National Youth Summit for Maurice Ile Durable
The Government of Mauritius has committed itself to move towards a more sustainable situation through the Maurice Ile Durable (MID) programme. A national policy document for Maurice Ile Durable is currently being developed taking into consideration the views, priorities and experience of individuals, local communities, broader civil society, businesses, non-governmental organisations and other bodies concerned with sustainable development at large.
Professor Francois Odendaal has been appointed as the General Facilitator for the formulation of the MID policy. Following his proposal, the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre (RGSC) is organising a National Youth Summit on 31 March and 01 April 2010 around the theme “Maurice Ile Durable” for secondary school students to come up with a common vision for Maurice Ile Durable. The outcome will be included in the National Policy document for MID.
The main objectives of the National Youth Summit are:
- To enable students from secondary schools of the country to discuss about their views and aspirations to make a sustainable Mauritius.
- Give students the opportunity to present their school’s vision of MID.
- Encourage student participation in discussions with their peers from other institutions around the theme of sustainable development.
- Empower students to have their say in the shaping of their country’s future.
Rectors of all secondary schools were invited to encourage their students to reflect on the topic with the help of a supervising teacher. For this purpose, a Form containing the following questions was sent to all secondary schools:
- What does MID mean to you?
- What are the issues related to sustainability?
- What are the opportunities related to becoming sustainable?
- What can you do to become sustainable?
- Briefly state your vision for MID?
About 70 colleges have enthusiastically responded to the request. Two students and the supervising teacher from each participating college have been invited to the Summit which will be held at the RGSC. Each group of students gave a presentation on the salient aspects of MID according to them as well as their school’s vision for MID to the audience. Presentations were followed by an interactive session where students had the opportunity to put forward their views and interact with Professor Odendaal. The Summit has culminated with the audience agreeing on a common vision of Mauritian Student Population for the Maurice Ile Durable.
The vision is as follows:
We, the Youth of Mauritius, want to live in a green and pollution-free country in which social, cultural, political, environmental and economic dimensions are carefully considered and balanced with sustainability as our common goal. Our human resource should be developed to its fullest potential in all of our islands, so the necessary creativity and innovation can be unlocked that will sustain us into the future. We recognize that education and scientific endeavour, self-sufficiency, transparency, and thorough planning and implementation as cornerstones in the pursuit of a sustainable and secure Mauritius, where the building of a healthy, equitable and all-inclusive society is our collective aim and responsibility, not only to secure our own future but also to serve as a model to the world.
The opening of the National Youth Summit on MID was done by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Renewable Energy and Public Utilities, Dr the Honourable A.R. Beebeejaun, GCSK, FRCP on Wednesday 31 March 2010 at 09.30 hrs in the presence of Hon. D. Gokhool, Minister of Industry, Science and Research.
During the closing ceremony, Mrs Leyla Tegmo-Reddy, United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative addressed the audience and Professor Odendaal drafted the vision for MID which was unanimously approved by all the students present.
Download presentation |
