Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO Northern Forum International Association Government of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra INFORMATION MATERIALS International Youth Ecological Forum “Clean Water – Life for Our Planet” Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 УДК 502/504 ББК 20.1 С60 С60 Clean Water – Life for Our Planet: Information materials of the International Youth Ecological Forum. – Khanty-Mansiysk: Vincera, 2010. – 41 ISBN 978-5-9901820-8-0 Acknowledgements The organizing Committee thanks the local youth environmental movement “Third Planet from Earth” (Pokachi), Arts Center for Talented Children of the North, open-air museum “Torum Maa”, Man and Nature Museum, Ugra State University, Ugra Research Institute for Information Technologies, Creative Association “Culture”, OJSC Regional Exhibition Center “Yugorskie Kontrakty” for the high level of organization of the Forum activities. © PREPARED FOR RELEASE BY: G.A. Tkachenko, L.V. Kruglova, Ye.V. Vyazov, Yu.N. Zakharova © Department of Environmental Protection and Ecological Safety of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Ugra, 2010 ISBN 978-5-9901820-8-0 © Design. Vincera ltd, 2010 Contents I. Materials of the Youth Ecological Forum “Clean Water – Life for Our Planet” 1 1. Information on the Youth Forum 5 2. Welcome addresses: • Grigory Ordzhonokodze, Executive Secretary, Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO 8 • Ulrike Storost, UNESCO Associated Schools International Coordination Unit 9 • Priscilla Wohl, Executive Director, International Association “Northern Forum” 11 3. Agenda of the International Youth Ecological Forum “Clean Water – Life for Our Planet” 12 4. Forum Diary 15 5. Outcomes of the Forum 21 6. Resolution 24 II. Winning projects of the 2009 regional ecological contest “Save Ugra’s Blooming World!” 27 4 I. Materials of the Youth Ecological Forum “Clean Water – Life for Our Planet” Information The Youth Ecological Forum “Clean Water – Life for Our Planet” was held within the framework of the VIII International Ecological Action “To Save and to Preserve” and UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development bringing together the participants of three events of international, Russia-wide and regional levels: • VI International Youth Ecological Forum organized by the Northern Forum International Association, • III International Conference of UNESCO Associated Schools “Ob-Irtysh river basin: Youth studying and preserving the natural and cultural heritage in the regions of the world’s great rivers”, • VI Regional Youth Ecological Forum “Save Ugra’s Blooming World” Time: 27 May – 2 June 2010 Place: Khanty-Mansiysk, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra, Russia Organizers: Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO International Association “Northern Forum” Government of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra. Goal: Combine the youth’s efforts to preserve water resources for sustainable development. Objectives: - study interregional and international youth ecological organizations and associations’ experience in environmental protection; - involvement of the youth in environmental protection activities to draw authorities’ attention to ecological problems. Participants: Northern Forum: 5 delegations – Yamal, Sakha, Hokkaido, Gangwon-do, Alaska UNESCO Associated Schools: 14 delegations – Ukraine; Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland, France; Russia: Moscow, Ufa, Izhevsk, Novorossiysk, Samara Ugra: 12 delegations from 11 municipalities – Megion, Nefteyugansk District, Surgut District, Lyantor, Langepas, Sovietsky District, Surgut, Nizhnevartovsk, Pokachi, Khanty-Mansiysk, Nizhnevartovsk District 5 including: Priscilla Wohl, Northern Forum Executive Director (Alaska,US) Ulrike Storost, UNESCO Associated Schools International Coordination Unit (France); Evgenia Dakhina, Russian Federation Commission for UNESCO (Moscow) Zhanna Balonishnikova, Academic Secretary of the State Hydrology Institute, Expert of the Russian Committee for the UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme (Saint Petersburg) Svetlana Schigreva, Deputy Director, Altai State Biosphere Reserve, Expert of the Russian Committee for the UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme (Gorno-Altaisk) The agenda of the Forum included 22 activities, such as: • exhibition presentations by participants; • plenary meeting; • contest of socially important environmental projects; • thematic interactive meetings; • simulation games; • round table discussions; • entertainment programs and tours; • creative presentations of regions and countries; • ecological actions “TO Save and to Preserve” (participation in the Opening Ceremony), Clean Water – Life for Our Planet”. The International Youth Ecological Forum “Clean Water – Life for Our