thanks to the way we work in partnership with governments, local NGOs and other partners.

www.unicef.org.nz

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