Central Eastern Europe/Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS)
Olamafruz Qurbonali (Tajikistan, 14 years old)
- Profile: Olamafruz has been involved in UNICEF-supported activities in Tajikistan for quite some time. Specifically he has been a participant in UNICEF’s “Healthy Lifestyles Program in Schools” through debates and round table discussions with government and other national authorities. Through this upcoming meeting, he will be able to share his knowledge and skills on an international level. Olamafruz’s main interests lie in health and poverty. He believes that problems such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, and health have some of the same roots, and that they can be solved in many of the same ways. He thinks that it is important to see how people in other parts of the world solve their problems, and he hopes to bring this knowledge back with him to his home in Tajikistan. Another subject matter that interests Olamafruz is that of the environment. He feels that the topic is very important and he wishes to learn more about it. Finally, Olamafruz is interested in youth participation, particularly youth parliaments, which discuss different questions concerning child rights, the environment and health from a youth perspective.
- Project: Olamafruz is actively involved with UNICEF’s “Life Skills and Debates” project as well as the Tajik Youth Debating Educational Club (TYDEC). The topics of the debates usually discussed are about themes such as the environment and health. He is very interested in the topic matters of solar energy, bio energy, gas pollutants, etc. In Tajikistan, the use of solar power has become an important issue because of its location and natural resources. Also, in Tajikistan there are many debates regarding the different ways to prevent HIV/AIDS, and the discussion of a Poverty Reduction Strategy.
- Follow Up: Olamafruz would like to learn more about the youth activities and movements around the world. He would also like to know the best practices of how to solve children’s problems, and particularly how adults should listen with respect to different children’s opinions.
East Asia and the Pacific (EAPRO)
Maia Therese Eugenie L. Azores (Philippines, 14 years old)
- Profile: Maia is very interested in environmental issues and sustainable consumption. She believes this is important because all lives depend on how the environment and the world’s natural resources are taken care of. Maia would like there to be more protection of these scarce natural resources. She wants to attend the meeting in order to learn about health, nutrition and environmental issues in other countries. Also, this meeting represents the chance for her to learn about different cultures and traditions. Maia hopes to be able to share some of her experiences from the Philippines with the other participants from the point of view of children.
In addition to her work on environmental issues, Maia is a member of the student leaders association, a Junior Peer Counselor, and she was also the President of the Kiwanis Kids. She is an active member of her school’s dance troupe and has danced ballet since she was in preschool.
- Project: Maia is the vice-president of FSLF Youth in her school. FSLF Youth tries to make children and youth aware of the problems and situation of the environment in the Philippines. The organization holds eco-camps, where Maia participates as a youth facilitator. FSLF also brings children up to the watershed to plant trees and have regular lake clean-up activities. The group attends local and international conferences so that they can share their experiences with children in the Philippines and other countries.
- Follow Up: Maia would like a communication system to be set-up by internet. This way, the participants can keep in contact after each one returns to their home countries. She hopes that the Biovision organisers have the opportunity to visit each participant following the event to be able to see the on-going projects in the respective countries. Maia would like to see a local radio talk show that would enable her and others to discuss the environment and other important issues. She believes this is a good way to reach the youth of society.
Daovady Silivongsa (Lao PDR, 15 years old)
- Profile: As a member of a young radio team, at school Daovady is setting an example to her peers, encouraging them to practice good hygiene and keep the environment clean. Some of these activities may include cleaning up the school yard and washrooms. She is also a member of a cultural performance group, a Lao Youth Union member in school and belongs to a youth volunteer club in town. Daovady is interested in water, environmental sanitation and hygiene. She believes that there are a lot of health problems related to water born diseases in her country and as a youth volunteer, she would like to learn more in order to disseminate the information through her project. Daovady would like to gain some lessons learned from the other participants attending the meeting. Also, she is sure that she will be able to share her experience on some of the themes that will be covered.
- Project: Daovady’s project produces a weekly 30-minute youth radio show on water, sanitation and hygiene. Her radio team consists of volunteers between the ages of 12 and 18 years of age. The team was trained on the technical side of radio production and broadcasting and studio techniques for conducting outreach activities in the community. The outreach session provides the opportunity for rural communities to learn about water, sanitation and hygiene and also for the radio team to understand the issues faced by rural communities. They try to address their community through radio and outreach. During these sessions, they also collect interviews and other recordings to use in the radio shows. Changing hygiene behaviour and practices takes time and requires a long term investment. This is why Daovady believes it is important at an early stage to engage children and young people who have special insights and eagerness to help create positive changes.
