Faith in systems and governments to actively ease environmental decline appears to be reaching a new low. However, we may have been overlooking one of our greatest assets: the energy and determination of the younger generations. With a mission to empower young people to collaborate locally, regionally and globally to create sustainable solutions for worldwide issues, the Global Issues Network (GIN) is increasingly proving that kids can create change.
Global Issues Network was born out of a combination of urgency and foresight, for the sake of future generations and the planet. In 2003, teachers and administrators at the International School of Luxembourg were discussing the challenges facing youth today. It was at this time that they were an audience to Jean-François Rischard’s recently published book, High Noon: Twenty Global Problems, Twenty Years to Solve Them (2002).
A recognized economist who used to be the World Bank Vice President in charge of Europe, Rischard’s book acts as a road map to solutions that underscore the urgency for action in matters such as water shortages, climate change, poverty, illiteracy, human rights, animal and marine rights and conservation, amongst others. The educators found themselves looking to the energy of their students to create this change.
By 2006, the 300 students from 28 schools who had joined GIN attended a conference in Luxembourg, and there has been a GIN conference in Europe every year since. At the same time regional directors in East Asia began yearly regional conferences of over 500 participants, beginning in Beijing in 2008 and leading to local GIN conferences, as well as middle school GIN conferences, in East Asia.
From this small grass roots beginning, today GIN has grown rapidly to include students from more than 500 schools across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America, South and Central America and Asia.
GINBali was founded in 2013 by British educator and activist Kayti Denham, and Robi Supriyanto from Indoneasia, a rock musician and activist, who teaches organic farming throughout Southeast Asia. Robi is the lead singer of Navicula, a hugely successful psychedelic grunge band from Bali where they are known as the Green Grunge Gentlemen, thanks to their strong focus on environmental and social issues.
The formation of the Global Issues Network in Bali came after working to create student based community activities in response to the devastating earthquake in West Sumatra in 2010, and developing further student and community projects in areas of permaculture, street art and music. Sponsored by lifestyle brand Volcom, the spirit of GINBali is a perfect fit for a company that puts sustainability at its helm.
GINBali grew as regional representation in Singapore, GINSing and Indonesia, GINIndo started developing to reach further into regional and local schools, exposing community NGO work and strengthening ties between schools and local populations.
A GIN project can take many forms. As an expression of passion, it works to address global issues in direct communities, working locally to solve shared worldwide problems. GIN student teams develop projects through dialogue and research within their self-identified passion and community. Student teams are expected to create a sustainable project while incorporating the following frameworks: historical methodologies, cultural perspectives, empathetic action, as well as sustainable design and systems thinking.
For proof of the power of initiatives undertaken, Bye Bye Plastic Bags packs a powerful punch. Launched at GINBali in 2013, the social initiative is driven by children, to get the people of Bali to say ‘no’ to plastic bags. Founders and sisters, Melati (15) and Isabel (13) Wijsen were inspired by a lesson in school about significant people such as Nelson Mandela, Lady Diana, and Mahatma Ghandi.
“We went home after school that day and thought: Ok, what can we do, as kids living on the island of Bali?” Melati explains. “When we got home, we spread paper out across the living room and started brainstorming, looking at all the issues Bali was facing. And something that struck us most was: garbage.”
“So we thought: what are we going to do about it? We looked at the garbage problem and thought it’s a bit big to tackle, so we looked for a realistic target for us kids. And we started by saying ‘no’ to plastic bags, because through research we saw that that was something that a lot of other countries have already said no to. So that’s what we brought back to our home in Bali, and we’ve been on an incredible journey ever since.”
A journey that has seen momentous achievements including meeting UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon; signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the governor of Bali, Bp. Mangku Pastika in December 2014 – with confirmation, six months later from the government, that Bali will become plastic bag free by 2018; to a TED talk in London; the establishment of Bye Bye Plastic Bags Jakarta; and an official declaration from Bali airport to go plastic free in August 2016.
Kids Cut Conflict Palm Oil (KCPO) is another formidable initiative started by four students in Bali between the ages of 12 and 14, seeking to address one of the biggest environmental problems we face today – rainforest loss. In Southeast Asia, the smog from forest burning is a perennial problem that continues to occur as farmers continue to illegally set fire to their fields in order to clear them for the next planting season. Many of these fields are run by palm oil corporations that produce the cheap vegetable oil found in products from snacks to cosmetics. Conflict palm oil is rampant in the industry and is one of the world's leading causes of rainforest decimation.
Launched at GINBali in 2015, KCPO make an international call to action on November 30 each year, and aim to create global awareness to let kids know that the choices they make can save the animals living in forests and prevent irreversible damage.
In September 2016, the first ever GIN youth conference was hosted in Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo, by Bina Cita Utama (BCU) School and Borneo Nature Foundation. Bringing together 100 students from Palanka Raya with over 100 young people aged from 12 to 17 from Jakarta, Bali, Korea, Singapore and Australia, more than 300 people gathered for the three-day conference.
Many locally-based organisations shared their expertise at the workshops, including Bormeo Productions International, Yayasan Permakultur Kalimantan, Ranu Welum, EarthHour Palangka Raya, Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation and Tembak Village in Kalimantan.
The conference consisted of a mixture of workshops, field trips, Dayak cultural experiences, and evening celebrations involving music by special guests Robi Supriyanto, and TV Chef Rahung Nasution, and a screening of the groundbreaking film, Racing Extinction.
The success of the conference has resulted in another conference in Borneo scheduled for September 2018. With a number of events around the region on the 2017 calendar, as well as the big conference set for September in Bali, the importance and value of giving kids a chance to lead is becoming ever more clear. Is Macau ready to join the movement?
For more information on GIN activities and ways to get involved contact: [email protected]