Planet” was organized and held with the use of approaches of education for sustainable development. The Organizers applied: • interactive methods aimed at teenagers’ identity formation, giving them an opportunity for independent thinking and for shaping their own view of the world, their view of the processes going on in the environment; • methods of emotion and sense perception, focusing a child’s attention on their own and their interlocutors’ emotions during an activity and helping to fix the psychological component of the problem in a child’s mind; • teamwork methods, leadership approaches that bolster children’s self-esteem, help them self-actualize in a group, provide an opportunity for collective thinking and decision making, foster responsible attitude to one’s own actions; • methods of work in small and big groups allowing to involve as many participants as possible into the process of realizing the problems and ways to address them, to redistribute the roles, to steer the process of education onto a track of interpersonal relations among teenagers; • methods of express-projects that allowed to mobilize teenager’s intellectual, physical and creative energy for addressing the designated challenges. In all of the Forum’s activities an attempt was made to combine ecology with economy and social sector for a deeper insight into the ongoing processes, to determine the role of every individual in the global processes occurring on the planet. Venues: Conference Rooms of the Government and Duma of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra, Arts Center for Talented Children of the North, Department for Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources, House of Peoples’ Friendship, Concert and Theater Center “Ugra-Classic”, Central Square of Khanty-Mansiysk , Losev Park, Open-Air Museum “Torum Maa”, Man and Nature Museum, Archeo-Park, recreation center “Dobrino”, Congress and Exhibition Center “Ugra-Expo”. 6 Delegates and guests of the Forum took part in TV shows: - “7 to 9” (program activities manager, delegates from Japan and Surgut District); - “Epicenter” (member of the Expert Board of the Contest of Socially Important Environmental Projects, Saint Petersburg) Media about the Forum: - press conference on the outcomes of the Forum (heads of Northern Forum and Ugra youth environmental organizations’ delegations) -newspaper “Novosti Yugry” (news of Ugra) -magazine “YOU ность Югры” (youth of Ugra) The Press Center of the Forum that included volunteering students from the Ugra State University’s Journalism Department and specialists from the Youth Policy Committee of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra operated during the whole time of the Forum. The Press Center made 3 issues of the newspaper called “Forum Diary” that were circulated among the Forum participants. 7 Welcome addresses Welcome address of the Governor of Khanty- Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Ugra by N.V.Komarova to the participants of the International Youth Ecological Forum «Clean Water - Life for our planet» Dear participants and organizers of the International Action To Save and to Preserve, dear citizens of Ugra and guests of our Okrug, The three week ecological marathon To Save and to Preserve starts today. It takes place for the eighth time now, so I do presume that for the majority of Ugra citizens this is no longer an annual action but a way of life, a compass of values in their relations with the nature. The functional experience of the event is the evidence of how we genetically acquire the capability of thinking and living in harmony with the environment. Ugra’s forest, water bodies, land, and air are our common wealth and everyone’s concern at the same time. The Northern nature is reach in resources and fragile links which haven’t been largely apprehended as yet. Those that are called the breath of life. It can be supported and preserved, although we cannot teach the nature breath again. This is the idea and the key message for all participants of the Action. Listen carefully to the names of the events – Ugra is My Clean Home; Cedar Garden; Live, O Source; Ecological Echo; Plant Your Tree; The Red Book through the Eyes of Children; The Taiga Ugra – these are but a few examples of the projects and contests that will start in the Okrug in the next few weeks. I am sure that everyone can find a place for him- or herself in this flow of efforts towards the preservation of Ugra’s nature. Young people’s forum Clean Water – Living Planet starts in Ugra today. The aspiration to help preserve the wealth of water has brought young people from all over the world to this forum. I am sure that your work during the days of forum and the daily care of the environment will make a significant contribution to the establishment of the new nature-friendly ecological culture. Unfortunately there still remains many a