- Follow Up: Daovady would like to see the organisers produce a package and ensure that all the participants receive the materials after the meeting. This package should consolidate all presentations, lessons learned, outcome, etc. This will make it easier for all participants to share what they have learned with peers upon their return. Upon Daovady’s return, she will tell her friends what she has learned while in Lyon, and discuss and seek ways to improve activities in Laos. Also, she wants to make space for a wider participation of youth so that the project can bring in as many creative talents of as many young people as possible.
Hao Wang (China, 17 years old )
- Profile: Hao is interested in environmental protection, water pollution treatment, ecological engineering and life sciences. He hopes to be able to contribute to society in issues that relate to the environment. Hao would like to attend the meeting in order to contact the scientists on life sciences, protection concepts and methods. He would also like to learn more about the assistance and direction which can be looked after when carrying on research in these types of environmental activities. Hao also would like to communicate with his fellow colleagues on their thoughts and ways of doing things as teenagers. He feels that by speaking with the other participants, he will be able to bring more attention to the environmental problems that are typically not addressed. In school, Hao learns about environmental science and technology innovation. Hao is the Vice-Chairman of his school’s Science and Technology Innovation Association and he is also enrolled in the Shanghai City Talent Club and Shanghai City Teenager Science Academy.
- Project: In Sweden on August 2006, Hao was selected to participate in the meeting through his obtaining of the “Stockholm Teenager Water Prize.” Hao has been involved in environmental protection and technological innovation for the past year. Some of the activities that he has participated in include treatment of polluted water and invention competition. Through his school, he has declared seven patents for invention on environmental protection, received the First Prize for his participation in the Junior Water Prize of China 2006, and also displayed a poster on water issues at “WEFTEC,” which was held in Dallas, Texas.
- Follow Up: Hao hopes that the scientists can give the participants some hints and direction at the meeting. He hopes that the organisers can establish a long-term communication platform, facilitating sustainable communication between the teenagers of each region and the scholar. Also, he would like to see some tech-support. Hao hopes to be able to break through on the application of new material after studying about the world of advanced theories and technologies, such as the application of new energy resources, primarily solar and wind energy. He also wants the companies to increase the research on low-cost river ecology restoration technology.
Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO)
Irene A. Phungo (Kenya, 16 years old)
- Child Profile: Irene has been involved in the school PHAST and now WASH club for three years since the project was initiated in the school by UNICEF in conjunction with partners over four years ago. She is the sixth born in a family of 12 children. Six of her siblings have passed away, two before she was born and four after she was born. The deaths were due to various illnesses, mainly malaria as well as water born diseases.
Within the school WASH movement, Irene is a key player using the Child to Child approach in order to share ideas and knowledge on school vegetable gardening, tree planting, seedbed preparation, handling and selection of indigenous seeds and trees for planting as well as supervising the school timetable for watering of the trees by individual pupils.
In addition to the several responsibilities she holds, Irene excelled in the National KCPE exams by becoming the top student in the entire school, outscoring all of her other classmates.
Irene is an active member of the Anti-FGC Life Skills Club-known as the Cheptoo club in her school community and she participated at the UNICEF MTR in Limuru a few months ago. Within the Anti-FGC club, they also undertake advocacy in the village to fellow girls against the process of FGC, and she is well known and respected as a child advocate against FGC. Irene has made the school community proud by making a decision not to be circumcised and has encouraged members of the Cheptoo Club to follow the same.
She would like to go to the university and become a doctor, so that in her own words she “can come back and treat people and reduce the number of deaths in the community from various diseases.” She says if there were many doctors in her village, her younger brothers and sisters would not have died. - Project: The Global Missions Services Project works with children and youth in conjunction with UNICEF-KCO and other partners covers the following areas:
1) Integrated Children’s Development and Environment conservation in eight locations
2) African Girls Education Hope projects in three locations
3) Community Health and Life Skills Projects for youth clubs
The project works through integrated sustainable development with water provision within schools as an entry point to the community. Within the project, children and families are integral as they help to improve nutritional conditions for children and ensure that they reach their full potentials academically.
The Integrated Children’s Development Project is built on integrated community development and uses a holistic participatory approach. The project has seven main themes as follows:
1) Health and sanitation
2) Children as active participants in the social, economical and political sphere of society
3) Children without parents
4) Girls’ education
5) Academic performance in mathematics and science
6) Environmental conservation
7) Food security
Life Skills Cheptoo Youth Clubs are organized clubs based on a cultural role model –Cheptoo, and participate in community development programmes.Key players are peer educators in schools. The educators take active part in teaching their peers and lead the WASH, Environmental Conservation, HIV/AIDS and the School Health Nutrition programme.
