CBD COP 11 Opening Ceremony

08.10.2012

The first day of the CBD COP 11.
The German delegation gets up early today (7 a.m.) to be present at the opening ceremony of the CBD COP 11. Before we leave the hotel at 8 a.m. one of the other hotel guests tells me, that he saw us in a local newspaper. He promises me to show us the paper tonight. At 9 a.m. we arrive at the HICC. There we find out, that our press articel we wrote yesterday is printed in the ECO. This little COP newspaper consits of four papes and our article including the huge GYBN logo covers half a page.

Join the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN)!

Young people are invited to join the Global Youth Biodiversity Network. GYBN aims to represent the voice of global youth in the CBD process, raise awareness among young people of the values of biodiversity and connect individuals and youth organization in order to build a global coalition to halt the loss of biodiversity. We are committes to bring the opinions and positions of young people into the negotiations so that they are heard and taken into consideration. GYBN seeks to inspire global youth and future leaders to work for sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity for a healthy environment and society.
Please join our Daily Strategy Meetings at 8PM to 10PM (8-12 Oct, and 15-19 Oct) in 1.01 (Women Caucas Room, HICC) and our Side Events on 16 Oct (18:15 to 19:45) Room 2.01, Level 2 as well as 18 Oct (18:15 to 19:45) Room 1.05, Level 1.

On our way to the CBD Alliance meeting Svana and I get caught by Faris Ahmed from USC for the first offical CBD press conference. Mr. Faizi from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) also attends the presser.

Press conference



Svana is waiting for her performane as special guest.






Mr. Faizi



In the end of the CBD COP 11 the dodo will give a negative price to the country, that inhibited the negotiations the most.



Svana made this dodo costume!



"Youth want to be part of COP11 decision making!"



Chantal is wearing a dodo necklace.



Lots of press

After the press conference we hurry to the opening ceremony.

Emblematic I bring my friends to the CBD COP 11.
I'm wearing a bracelet of Heather and one of Franzi, the necklace Marie gave me as I left Marburg and the fashionable trousers my sister borrowed me.



HICC



Faris Ahmed, Tasmeen and Svana

At the opening ceremony

First a representative of the japanese COP presidency welcomes all delegates.
The last CBD COP 10 was hosted in october 2010 by Japan in Nagoya.



Jayanthi Natarajan is the minister of environment and forests India.

Then Amina Mohamed, the representor of the executive director UNEP talks.

Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias
from the executive secretariat of the convention on biological diversity

Also the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy gives a speech. Thereby he brings the Gandhi citation we also used in our youth intervention. Moreover he advertises the famous perls of Hyderabad. Last but not least Mr. Chatterjee from the secretary ministery of environment and forests speaks.

Listening carefully

Once the Agenda got adopted, the parties (Argentina, the Arabian Republic, Serbia, Benin, EU and Kiribati) are given the floor.

This time Denmark speaks for the EU.



Afterwards the NGOs and indigenous people (ICL) give talks
longer than the compulsory three minutes.









We are waiting anxious for our youth intervention.



Melina, Swetha and Christian



Juliane and Svana



Svana and I

Because everybody overrun the time limit of the three minutes for their speech, we are not given the floor for our youth intervention. We are all disappointed. Why did they bring the citation of Gandhi: "The air, the land and the water were not an inheritance from our forefathers, but a loan from our children. So we have to handover to the next generation at least as it was handed over to us." so often? And then they don't let us spreak ...

Swetha is choosen to read our intervention.



The German youth delegation

The opening ceremony is over. I visit my first side event from the I go green foundation.

The theme of the seminar is "green living". With many pictures it shows how faszinating our planet earth is and why we have to protect it from pollution. It seems kind of simple. Every two people need one tree for living. The presentation portray is a spiritual view of nature protection. It also tells the story of the holy cow in India. The cow should be respected and don't get sick by eating the garbage on the streets. Also burning trash makes lungs of living beings soil. The ignorance and waste of human being is amazing. Indians have more mobile phones than toilets.
Then I get a call from Juliane, because GYBN wants to do its first action! We tape a video with our youth intervention in the empty plenary halls to demontrate the ignorance for the youth voice.
Today the daily GYBN meeting is antedated to 5 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. We classify into working groups for the policy items resource mobilisation, strategic plan, Nagoya protocol, marine and coastal Biodiversity, Biodiversity and climate change, UN-Decade and others.
Then we set off to the giant dinner for all delegates at GachiBowli Stadium in Hyderabad. But I notice, that somebody took my bag. I'm really upset. My laptop, my purse, my cell phone, my camera, everything is in my bag. Instead I find a strange bag somebody left at our meeting room. It is confusing that everybody walks around with the same bag at the Convention Center.
At the entrance of our dinner venue, the stadium, Taka from Japan is waiting for me. He asks me, if I brought his bag. I am so glad I get mine back. So I can enjoy the wondeful party this night!

The location



Music and dancing



Let's get something to eat!



The buffet is enormous.












Sweets












Kingfisher beer is famous for India.



Isabel, Melina and Juliane



Exercise for digestion



Shailyn is the first who joins the dance.



Swetha, Svana and Alex



Isabel and I



Christoph



Meghan

It's a great night! Everybody is dancing for Biodiversity! We join a shuttle back to our hotel with some indigenous people. Already at 11 p.m. we are back at the hotel. There we find our picture in the newspaper that I mentioned this morning.

We are famous!

What an exciting, long day.
Tomorrow it goes on!

On the NAJU-Blog you find a german version!

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