“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.

Missed our UNEA side event on Education for Nature? Watch it now on Youtube!

The virtual UNEA side event “We are what we teach: 5 ways that education can be re-wired for nature” presented 5 innovative ideas around formal and non-formal education for nature by bringing together universities, sport, the gaming industry and youth. It went on to host a unique discussion, led by Zamzam Ibrahim, Vice President of the European Students Union, between education and environment government representatives from Egypt, Indonesia, Malawi, the UK and Kenya to build out a broader plan around education for nature.

Kenya highlighted the role of universities in instilling youth with the necessary green skills, Indonesia shared about their plans to re-vamp the curriculum and re-form their education system, Egypt emphasized the need for empowering women and creating job opportunities, and the UK shared their plans around curriculum change and youth inclusion. Malawi went on to call on governments to include youth in policy making, to invest in targeted climate action for youth and to support youth led climate action initiatives.

Finally, Adam McKay, film director of “Don’t Look Up” shared closing remarks and reiterated that we all need to take action on this important topic to secure the sustainable future we need. Watch the full event here! And if you attended or watched the event, please do give us your feedback by completing this survey.

Global Youth Insights Survey: Make Your Voice Heard!

Youth environmental leaders, make your voice heard! Take the first-ever survey of global youth environmental leaders under the age of 25. Your highly valuable feedback will be included in a new paper commissioned by the UN Environment Programme and produced by nonprofit @lonelywhale.org. All answers are anonymous! Take the survey here!

UNEA event on Tide Turners – Watch it now!

UNEP’s Executive Director, Inger Andersen, and the Tide Turners Plastic Challenge champions gathered for an interactive online discussion on plastic pollution to inspire action around reducing plastic pollution across regions in the build up to the discussions around the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5).

The young champions shared stories on how they, for example, worked to clean a section of the Bukhi River in Gujarat, India, which led to the return of crocodiles and flapjack turtles, how they convinced 250+ women from Delhi University to switch to sustainable menstrual products, which helped to replace 35,700 plastic sanitary napkins, and how they carried out street clean ups and developed solutions for better waste disposal in Kisii County, Kenya. Watch the full recording here!

Playing for the Planet Alliance launched its 3rd Annual Green Game Jam

The Playing for the Planet Alliance launched its 3rd annual Green Game Jam, featuring around 40 mobile and console game companies – up from 11 in its inaugural year – and showcasing new green activations in their live games with the aim of shifting 1 million peoples’ food choices, as well as planting and protecting 1 million trees. Facilitated by the UN Environment Programme, the Playing for the Planet Alliance is a collective effort by the video gaming industry to reduce its carbon footprint and to integrate environmental activations into games.

Join the Regional Multi-Stakeholder Consultation for Stockholm+50: 
‘A healthy planet for the prosperity of all.’

In the lead up to the Stockholm+50 International Meeting in June 2022, you are invited to join a Regional Multi-Stakeholder Consultation for Stockholm+50. UNEP, with the support of GO4SDGs, is coordinating the consultations. These consultations provide an opportunity to share ideas and actions on renewing our commitments and bringing them into action. They also offer a venue to discuss scaling-up regeneration of our ecosystems, reimagining our common future and rebalancing our relationship with nature.

1. Asia and the Pacific: 4-5 April 2022  |  More info and register
2. Latin America and the Caribbean: 5-6 April 2022  |  More info and register
3. Africa: 12-13 April 2022 |  More info and register
4. Europe: End of April TBC | More info coming soon
5. West Asia: 11-12 May 2022 |  More info coming soon

The regional consultations are open to all major groups, stakeholders, government representatives, and the private sector (accredited or not accredited by UNEP/ECOSOC), to share their actions towards a healthy planet and a sustainable recovery and bring to the table their commitments and pledges for action and implementation.

Please find more information about all Multi-Stakeholder Consultations here.

Sign up for the Nature Positive Universities Initiative

UNEP and the University of Oxford are launching a global network of Nature Positive Universities in order to prompt the prioritization of nature and its restoration within the higher education sector; in their operations and supply chains, on campuses and within the cities where they operate. This network will form a major contribution to the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, the post-2020 Biodiversity Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals.

So far, almost 400 expressions of interest from universities around the world have been submitted. Please complete this form if you are interested in joining this network!

Learn more about our plans by watching this short video!