Cheptoo Club members between 13 to 22 years of age learn life skills, socialize, engage in sporting activities and have fun together. They additionally take part in community development activities. The clubs meet several times per month. The youth carry out gatherings with theater plays sensitizing other youth and adults about HIV/ AIDS and other life skills. They also take part in community development activities such as environmental protection by making gully plugs and establishment of tree nurseries, sale of tree seedlings as income generating activities, assisting elderly people to erect dish racks. .
Hana Gama (Malawi, 15 years old)
- Project: The project that Hana Gama is involved in is concerned with child protection. Her project is aimed at improving the juvenile justice system and sanitation in juvenile detention centres. The National Youth Council of Malawi, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Youth in partnership with UNICEF-Malawi realised the need to actively involve children in development. As part of this initiative, in-school children’s clubs and out-of-school youth clubs in Malawi were established. These clubs are the main entry point and implementation unit for most youth or child centred projects. The main purpose of these clubs is to provide an opportunity for children and young people to participate in all issues of concern to them in a child/youth friendly manner. There are currently more than 4,000 children’s clubs in primary schools and over 2,200 clubs for out-of-school young people with a combined total membership of more that 200,000 young people in all the 33 education districts of Malawi. Nearly 50% of the members of these clubs are young females.
As a child delegate, Hana has been actively involved in creating awareness and intervention of the enforcement of stiff penalties for child sex offenders i.e. not less than a 20 year jail sentence; discontinuing forced early child marriages especially for girls; and regulating adoption laws because of abuse by the public i.e., a number of children are trafficked only to end up working as sex workers or hard labor by force. These petitions were presented in parliament by child Parliamentarians, like Hana, to help influence constitutional change. To date these initiatives have triggered a lot of movements in child protection issues, research and proposals to look making the environment child friendly. Currently in Malawi there is a lot of talk at national level on improving adoption laws and stiffer penalties for child offender.
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Nadera Makarem Sufan (Occupied Palestinian Territory, 15 years old)
- Profile: Nadera was elected in 2004 by her peers to be part of the Child Municipal Council (CMC) in Nablus City. The Child Municipal Council is compromised of 32 adolescents from Nablus District (16 girls and 16 boys). Nadera has been exceptionally active in the Child Municipal Council and has participated in the planning and implementation of a number of initiatives that focused on raising awareness to adolescents in her city. These various issues included environmental concerns, healthy lifestyles, as well as on the importance of reading and sporting activities for adolescent girls and boys. She has been active in awareness raising campaigns on child’s rights in a number of schools within her community and has been in meetings with the adult municipality in her city to advocate for improved services for children and adolescents in Nablus.
- Project: As part of raising awareness on environmental issues, Nadera is currently engaged in an adolescent-led initiative entitled “Assessment of Quality of Various Water Sources Accessible to Children,” which aims at assessing water pollution in sampling springs and wells in various locations in oPt using chemical & biological analysis. It also serves to design and implement a campaign to raise awareness to the community, including children and adolescents, on safe drinking.
The project is done under the supervision of a local NGO called Al-Nayzak for Extra-Curricular Education, which is based in East Jerusalem. This NGO works to enhance and stimulate young people to engage in scientific thinking and research in the areas of the environment, physics, agriculture and health; as well as support their innovations in the mentioned fields.
Abderrahime Touzazi (Morocco, 14 years old)
- Profile: Elève en deuxième année collégiale au Collège Ibn Elhaytème Tanger. Abderrahime est un ancien élève de l’école béni ouariaghel Tanger,et c’est dans cette école primaire ciblée par le Programme Education « Pour une Ecole de Qualite » dans le cadre de la Coopération Maroc- UNICEF « que Abdérrahime a participé dynamiquement dans toutes les activités de mobilisation et de sensibilisation visant l’amélioration des conditions de vie des Enfants dans les écoles. De même, il a participé activement dans la traduction de la Bande Dessinée Environnement « notre environnement notre vie » en un spectal de Marionnette et en une pièce de théâtre.
Une fois au collège, Abderrahime a continué dans le même esprit de dynamisme, malgré que le collège n’est pas ciblé par le programme il a crée sa propre équipe de présentation de son spectacle préféré de marionnette. Il a gardé le contact avec les acteurs de son école primaire et il est présent dans presque toutes les activités du quartier périurbain de Béni ouariaghel . Abderrahime reflète très bien le model positif des interactions entre Ecole/Famille/Quartier.
