THE UN & SUSTAINABILITY

Transcription

1 THE UN & SUSTAINABILITY 1 15th edition- 9 January 2011

2 INTERNAL VOICES The voice of the United Nations interns, 15th Edition EDITOR Siri Robin EDITORIAL TEAM Aranya Naerebout, Aristeidis Fragkiadakis, Chiara Odelli, Hugues La Rue, Karen Delvoye, Kristian Mølgaard Sørensen, Manola De Vos, Nicolas Bucci, Sarianna Hirvonen, Simon Bager, Jonas Kambested Hagensen CONTRIBUTORS Aristeidis Fragkiadakis, Simon Laursen Bager, Minna Sell, Willemien Calitz, Ellen Kobe, Saskia Koppenberg, Vidia Paramita, Angela Chung IMAGES Are predominantly UN photos available at UN Photo ( h ttp:// ) or privately owned pictures by the contributors. Sources are noted on the pictures/ images. INTERNAL VOICES Is a 100% UN interns magazine, giving all UN interns the opportunity to network, express opinions and share knowledge, points of view and experiences. Everything from articles to layout and editing is done by UN interns. If you are an intern and would like to get involved, the interns team at UNRIC Brussels would love to hear from you! internalvoices@unric.org COVER IMAGE: UN Photo/ John Isaac ( Eucalyptus plant taking root on sand dunes near Lompoul ( Senegal ) In an effort to prevent the desert from engulfing fertile land, the Government has undertaken tree-planting projects such as this with help from the UN Environment Programme and the UN Development Programme ( UNDP ) ) Disclaimer: This publication is created by interns of UN agencies. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the United Nations 2

3 TABLE OF CONTENT 4. Editorial 5. Meet the team 13. Green Youth Network 18. Calling European Artivists Sustainable Energy for All 34. Cartooning for peace 36. CityHotspot : Jakarta ARTICLES 6. Towards Sustainable Peacekeeping By Aristeidis Fragkidiakis 10. Can we tweet our way to a greener future? By Simon Laursen Bagger 14. Towards a gender sustainability at the OHCHR By Minna Sell 16. Put out the climate fire for the people By Willemien Calitz 20. Staff passions: building electric bikes By Ellen Kobe 22. Sustainability in migration and development: An IOM project in Egypt By Saskia Koppenberg 24. Sustainability in the UN By Vidia Paramita 26. Get a life! By Simon Laursen Bager 30. Dress to impress or dress to waste less? Rethinking formal wear: By Angela Chung 3

4 ARTICLE SUSTAINABILITY IN MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT Saskia Koppenberg IMO Egypt GERMAN TOPIC Sustainability in Migration An IOM project in Egypt In Egypt, young people account for around 40% of the population. As the engine of the country's future, they play an essential role in securing its sustainable development, which is, however, challenged. Youth s economic well-being is in danger due to high unemployment ( 16.7% in 2009; UNDP 2010: 149 ) and their social and human development is at risk due to exclusion from sociopolitical and cultural participation as a result of unemployment and poverty, which leads to youth's marginalization and desperateness. This rather discouraging situation creates aspirations among youth to emigrate ( 18.4 % of the year olds; IOM 2011: 6 ). Asking young Egyptians about their views on the migration phenomenon, they report me about friends, neighbors and family members that migrated in order to work abroad. Three reasons for youth leaving their home country were repeated consistently: ( 1 ) high poverty and unemployment of parents with no job opportunities for the youth, ( 2 ) Egyptians that migrated and came back home wealthy, and ( 3 ) Egyptian movies and TV telling success stories of migration. The young people I talked to were aware that migrants are often employed in low-wage jobs due to an irregular status or lack of language skills and recognition of qualifications. Egyptians may work abroad as dish washer in restaurants or domestic worker; jobs that Egyptians would neither carry out in Egypt nor make it public because they were socially not accepted, they told me. Nevertheless, young Egyptians still want to migrate because they expect to have better chances abroad. If a significant percentage of the youth, representing the driver for sustainable development in Egypt, is intending to leave the country, how can sustainable development be ensured? The answer has to be to ensure that their migration process is sustainable in a sense that enables the young migrants to build a future and support development back home. But what does it need to make m i g r a t i o n s u s t a i n a b l e f o r development? Among academics, politicians and practitioners it is widely recognized that s ustainability can only be attained if the interests of all actors are considered and respected ( Martin 22

5 2004: vi ). This means that not only the interest of the countries of origin and destination are met, but also those of the migrants themselves. When it comes to the link between migration and development, a migrant-centred approach is essential. Looking at the individual needs and aspirations of youth within their socio-economic context will allow finding appropriate ways to support them in choosing a migratory path that is sustainable. This approach is followed by the IOM project Education and Training for Egyptian Youth: Activities to Promote Regular Migration and Positive Alternatives. Focussing on Fayoum, a governorate with high migration pressure especially among young people below the age of 18, the project aims to meet youth's educational needs through upgrading the Fayoum Tourism School according to labour market requirements and international standards. The school facilities and laboratories are renovated, modern equipment and furniture are installed, a new educational and vocational training system and curricula is activated, training and tutoring for teachers is provided and school to work transition counselling for the students is offered. Since poor and inadequate education that does not match the labour market demands has been identified as a major reason for unemployment among Egyptian youth ( Handoussa 2010: 41 ), this project makes a long lasting contribution to Egypt's youth in their search for a sustainable future. The students profit from the high quality education and training according to international standards and the state-of-the-art school facilities. These will allow them to gain the skills and knowledge that they need to enhance their employability and competitiveness at the national and international job markets, while opening the door for a successful migration experience. Want to learn more? Handoussa, Heba ( 2010 ) : Situation A n a l y s i s : K e y D e v e l o p m e n t Challenges Facing Egypt. IOM International Organization for Migration et al. ( 2011 ) : Migration Aspirations and Experiences of Egyptian Youth. 23 Martin, Philip L. ( 2004 ) : Migration and development: Toward sustainable solutions. ILO International Institute for Labour Studies Discussion Paper DP/153/2004. U N D P U n i t e d N a t i o n s Development Programme ( 2010 ) : Egypt Human Development Report Youth in Egypt: Building our Future. h t t p : / / w w w. e g y p t. i o m. i n t / UAMCampaign _Educ&Train.htm Saskia Koppenberg was born in Oldenburg in 1985, Germany; she holds a Master s degree in International Development Studies from the University of Vienna, Austria. Her research and work focus is on migration and development with special interest in forced migration issues. Koppenberg currently lives in Cairo where she interns at the International Organization for Migration ( IOM ).

6 38 Emmanuel Letouzé