14 June 2012

Rio+20: The voice of New Zealand youth to be heard on the world stage

New Zealand youth organisation, P3 Foundation, is among 800 non-governmental
organizations around the world to be granted special UN consultative status to attend the Rio+20: United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

P3 is sending a delegation of 8 New Zealanders aged betwen between 18 and 40. The delegation includes representatives from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. They will be among thousands of delegates from all over the world including world leaders, Heads of State, government officials and representatives from other NGOs.

Leader of P3’s delegation, Sarah Wood, arrived in Rio last week to attend the Youth Conference held on 10-12 June 2012. She met with the NZ Youth delegation, and spoke at the conference about P3 on 11 June 2012.

Sarah says “being involved with P3 has provided me with so many rewarding opportunities including a development trip to India last year, and the chance to meet and work with an amazing bunch of fellow young New Zealanders. That is why I feel especially grateful and honoured to represent this organisation and my country in Rio de Janeiro”

Sarah was joined by 3 delegates on Tuesday. The remaining 4 delegates will arrive over the next week.

The conference will result in a focused political document that outlines how we can reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection.
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
• P3 Foundation is a youth-run non-profit organisation working towards harnessing the power of young people to break the cycle of extreme poverty in the Asia Pacific region.
• P3 Foundation wishes to inspire young people to take a more proactive role in dealing with global poverty.
• The conference will take place in Brazil on 20-22 June 2012 to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), in Rio de Janeiro, and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg.
• The UN defines sustainable development as meeting the needs of the present population without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Seen as the guiding principle for long-term global development, sustainable development consists of three pillars: economic development, social development and environmental protection.
• Rio+20 will focus on seven key areas including: decent jobs, energy, sustainable cities, food security and sustainable agriculture, water, oceans, and disaster readiness.

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