FLOP15: Project Survived

The Dutch segment of Project Survival NL has been back on 'familiar' soil for several days now, without actually having seen the soil. The Netherlands has been covered with a beautiful white blanket ever since the Copenhagen Express arrived in Utrecht last Sunday. The snow had pretty chaotic effects on all Dutch trains and busses but also on European air traffic, so we hope all our African friends have been able to get home safely. We know that some had to endure some extra hours of waiting due to delayed and cancelled flights.

We hope they are home, also to dive back into their normal lives so they can try to forget the debacle which played itself out in Copenhagen. The world can do absolutely nothing with the flimsy agreement which has been optimistically named the Copenhagen Accord. The text fails to include any hard figures and leaves so much wiggle space that even the largest dinosaurs such as the US will have no problem continuing on their old route. The insignificance of the text is further demonstrated by the introductory words: the Conference of Parties 'notes' the text, which says nothing more than that its existence is recognized... Two years of preparation wasted!

Although the disappointment in the world leaders and politics as a whole was large within our project group we made the best of it and had some great final days! We had an excellent Eritrean dinner on Friday with nearly the entire group. A small piece of Africa was a welcome change after some weeks of European winter: "Finally, real food!" We took over the restaurant with our laughter, running around, conversations by the heater, speeches and the various clapping games which closed off the evening and along with it a very successful project! To really finish everything off we danced the night away between Copenhagens highschool students. After making some final arrangements the next day we had a last get together which resulted in one big photosession and some final speeches. Final conclusion: everybody was very happy and satisfied with the project and we had two great weeks together.

So, where we would like to rename COP15 to FLOP15, I think we can also rename the project: Project Successful.

Claude, Ebrima, Ezilon, Hubert, Mangaliso, Mahawa, Margaret, Matias, Matildah: THANK YOU!!

Roy

Snowy Copenhagen

Monday evening Mangaliso invited everybody for diner at his hosts’ place. We were almost complete, only Roy and Jacomien couldn’t make it for dinner. It was really nice to see everyone together outside the Bella Center, in a comfortable Danish living room. We had discussions about what should happen at the conference and were trying to find out what cultural differences there are, but most of all had lots of fun.

Wednesday restrictions for the amount of NGO-representatives inside the Bella Center started and every day there are less NGO-representatives allowed in the Bella Center. Project Survival is not on top of the priority list, so yesterday was the last chance to get in for the ones with a NGO-badge. Fortunately most of the African youth delegates are an official part of their delegation and can get in.

Yesterday only four the Dutch students could get inside and ran around the whole Bella Center and left no journalist unaware of Project Survival. We still are trying to get as much media attention as possible. The base camp for the three outside the Bella Center was settled in a cozy living room of Suuz’ host and we spend the day behind our laptops drinking tea.

Today we were in a large, empty hall, not nearly as cozy as the living room from Suuz’ host. The Danish government arranged an alternative conference here. It only exists of a live video connection with the plenary meeting. The hall was nearly empty, just like all the beautiful promises on the screen made by the national leaders about how we all should save the planet.

Today we discussed what we can do after the climate conference, because we think our story has not finished yet. The under-representation of developing countries and the lack of youth representatives will still be important issues after this conference.

We would like to talk with the United Nations, to ask them what their point of view is on these issues. There a huge difference between the sizes of the delegations. For example the Brazilian delegation consists of 700 people, while the Guinean delegation only consist of 8 people, and some countries have even less delegates. At the conference a lot of meetings take place at the same time. With only a couple of delegates it is impossible to attend all meetings and be aware of what has been discussed. There are no rules for how big a delegation can or should be. So after Copenhagen, the Project will Survive.

Yesterday Copenhagen turned into a snow landscape. So after having diner in the city, Suuz and I could go home without playing in the snow, which resulted in a snowy Project Survival artwork.

Frank

Meeting the ministers

Today! A meeting with the Dutch Minister of Environment, Cramer and Development Cooperation, Koenders. Four of us could attend the meeting and also the two Dutch youth delegates, Don and Michaela were there. Unfortunately the people from the Dutch Youth Copenhagen Coalition were still in line waiting for their accreditation. They stood in the cold for hours and so did the last three members of PSNL: Merit, Nicolein and Liset.