ABDERRAHIME a participé a trois sortie pédagogique qui ont été clôturées par des réunions avec les décideurs de la ville de Tanger sur la question de l’environnement . - Project: Le projet « Pour une Ecole de Qualité », projet pilote sur la ville de Tanger, s’inscrit dans le programme global pour la lutte contre l’abandon scolaire, mis en place par le Gouvernement, le Ministère de l’Education Nationale et l’Unicef, avec l'active collaboration du Groupe Veolia Environnement à travers sa filiale AMENDIS et la Fondation Veolia Environnement. Ce projet collectif qui a pour objectif de lutter contre l’abandon scolaire grâce à l’amélioration de la qualité de l’enseignement, vise aujourd’hui 50 écoles primaires de Tanger , repose principalement sur deux axes de travail :
Un axe Infrastructures, visant à offrir un environnement de travail décent aux élèves et enseignants, à travers la réalisation d’infrastructures d’eau, d’assainissement et d’électricité dans ces écoles.
Un axe Education, visant la sensibilisation des élèves et la formation du personnel enseignant à l’hygiène, à l'environnement et à l’entretien des installations mises en place.
Ce projet est le fruit d’un partenariat exemplaire entre les secteurs publics, privés, institutionnels et associatifs, et s’inscrit pleinement dans le cadre de la convention relative aux Droits des enfants, de la déclaration du Millénaire approuvée par les Nations Unies, et de l’Initiative Nationale pour le Développement Humain initiée par Sa Majesté le Roi Mohammed VI.
West and Central Africa (WCARO)
Amsini Dandy Matata (Democratic Republic of Congo, 17 years old)
- Profile: Amsini is interested in health issues, in particular reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and immunization. This interest is explained by the fact that a lot of youth are affected by harmful consequences, specifically girls who are expelled from school when they become pregnant. Amsini believes that it is now known that many children’s diseases can be avoided with immunization, however many children die of these preventable diseases because they lack information regarding immunization. Amsini feels that a good communication campaign, which involves youth, should help to make the difference in this area, most importantly to save a life.
Amsini thinks the meeting should give him more ideas about the environment to foster activities with his friends, such as those he carried out within his community. These activities improve the neighbourhood in which he lives, such as the collection of household waste, sensitisation of families, etc. - Project: Amsini was selected to participate in the meeting by the Ministry of Youth in relation with the Youth Congolese Network against AIDS. As a youth leader and peer educator, Amsini was trained to train his peers and to facilitate dialogue between youth and adults, in particular parents. His dialogue consisted of sensitive issues, such as those related to adolescent sexuality and peace promotion. With the help of his friends, and under his leadership, Amsini organised training sessions on many subjects, primarily adolescent sexuality and peace promotion. During some important events such as AIDS Day and the African Youth Day, they gave their contribution to social mobilisation, ensuring adolescent/youth participation. Through his youth organisation, they also organised debates in mosques, as well as within the community. This was done in order to sensitise people about adolescent health issues, including awareness about immunization.
- Follow Up: Amsini suggests to the organizers, as well as his fellow colleagues at the forum, to continue to be in contact through the internet. This will make it easier to exchange ideas and tools, and in the long run it will strengthen capacity.
Ouedraogo Alizeta (Burkina Faso, 16 years old)
- Child Profile: Ouedraogo est membre trésorière du club Environnement - Assainissement de son lycée. Elle aime la nature, les plantes, les animaux, la propreté. Et elle travaille bien en classe. Ouedraogo a participé dans l’opération zéro sachet dans son lycée (salubrité). Elle a également organisé une conférence sur l’hygiène à l’école et une journée de sensibilisation sur la protection e l’environnement (des plantes et des animaux).
Ouedraogo veut participer dans le forum d’enfants BioVision pour les raisons suivantes: - Pour acquérir des connaissances et des expériences des autres sur la lutte pour la protection de l’environnement
- Partager nos expériences avec les autres enfants du monde.
- Lancer un appel aux dirigeants sur la nécessité de la protection de l’environnement.
- Destruction de la couche d’ozone car l’ozone est très importantes pour les être vivants
- Avancée du désert car nous sommes dans une zone proche du sahel
- Eau potable pour tous car beaucoup d’enfants meurent des maladies liées à l’eau.
- Project:
-Club Environnement - Assainissement de lycée
-Opération zéro sachet dans mon lycée (Salubrité)
-Conférence sur l’hygiène à l’écoleJournée de sensibilisation sur la protection e l’environnement. (des plantes et des animaux.
- Follow Up:
-Une classe, une poubelle
-Une classe, un arbre
-Ceinture verte autour du lycée
-Dispositif de lave- mains devant les toilettes
-Sensibilisation des élèves sure l’importance de l’hygiène
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