Last week, Carlos and myself had a lively meeting with Sarah Dayringer, who describes herself as “a member of the Rio Delegation for SustainUS, which is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization of young people advancing sustainable development and youth empowerment in the United States.” Sarah had a lot to tell us about Rio +20, her organization, her work, and how we might collaborate for an exciting project.

“Rio+20” is the 2012 United Nations Conference for Sustainable Development (UNCSD) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20 years after the Earth Summit, which happened in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.  The Earth Summit produced Agenda 21, and inspired the three UN conventions on biodiversity, climate change and desertification. (For more information about the history of the UN conferences, you can visit this site that Sarah shared with us.) Rio begins on June 20th, and Sarah will be there early coordinating a pre-conference preparatory event called Youth Blast, which will bring together over 2000 youth and children.

Sarah had a lot to share with us about the history of the UNCSD, and the structure of the representation. There are nine Major Groups who are represented at these conferences. SustainUS organizes under the Major Group of Children and Youth. Sarah’s work has focused on the policy positions of US youth through SustainUS and Youth from around the world in the Major Group of Children and Youth, drafting initial policy points, indicators and lobby points, and publishing articles in major news outlets. She is actively involved in helping to shape the future of sustainable development from the perspective of young people, which is something our Office is deeply engaged in. So we had a lot to talk about. Continue reading →