It is crazy around here. Way too many people are accreditated and there will be some major cuts in people that are allowed to enter the building. For tomorrow and Wednesday, we need secondary badges, which most of us have, fortunately!

But there are so many people who arrived only this weekend and aren't allowed to go inside! Poorly organised, I say. Thursday only 1000 people from NGOs have access and Friday only 90! So that will be a no-go for us, I suppose. Also our youth delegates from Africa have troubles keeping there accreditation as have the 50 Global South youth delegates from the other UNFCCC youth project.... But minister Cramer ensured us that she would do here best to arrange accreditation for these people who came from so far away and would be literally standing in the cold when they couldn't go in.

On the meeting with the ministers: they are really supportive and agree that youth participation should be encouraged and that underrepresentation of developing nations should be addressed on more occasions than only this COP15. As I heard from Matildah, so many decisions already have been made in earlier meetings through out the year and before! This is not a one-time issue Project Survival is touching upon. In my opinion a fair deal is not even possible with this kind of history. The whole circus here is based on quicksand, or at least not a good fundament.

So, do we want a deal now? Do we want reductions for developed countries to be 40%, do we want more than 200 billion for adaptation and mitigation? Do I even know what I'm talking about? I don't think so. I don't even have time read more on these subjects, let alone keep up with the news here in Copenhagen!

But what I do understand that the future is in the hands of people that have Ideas about Other People. Ideas about Their Rights and Others Mistakes. Is there anybody who will defend other needs than their own? I don't feel Dutch, I feel like a World inhabitant. And I think many of the youth here feel this way. If it was up to us we would already have a deal by now.

And all the 'old' people are telling us how they are tied to all this diplomacy and buraucracy, how we, the young people, can make a difference by saying stuff they can only think. They're wrong! They were also young once, they had also ideals once! They still do. And I believe that if everybody just reminds him or herself why they came here in the first place, how they became involved in the government and climate change issues, they'll know we all want the same thing! And hopefully our youth delegates can contribute to this process of going back to the core issues and stop thinking in numbers and percentages.

And if those values have to be translated in numbers and percentages, fine! But what I plea for is a mentality change, a step in the direction of unity. There is only one world, there is no Planet B!

Suzanne dlF

Demonstrating for a FAB deal

Yesterday we went to the big demonstration in Copenhagen for a FAB deal at the conference, Fair, Ambitious and Binding. 100 000 people gathered at a city square and after an hour there was a big march to the Conference Center, a 6 kilometer walk. We were somewhere in the middle of the enormous row of people. As far as you could look behind and ahead of us there were people with flags or signs from numerous organizations. After one and a half hours of walking, it became dark and we were getting cold, so we decided to go back to the city with the metro. It was a very powerful and almost totally peaceful demonstration.

Last night there was the NGO party in club VEGA, one of the biggest clubs in Copenhagen. . When we arrived it looked like a boring party, because there was some music, but nobody danced and everybody was just talking. Then the salsa band started playing and the party started in a few minutes. After the salsa band a Balkan band preformed and people from all over the world danced, laughed and partied together and we had a great evening.

Today the last Project Survival students from the Netherlands arrived. They traveled with the Copenhagen Express, the train with the Dutch delegation and other Dutch NGO’s. Tomorrow we will be fully complete, when the two youth delegates from Guinea have arrived.
Now we are looking forward to a meeting with two Dutch ministers tomorrow, Minister Cramer for Environment and Minister Koenders for Development Cooperation.

Frank

The Butterfly Effect

At 1 o'clock this afternoon we made our way to a youth side event in the Niels Bohr room of the Bella Center. Yvo de Boer, secretary general of the UNFCCC, was invited to address the youth on their role in the climate negotiations. There was clearly a huge interest in the meeting because the room was overflowing with cameras and youth in orange t-shirts (another small triomph for the Dutch government...). Unable to sit down in the full room we took our places crammed in by the exit.

The panel at the front of the room got introduced and then Yvo was given the floor. His uplifting speech about the importance of youth involvement at the COP15 was met by loud applause. However, the story that followed was even more inspiring. A girl from Mumbai, India started telling about how climate change was affecting her life. As she started her story a black and orange butterfly appeared out of nowhere and started fluttering around the room. With every wing beat the story of the young Indian girl seemed to pick up intensity. As the butterfly fluttered around the atmosphere thickened with expectations and hope. The story unfolded further, touching on successes of the youth in southern India and expressing the trust of the youth in the fact that the COP15 would become a success. The butterfly continued its flight. The emotions of the speaker were tangible in every corner of the room and the butterfly´s wings kept flapping. After the girl pronounced her final words the room erupted in a standing ovation.

That is what is called the butterfly effect...

Roy

2050

Another wonderful day at the Bella Center, epicentre of the climate negotiations in Copenhagen. Today, all youth unite their voices on the Day of Youth and Future Generations, wearing bright orange t-shirts that say: “how old will you be in 2050?”, stressing the impact that decisions (or a lack of decisions) to be made here in Copenhagen will have on the lives of youth from all over the world.

Yesterday, Project Survival NL had a meeting with all Dutch and African youth in our project already present in Copenhagen. We were thanked more than once by our African friends about the opportunity Project Survival has given them, which makes all the hard work in the previous months totally worth it.

Our group of youth is just a small part of the youth present here, estimations about the amount range from 1000 to 10.000 people! And today is our day to speak up about the agreements we wish for, and the future we see lying ahead of us. As one youth so truly said: “you have been negotiating all our lives, you cannot tell us that you need more time”.

Suzanne Maas

Let the games begin!

At 10 o' clock this morning the climate conference in Copenhagen was officially opened. Unfortunately I was still standing outside in the early morning Copenhagen cold, waiting in line to get registered. Luckily, there was enough liveliness outside as well: early morning demonstrations with drumband, having your picture taken with climate activists, and scoring some free coffee at the Greenpeace stand.

While I spent most of my morning waiting, one of the African youth, Margaret from Kenya, had a much more eventful start of the conference. She took part in a press conference by UNEP (UN Environment Programme) on the FIFA World Cup in South-Africa and the environment. You might wonder what they have to do with each other? Well, having 32 football teams flying in from all over the world will lead to a lot of carbon emissions. Therefore, UNEP proposed the idea of offsetting the carbon emissions of these famous football players by investing in mitigation and adaptation projects in Africa. A true win-win situation. And already 17 ministers of the environment from the participating countries signed an intention to do so! In the case of the climate negotiations in Copenhagen, we will still have to see if they are just as eager on signing. But, let the games begin!

Suzanne Maas

The Project Survival people already in Copenhagen: (from left to right) Mangaliso, Suzanne M., Ezilon, Suzanne de la F., Ebrima, Matildah, Jacomien, Margaret and Roy!

Cruising through Copenhagen

We have arrived! The first day in Copenhagen has been a hectic one, but also a fun one. After a pretty tiring 14 hour trainride things started off quite hectically this morning. After meeting our friends/hosts at the station we directly split up to pick up on loose ends and things that hadn't gone as planned. After collecting Margaret, our conference badges, settling down in the new accommodation and a frantic exchange of new phonenumbers, Suus and Margaret went off to the final hours of the youth conference at the University, while Suuz and Roy collapsed on the couch of their hosts to recover a bit.

To finish off the day we had a healthy dinner at a restaurant with as much of the group as we could rake together, consisting of Ebrima, freshly in from Gambia, Margaret and the three first arrivals of the Project Survival team. In the following days the group will slowly grow, with Jacomien now sleeping in the nighttrain and Matildah finally being freed from her rediculously long stay in Johannesburg.

Now for some sleep. We'll need it to participate in all the fun and crazy things the COP and Copenhagen have to offer!

Roy

Countdown in progress

The countdown has definitely started now! Tomorrow the first members of the team (Suus, Suuz and Roy) will be getting on the nighttrain. A nice 14 hour train ride with final destination: Copenhagen. Today the last pieces of the puzzle are being put together and final preparations are being made. As a part of our group is busy networking with politicians, NGO's, businesses, other youths and media, others are printing necessary documents and the first bags are being packed. We are ready to rumble!

