The 2009 TUNZA International Children’s Conference was an outstanding and informative experience. Along with three of my classmates, my teacher Mrs. Kibbi, and my mother, this reporter attended the TUNZA conference held in Daejeon, Korea between August 17 and 20, 2009.
“The word TUNZA, in Swahili, means to treat with care or affection. The overall TUNZA Concept is built around this theme,” said Nessrine Halaby, Youth Programs Consultant at RH Consulting.
The conference was organized by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). UNEP brought together around 750 people from 100 countries to learn and speak about their concerns for the environment.
The main theme was climate change and its effect on bio-diversity, as well as climate change, young people, water, and sustainable life styles.
During my stay, we met people from all around the world, and we shared our experience regarding our environmental projects. We benefited a lot from meeting new people, attending the sessions, and listening to the interesting lectures. We also learned much and taught other children in the conference.
Participants learned how to have a sustainable lifestyle. For example, this reporter learned that in order to conserve energy, we can use the stairs instead of the elevator or play board games instead of using electronic games. By taking these small steps, we can conserve energy and also have fun.
In one of the sessions, we learned that water on earth is decreasing and that water is as precious as gold. Water is of great value and actions should be taken to preserve it.
Finally, we taught other children about the project we worked on last year on recycling batteries. Many people visited our stand, where they tasted Lebanese treats, played environmental games, won prizes and took photos with us wearing our national costumes.
The most impressive workshop was the Global Town Hall meeting, which brought together 1000 participants from 20 cities around the world, connected via web casting, to discuss environmental issues
This trip to Korea and our participation in the TUNZA International Conference will motivated us to work harder to make a difference in preserving our world.
