Think2050

A new discussion paper has been published on how a UN High Commissioner for Future Generations could function. 

World Future Council and Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development, with others, have drafted the paper in response to the UN Rio+20 ‘zero draft’ text that proposes the establishment of such an institution.

Image from the World Future Council

World Future Council states that:

One of the key areas we have identified is that a High Commissioner for Future Generations should not be ‘to promote sustainable development’, but rather to promote and protect the interests of future generations, with the Brundtland Commission definition of sustainable development in mind:

“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

Download the paper here.

A new book has been published on “Children, Citizenship and Environment” by Bronwyn Hayward.  This looks like a very useful resource for youngsters growing up in a rapidly changing world.

The blurb:

Children growing up today are confronted by four difficult and intersecting challenges: dangerous environmental change, weakening democracies, growing social inequality, and a global economy marked by unprecedented youth unemployment and unsustainable resource extraction. Yet on streets everywhere, there is also a strong, youthful energy for change.

This book sets out an inspiring new agenda for citizenship and environmental education which reflects the responsibility and opportunities facing educators, researchers, parents and community groups to support young citizens as they learn to ‘make a difference’ on the issues that concern them.

From eco-worriers and citizen-scientists to streetwise sceptics, “Children, Citizenship and Environment” identifies a variety of forms of citizenship and discusses why many approaches make it more difficult, not easier, for young citizens to effect change. This book will be of interest to a wide audience, in particular teachers of children aged 8-12 and professionals who work in Environmental Citizenship Education as well as students and researchers with an interest in environmental change, democracy and intergenerational justice.

See the full post here.