The first of the African youth delegates has already arrived in Copenhagen and is now finding his way around what will be the centre of the world for the coming two weeks. Ezilon, we wish you the best of luck there and are looking forward to meeting you on Sunday!

Time to seal that deal!

Roy

From now on: a daily update!

The climate conference in Copenhagen is only a few days away, and from now on you can find a daily update about our activities here.

After a few days of stress and frustration, because of al the delays and bureaucracy concerning visas, tickets, invitation letters etc. But.... we are now again full of energy! Last tuesday we finally got the subsidy from the ministry, so we could book the flight tickets. This weekend most of the African youth delegates will arrive in Copenhagen. We have booked some last-minute sleeping places, because some people arrive one or two nights earlier then planned.

The first three Dutch students from Project Survival, Roy, Suzanne (M) and Suzanne (dlF) will arrive in Copenhagen next Sunday and during the next week the rest of us will arrive too.

We are looking forward to the conference and especially to put faces to emaildresses!

Suzanne

Update from Zambia

The Zambian delegation just had their last preparatory meeting last weekend that was aimed at updating and finalising the country’s position for the negotiations. For the first time the number of delegates is going to be more than the usual number that has been attending the previous Conference of parties. In the past, the delegation has had an average of 15 delegates but this time around, at least 40 delegates are expected to travel and this number is likely to increase as the negotiations have attracted the interest of the parliamentarians as well as the traditional leaders, the delegation also has some representation from the youths, thanks to the initiatives of organisations such as the Project survival NL, COMESA and the 350.org

The message from some of the Zambian youths who will not be able to make it to Copenhagen is that they want a ‘GREEN’ deal to be sealed in Copenhagen which addresses the issues of emission reduction based on numbers, as well as a deal that will ensure that the future of their children is not compromised. The question is, will there be a deal in Copenhagen? Or is there going to be a political declaration? This is what makes Copenhagen exciting and a big deal, let’s wait and see!

By

Matildah Kaliba

The tickets are booked!

Today was an exciting day, we booked the tickets for all the youth delegates and we payed for the accomodation. So there is no way back, in 5 days the adventure will start! Yesterday, we did not have the money yet, so we were hoping everything would turn out well. It did, so now we are full of energy and looking forward to be in Copenhagen to meet all the nine African youths!

Youth Participants

A lot of youth showed interest to participate Project Survival NL. From all the motivation letters we selected the following nine persons:


Mr. Ebrima from Gambia
Bachelor in Agriculture and Minor in Biology
Participated in United Nation Environment Program’s UNEP/Tunza Regional Conferences on the Environment, held in Cameroon, Norway and South Korea in 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively

Part of motivation letter:
“Developing countries bears the greatest risk of climate change impact. In the case of the Gambia- a country whose main economy is based on rain-fed subsistence agriculture and a capital city being just a meter above sea level, the risk of climate change is in fact much higher compare to other countries. Added to this, the country is made up of small islands and coastal villages thus making it prone to coastal erosion.
Therefore, as a youth leader and a young climate change activist, my participation in the cop-15 climate change negotiation is crucial, this is because, it would not only give more weight to the voice of our national delegation during the negotiation but will also ensure that the voices and concern of young people regarding climate change is adequately put in to account. It will also provide me the opportunity to meet, engage and share ideas with climate change expert and policy makers in their quest for a decisive climate agreement that is just, fair and put into consideration of high risk poor communities in the Gambia and Africa in general. The conference will also provide me the needed exposure and skills to continue on my climate change campaign back home.”


Mr. Runyambo from Rwanda
Bachelor degree in Biology
Working as research assistent with Association pour la Conservation de la Nature au Rwanda (ACNR), a BirdLife partner in Rwanda as a research assistant dealing with climate change issues and environmental education in wildlife clubs.

