SAYEN, with the support from UNEP and in association with the National Federation of Youth Organization in Bangladesh (NFYOB), organised its 7th Regional Meeting from 10th to 12th January, 2012, around the theme, “The Road to Rio 2012: Sustainable Lifestyles for a Green Economy”. The Regional Meeting included 13 participants from South Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and 40 participants from Bangladesh. The Regional Meeting aimed to foster cooperation, exchange and discussion among South Asian youth and strengthen the capacity of these young leaders on themes and issues related to Rio+20. It also provided the opportunity to the young participants for developing their recommendations to be forwarded to the Rio+20 Conference preparations.
Over three days, with facilitation by the team comprising the UNEP TUNZA Global Youth Advisor, Ms. Shruti Neelkanth, SAYEN Secretariat, Ms. Madhavi Joshi and UNEP, Ms. Satwant Kaur, the participants worked in groups to develop their recommendations for Rio+20. They discussed and developed Action plans for SAYEN activities in 2012 which they would promote in their own countries. They will also disseminate information about TUNZA and SAYEN during any forum/ national/ international meetings that they participate and keep the NFP and SAYEN/UNEP Secretariat informed. The participants had sessions on media and communication, one with a local media expert and another with Ms. Satwant Kaur, UNEP. This was an important session for them in terms of further discussing ways of outreach and use of media.
They visited the Parliament House in Dhaka to meet the Honourable Speaker Mr. MD Abdul Hamid. For the field visit, they were at the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI). The institute is the largest multi-crop research institute in Bangladesh and conducts research on 202 crops. More than 700 scientists of different disciplines are currently working in the institute and have contributed in the increased crop yield and also developing plant species with unique genotypic characteristic. BARI’s achievements have contributed towards the country’s economy and is also creating job opportunities for the young citizens.
On the last day, the UNEP TUNZA Regional, Sub-regional and National Youth Advisors got elected from the participants. A voting process was put in place by the team to select youth leaders from each member country. Each representative was asked to deliver one minute speech regarding their experience, on why they do they want to be youth leader, what contributions/ changes will they bring about if they are selected and their views on the SAYEN RM theme. Thereafter, voting was done and 1 Regional, 2 Sub-regional and 5 National Youth Advisors were elected. The Youth Advisors will be responsible for connecting young motivated people to the SAYEN Network and the UNEP TUNZA activities in the South Asia region, and thereby help in meeting the goals. A cultural programme by local artists and some of the SAYEN members concluded the Regional Meet.
The entire three days were an engaging experience for the participants and the team, and SAYEN greatly benefits from the amazing work these young people are involved in.
