In Rio+us project youths from Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Greece, Italy and Germany “translated” the outcomes of the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (that took place in Brazil on 20-22 June 2012, www.uncsd2012.org) into the youth cultures and thereby set the base to sensitize other youths on aspects of global change and complex issues like climate change and deliver precise options for action, opportunities to take up citizenship towards a sustainable lifestyle.
Through self-directed and self-oriented learning and an adequate and strategic use of communication formats for young people, the participants were not only empower themselves but also claimed to take up leadership towards their share of responsibility for the future with regard to the Rio+20 outcomes and ongoing threats such as climate change. They hence demonstrated the great relevance of the outcome of Rio+20 summit for the younger generation and the need to build up the shaping of competences to be ready for transformation processes in the near future.
The action reached the objectives by following five major steps which are embedded in two international encounters in Chile and Germany:
- Research and mapping of the outcomes of Rio+20 Conference
- Critical reflection and action incentives
- Translation of 1+2 into language, aesthetics and metaphors of the global youth
- Participatory production of action-oriented communication formats
- Strategic dissemination through viral channels, conquering of web 2.0 platforms
The project was co-funded by the program “Youth in Action”, Action 3.2 Youth in the World: Cooperation with countries other than the neighbouring countries of the European Union.