Part of motivation letter:
“Attending this COP-15 would be of great concern as it is an opportunity for me to share skills and experience with scientists, experts and practitioners from all over the world with various skills and experiences in climate change. In addition, my organization and my country would benefit the skills and experience from this COP-15 upon returning home once my application is approved.”


Mr. Hubert from Rwanda
Medical education
Attended the last 17th United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development as African Youth representative

Part of motivation letter:
“My special concern is the increasing imbalance between the natural resources and the population growth, focusing on the experience of my country Rwanda which is now lined as the most densely populated in Africa although human capacity building and equitable natural resources are negligible. In Africa, where I am coming from, the land degradation, loss of biodiversity, deforestation and shortage of access to clean water are here some key issues related to the climate change. From my experience in working with local communities on health based students-led micro projects in Rwanda; there is still a lack human development in order to alleviate environment degradation, and this opportunity is a great step to help young people from Africa achieving knowledge and making networks which could help them to strengthen their activities in sense of environment protection.”


Mr. Lamah from Guinee
No further information available


Ms. Mahawa from Guinee
No further information available


Mr. Mangaliso from Swaziland
Diploma in law
Field Development Officer for Swaziland Scout Association. Actively involved in World Organization of the Scout Movement.

Part of motivation letter:
“Coming from Swaziland a small landlocked country, one would be forgiven to believe that international environmental impacts are not of great effect to us. I’ve observed that as African countries we may not be the role players as far as emissions are concerned but we are the first to suffer the consequences. It is with this fact that I decided to get myself to be a climate change activist.”


Mr. Ezilon from Malawi
Master of Science in Geography by Research – Environmental Management (current student)

Part of motivation letter:
“I have been for a long time involved in climate change issues, dealing will awareness as well as mitigation and adaptation. The range of activities I have been conducting include campaigns on causes and impacts of climate change, to setting projects such as those that plant trees to sequester carbon from the atmosphere. Where appropriate, I have also been involved in conducting research on pressing issues in climate. Most of these have been organized and country level, which have resulted into few international interactions. This then presents an opportunity where I can effectively cow contribute at global level. In case of organizing events on climate change, this will be a continuation as I have been involved in a number of such things, the latest one being the 350 parts per million target termed Global Day of Climate Action campaign slated for 24th October, 2009; being coordinated by http://www.350.org/ as I am organizing one event here in Malawi.”


Miss Matildah from Zambia
Bachelor Degree in Development Studies and Economics
Working as Campaign, Advocacy and Lobby (CAL) Officer for PELUM Association, Zambia. She is the focal point person on climate change

Part of motivation letter:
“I was happy to learn about your initiative to fund African youths to attend the COP 15.This is because I have been taking keen interest in the global climate negotiations and I have observed that the majority of the negotiators are the old decision makers in government when climate change poses a greater threat to the youths of today who are the future leaders of tomorrow and will live to see all the predicted impacts of climate change come to pass. The youths in Africa have not been given a chance to add their voice in these negotiations due to lack of a consultative process in their countries prior to the conference. Where these consultations have been done, the youths are unable to attend the conference due to lack of funds as priority is given to government officials. I am currently sitting on the Zambia national delegation preparing for the COP 15 representing the voice of the civil society. However it has been clarified that the funds are insufficient as such only a few government officials will attend. This in itself entails that my country will be unable to fully participate in all the meetings as the meetings take place concurrently and this will weaken our voice. I would want to help my delegation as I am speaking on behalf of the vulnerable communities, the youths and civil society at large.”


Ms. Margaret from Kenya
Bachelor in International Business Administration
Actively involved in UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) as UNEP youth representative and as Tunza Youth Advisor For Africa (2007 – 2009).

Part of motivation letter:
“I have strived to be the voice of African youth. Collecting first hand input and information from them on various environmental issues and presenting them in various international forums such as the United Nations Environment Programme – Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum, European Parliament, Development Committee’s Conference on children and development and most recently spoke as a panelist during the Governor’s Global Climate Summit, On the Road to Copenhagen, hosted by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in Lose Angeles, California. I would like to take these expertise in climate change talks to Copenhagen this year, giving African youth a stronger voice, strengthening their representation during the climate negotiations.”