Pacific
Youth Environment Network Opening
ceremony and media conference
17
April 2001
The
opening ceremony and media conference of the inaugural Pacific Youth Caucus
on the Environment in Wollongong will be held tomorrow (Wednesday 18 April).
Guests
will include:
- Lord Mayor
of Wollongong — Cr George Harrison
- University
of Wollongong Acting Vice-Chancellor - Professor Peter Robinson
- Parliamentary
Secretary to the Federal Minister for Environment and Heritage - Dr Sharman
Stone
- United Nations’
Environment Program Regional Youth Advisers - Andrew Stanton and James Moody
(from Australia), Jay Piggot (New Zealand)
- South Pacific
Regional Environment Program, Environment Education Officer - Seema Deo
- Youth delegates
from Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Tonga
and Fiji
Photo
opportunities and interviews will be available with speakers and delegates.
Where:
University of Wollongong Building 3, Room 121
Schedule:
Opening ceremony 9am to 10.30am
Media conference:
10.30 to 11.30am.
Global
warming, climate change, equity and sustainability, poverty and development,
resource ownership, waste management, as well as youth empowerment and action
will be on the agenda. Pacific delegates will also review how the Kyoto Protocol
is imperative for their countries as well as major environmental issues for
them.
Please
note that the opening ceremony will begin promptly at 9am and late entry
into the conference room will not be permitted. Please arrive either before
9am or from 10.30am for the media conference.
To
confirm attendance or for further information contact Viisti Dickens on
0421 079 200 (mobile). For further information about the Pacific Youth Caucus
on the Environment, please visit www.pyce.org.
Brief
conference background information
From
18 to 21 April the inaugural Pacific Youth Caucus on the Environment will be
held at the University of Wollongong. The caucus will bring together young environment
representatives from the small island states of the Pacific to determine actions
to counteract regional environmental problems.
The
Pacific Youth Caucus on the Environment (PYCE), held under the auspices of the
United Nations Environment Program and the South Pacific Regional Environment
Program, will provide the young people of the Pacific with a rare opportunity
to meet, discuss and workshop these environmental issues.
PYCE will culminate in a gala dinner held for International Global Youth
Service Day, on 21 April. It is a focal point to recognise the important work
of young volunteers during this International Year of the Volunteer in 2001.
The
outcomes of the caucus will also be reported back to UNEP, the South Pacific
Regional Environment Program (SPREP), and next year’s Rio + 10 conference.
This is the first initiative of the Pacific Youth Environment Network (PYEN).
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