Teen’s look at world politics
Fri, December 21 2007
By Angela Lee
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Azra with Liberal MP
John Gerretsen |
More than 10,000 scientists, bureaucrats and politicians from 186 countries gathered Dec 3-14 to lay the foundation for a new global treaty that would extend beyond the current Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
The students, including John Constantine from Newfoundland and Katrina Genuis of Edmonton, were selected because of their exemplary communication skills and passion about climate change issues. All are experienced debaters, journalists and editors of high school newspapers or other publications.
During the Bali conference, the students got a first-hand look at how a normally diplomatic UN conference can turn passionate over the environment. In her travel blog, Shivji, whose attendance was made possible by the British Council, noted a sentiment of “general confusion and anger” at the Canadian contingent’s reluctance to commit to emissions targets.
Shivji also noted how the youth delegation felt snubbed by the Canadian contingent. On day nine of the 12-day conference, Shivji wrote, “We still don’t have an interview with [Minister of Environment John] Baird.”
What impressed Shivji the most were the workshops run for and by youth. “The sophistication and organization of the meeting was amazing,” she wrote. “The plans and ideas that all the youth were pooling in were fantastic and encouraging to see.”
Besides being a lead teacher in her school’s Envirothon training program, Shivji has spoken at the Ontario Science Teachers’ Association about Student Leadership in Environmental Education and has co-founded a Toronto chapter of Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots.
