Rio + 20 The YMCA Participation at the conference

31 January 2012

The World Alliance of YMCAs will facilitate the participation of YMCA leaders at Rio+20, Sustainable Development Conference to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from June 20-22.

Participation at Rio+20 Conference.


Registration

YMCA Delegates will be registered by the World Alliance of YMCAs for the conference using its ECOSOC and UN status.  The registrations are unlimited but, require approval of the UN.  The registrations should be submitted to the World Alliance of YMCA and approval will be confirmed in due course.
There is no age limit for participation in this event.


The deadline for submitting registration requests is: May 1st 2012.

Access the registration form >>>


Travel Costs, Accommodation and Visas.

The National or local YMCA is responsible for making the necessary arrangements for travel and accommodation, including travel within metropolitan Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Due to the large number of participants, reservations should be made well in advance.  Likewise, delegates should ensure that they have adequate medical insurance prior to their arrival in Brazil.

Participants are also responsible for ensuring that he/she meets the necessary visa requirements for entry into Brazil.   The World Alliance of YMCAs will provide invitation letters for immigration authorities.
The YMCA of Rio de Janeiro does not have any accommodation services.
Conference Venue:

Riocentro Convention Center
Avenida Salvador Allende 6555
Barra da Tijuca
Rio de Janeiro
Brazil


YMCA Youth Empowerment and Sustainable Development Dialogue

June 17-19
The World Alliance will also hold a Capacity Building activity/Strategic Discussion for young leaders two days prior Rio +20 for a maximum of 25 participants from outside of Rio de Janeiro.

Goals:

-    To prepare young leaders for a meaningful participation at Rio+20
-    To share knowledge about some of the current initiatives undertaken by  
      YMCAs around the world and previews of YMCA global initiatives, with
      special focus on YMCA green initiatives
-    To provide inputs in how the YMCA could engage more in Sustainable
      Development issues, link and mobilize young people around the world.


The methodology

The World Alliance will facilitate the Dialogue in partnership with the event participants prior the event. The participants will be responsible for conducting their own event.

The program will be presented soon.

Accommodation Details: Camp

The World Alliance will be responsible for organizing a campsite for a maximum of 25 people,  in partnership with the YMCA of Rio de Janeiro. The youth delegates shall bring their own camping equipment.

The camp site will be available starting at 00h00 on June 15 until June 23rd 17h00. If the participant arrives outside of those indicated dates, it is their responsibility to arrange their own accommodation.

Travel Costs

The National /Local YMCA is responsible for making the necessary arrangements for travel. No subsidies are available. Likewise, delegates should ensure that they have adequate medical insurance prior to their arrival in Brazil.  Meals and ground transportation are also the responsibility of the participants.  For reference, consider USD 20 for each meal.  Public transportation at about USD 1,25 per journey.

Visas

Participants are also responsible for ensuring that he/she meets the necessary visa requirements for entry into Brazil.  The World Alliance of YMCAs will provide invitation letters for immigration authorities upon request.

Extra-Activity

June 16 is reserved for a group touristic activity. The activity and cost will be discussed among the participants.

Important Note: The World Alliance of YMCA is working to reduce the costs of participation in Rio de Janeiro.  

Access the registration form >>>


Our YMCA is not sending delegates to Rio+20. What can I do?

The opportunities for advocacy during the Conference are many, but not affective from the point of view of influencing decisions on site.  As with the majority of UN conferences, all negotiations and decisions take place before the meetings and the decisions on site are normally not influenced by NGOs.

The best way to have impact is to work though the representatives of your countries  to  the UN Conference.  This includes the country missions at UN, and ministries and departments related to the environmental in your country.


The World Alliance of YMCAs will prepare a template for advocacy letters to share with the national movements.  Every National YMCA is invited to share the documents with countries’ authorities.  This template will be sent by March 1, 2012.


The YMCAs are invited to organize youth mobilizations to raise awareness in the communities about sustainable development.   The following ways are suggested:

  • Meetings between young people and local authorities
  • Tree Planting
  • Youth Conferences around Sustainable Development
  • Streets/Plaza cleaning
  • Other public activities and mobilizations
  • Etc.


The goal of those initiatives is to raise the attention of the communities about the future outcomes of Rio+20 and the importance of young people taking part in all discussions and decisions around it.

The YMCA is not an environmental organization, and for this reason why we shall facilitate opportunities for young people to send their own messages to their communities.

The YMCAs are also invited to indicate names of young leaders working or interested in environmental/ sustainable development issues for us to share information and practices and to input in the future strategies for the YMCA world movement.

Names and e-mails shall be sent to romulo(at)ymca.int by March 20th.

Share on: