Friday At The Ccf

12 urban

nyheder fredag 04. december 2009

re a t a h w ... doing t he y

Climate youth 2 youth ?

■ 322 Pictures. This is how many pictures, Arif from Bangladesh is bringing back home on his digitale camera, when he leaves Denmark. »My best picture has been with the pop group ABC,« Arif says. He can’t reject the fact, that it is another picture, he will show to his parents. He took it, while he was building a model of a town, which recycles water. He built it together with his new friends from Greenland. ■ »It is very different,« says Jenna to the question about what she thinks of Danish food. The girl from China has been visiting a Danish family, where she was served a typical Danish meal of baked potatoes and chicken. The dessert was some typical Danish sweets. Especially the sweets were popular among the visitors from Nepal and China, while the chicken and the potatoes were less popular. ■ The 15-year-old Mohammed Axam Maumoon from the Maldives gets a longer stay here in Copenhagen, than first planned. On Monday he is going to meet the Danish prime minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, in Bella Centeret. »It is a big opportunity for all children to get their opinion out,« says Mohamed. He knows, that there is a big responsibility on his shoulders, when he after the opening of COP15 is going argue the children’s case. »I am nervous, but I have tried something like this before, and I feel prepared,« says Mohamed Axam Mumoon.

»The last detail adjustments of the children’s contribution to the international climate debate were discussed at the Copenhagen City Hall. Foto erik refner

’Can’t we move that comma?’ The world’s children are ready to change their lifestyles in the battle against the climate changes. This is written black-on-white in the climate declaration; delegates from 44 countries have prepared – and will be presenting today. Af Lukas Olsen Tine Priisholm Sofie Amalie Blomsterberg Hella Thirstrup Ida Grouleff Sofie Bøttiger og Louis B. Bertelsen

■ »I’m very satisfied with the finished product – it’s amazing. We are doing something great here, and I’m sure, the adults will listen to us,« says Ivalu Christensen from Greenland. Together with the 164 other youngsters she sits in the Plenary Hall in Copenhagen City hall and twinkles with her fingers to show her acceptance and satisfaction with the first draft of the children’s own climate declaration.

»Shouldn’t we focus on that we have a problem to solve rather than spelling the name and so?« you can hear from the hall, when one of the young ambassadors suggests that one of the commas in the text should be moved. The last detail adjustments of the children’s contribution to the international climate debate are almost in place, and the level of concentration among the hard working delegates is high, right until the end. They have been working hard the whole week to make the declaration which today will be presented and handed over to Connie Hedegaard. Afraid to be forgotten

»We already face the effects of climate change. Our plates are empty due to drought. Our communities are deprived of clean drinking water, access to education and vulnerable to disease every time it floods.« The introduction from the almost finished declaration creates a huge applause in the Plenary Hall and the delegates on the stage

try in vain to hide the pride they feel about the product, that not only holds demands, but also says goodbye to a lifestyle in comfort and places the common good above the individual desires and current way of living. »We commit to personal lifestyle changes that place the common good above our individual desires and current method of living,« it says in the introduction of the declaration which at the same time holds demands for next weeks COP15 with the words: ’The time for talking is over. Now, we hold you accountable for your commitments’. Despite the positive atmosphere, that’s buzzing amongst the delegates in the Plenary Hall, some have concerns about whether the grown-ups will actually hear the youngsters. »I’m afraid that we will be forgotten, but I hope that the adults will take it into consideration,« says Hoang Oahn from Finland. [email protected]

What has made the strongest impression on you in Copenhagen? youth journalists cover children’s climate forum In the week prior to the COP15, 164 teenagers from 44 countries are participating in their own climate forum at Copenhagen City Hall, hoping to influence the decisions of the world leaders. But adults are prohibited. The Danish newspaper Urban has made an alliance with youth journalists from Oerestad Gymnasium to join the fight in giving the children a voice in the international climate debate. This wallpaper has been made possible through the partnerships of Urban, the City of Copenhagen, UNiCEF Denmark and Oerestad Gymnasium. Sanne Nyland Christensen, [email protected]

sergey chuvashow 17 years, Russia

becca arbacher, 14 years, USA

bipra biswambhara 16 years, India

»I will never forget the Danish people and the whole atmosphere of the city. Copenhagen is fantastically beautiful and very relaxing to walk through. People are incredibly friendly and open and everything is so different than where I come from. We visited a Danish school one of the days and it was such a shock to me to see the relationship between teachers and students, and how laid back it was. I wish, I could live here.«

»It was definitely meeting the other delegates. It was great meeting other people my age, with the same passion for the climate, yet with some other points of view than me. I will also always remember the beautiful architecture of Copenhagen. There is a fantastic contrast between old and new, which I love! By the way, Copenhagen is a very lively city.«

»The stories, I have been told this week, I will take with me back home to India, to shake up the politicians. F.eks. the story about Bangladesh, where there have been five typhoons in the last couple of months. There’s a lot of windmills, and that people ride their bicycle have made a good impression on me. But most important is the feeling, that even we are so different, we all can work together to reach the same goal.«