1 64th DPI / NGO Conference, Bonn 2011 „Sustainable Societies - Responsive Citizens“ Hilda Mukina Mativo (Manager for Mama na Dada) Andrea Zielke-Nadkarni (WNGE representative)

2 64th DPI / NGO Conference, Bonn 2011 Hilda & Andrea in front of Maritim Hotel, Bonn, the conference venue

3 64th DPI / NGO Conference, Bonn 2011 Opening Ceremony

4 64th DPI / NGO Conference, Bonn 2011 UN-Secretary general Ban Ki-moon defines sustainability as „meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs“.

5 64th DPI / NGO Conference, Bonn 2011 The installation „open mindedness“ by Vietnamese artist Dao Droste was the motto of the conference

6 64th DPI / NGO Conference, Bonn 2011 Sustainability and responsiveness, the 2 keywords of this NGO meeting, were mostly discussed with view to The connecting of various specialists and differing viewpoints and Volunteerism: participation of young people Goal of the conference: to prepare for Rio+20

7 64th DPI / NGO Conference, Bonn 2011 The most impressive keynote speaker and specialist: Vandana Shiva who stated without any embellishment that - the objectives of Rio (1992) have not been met - through the dominant economy, led by the World Trade Organ- ization, everything is for sale - 60% of the ecological species are beyond salvation - we need to connect economy & ecology as well as ecological and social goals

8 64th DPI / NGO Conference, Bonn 2011 Many speakers addressed the question of young volunteers: „use them or lose them“ find means to promote a spirit of volunteerism in young people listen to what they have to say, take them serious and on board

9 64th DPI / NGO Conference, Bonn 2011 (Continued): Many speakers addressed the question of young volunteers: help young people to understand the complexity of social problems integrate them into a well-organized systems

10 64th DPI / NGO Conference, Bonn 2011 To encourage people there were many „garage- founder” stories like that of Bill Gates: here are 2 examples: 1.Vandana Shiva founded the independent Institute „The Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Ecology“, renowned for its independence and professionalism, in her mother‘s cowshed in Bruce Crowther, founder of the fair trade movement, started in a small town in UK in 1992 and turned it into an international movement. In 2010 they promoted a global project: children from various countries eating bananas from fair trade simultaneously linked by the internet.

11 64th DPI / NGO Conference, Bonn 2011 In view of all the current problems, i.e. … collapsing ecosystems fish-stocks that will soon be exhausted climate change violation of rights of indigenous people dangerous prevalent pattern of growth the drawing of capital from other parts of the world and future generations mercantelization of common goods (e.g. water, plants) the general lack of taking responsibility by the developed nations for their damaging activities in the developing world etc

12 64th DPI / NGO Conference, Bonn 2011 … and in view of all that needs to be done, e.g. … pressure governments to keep their commitments to action send a signal to investors by way of consumption influence investments to create green jobs create new opportunities by introducing compensation measures for poor communities change key systems for green ecology: food, housing, transport, energy join the green movement use transparent, participatory and inclusive ways to dissolve boundaries

13 64th DPI / NGO Conference, Bonn 2011 continue to work on improvements small low-budget interventions often lead to more enduring changes overcome boundaries and share experiences do not compartmentalize, but „connect the dots“ celebrate your achievements !!! … messages at the conference which tried to convey a spirit of hope were … (At evening reception, Sept. 3, launched to celebrate and promote networking)

14 64th DPI / NGO Conference, Bonn 2011 My personal conclusions from this conference for WNGE: Perhaps we should find young people to join our core group. Perhaps we should put one project into the foreground of our work for a certain period of time while others are going on simultaneously – quasi in the background. This is in order to work on sustainability and the integration of the various complex factors that are linked with ongoing projects which asks for a concentration of strengths. We are on a good way with our combination of local action through our various projects combined with global connections through WNGE.

15 64th DPI / NGO Conference, Bonn 2011 Thank you for this chance to participate in a most thought-provoking conference!