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YouthXChange: Partnering with Task Force Efforts in Sustainable Lifestyles and Education for Sustainable Consumption

In 2000, when a joint UNEP-UNESCO study asked middle class young people in 24 countries about their consuming habits, many said they were aware that their use and disposal of everything from gum to Game Boys created environmental and social ripple effects, but they were less sure of how their shopping choices might also do the same. Furthermore, they seemed to prefer taking individual, everyday steps to modify their behaviour, rather than organized action.

Their responses set the stage for the creation of YouthXChange, a global programme launched by UNEP and UNESCO to provide educators with an easy-to-use tool kit for introducing 15-25 year olds to opportunities offered by sustainable lifestyles. The main message: many people lack access to the natural resources they need in their everyday lives. We can change that by adopting a “one-planet-for-all” lifestyle.

Middle class young people this age – in developed and developing countries – are spenders and trend-setters with the power to shape ideas. To reach them, the team created a guide book in 18 languages which educators can use alongside a youthxchange.net website to introduce “green living” concepts.

The tool kit offers ideas for calculating carbon footprints in math classes or examining the environmental impacts of shoe dye in science courses. Information is presented in ways that allow young people to compare the stories behind their favourite products and decide how they want to purchase.

For example, take the story on Veja, a trendy France-based sneaker maker that sources all its materials from an association of small Brazilian producers. Cotton for the canvas is grown according to agro-ecological principles. Latex for the soles is harvested by seringueiros and bought at a premium. Sewing and shoe assembly is done by producers in the south at wages that surpass the national average. Proceeds feed back to communities in the form of an in-house education programme.

“YouthXChange is about giving young people options – not imposing choices or telling them they need to turn off the water”, says Morgan Strecker, a UNEP consultant in charge of the programme. Ms. Strecker and others also introduce YouthXChange through youth group networks and activities associations, organizing workshops with local partners for young environmental leaders.

In a recent Abu Dhabi workshop, young people raised questions about how to find organic food in West Asia, a desert region that relies on imported goods. To reduce a travel footprint in cities where public transport is unavailable and hot temperatures prevent people from riding a bike, they brainstormed about carpooling, working from home and creating community offices.

They also generated ideas for integrating sustainable lifestyle messages into their faith, a major vehicle for communicating social values, and lobbying government to provide public transport options. “There’s no point in promoting sustainable transport if there’s no opportunity to choose it,” Ms. Strecker explains.

Issues vary from region to region – and young people are active. In North Africa, they are concerned about the proliferation of fast food restaurants that offer cheaper, less-healthy food than local markets. In Dubai and Thailand, they are working to change the idea that “more means cool” and, in South America, are finding ways to recycle plastic utensils after large community meals.

YouthXChange was first introduced to UNESCO-affiliated schools involved in UNEP’s Tunza programme, an environmental awareness raising effort. The project later caught the attention of the Norwegian government,w which incorporated it into the national public school curricula in 2005. Today, YouthXChange uses support materials developed by the Task Force for Sustainable Lifestyles and the Task Force for Education for Sustainable Consumption.

Roughly 800,000 guides have been distributed to date, and plans are underway to publish in Polish and German by 2009. A challenge remains in integrating the programme in some of the world’s largest consumer nations, including the United States. However, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has expressed interest in adapting part of the guide for its fashion exhibit.


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