Dear GAHA members
Pls see attached on information for the Singapore International Water Week to be held from 4 - 8 Jul 2011.
If you are keen to be an ambassador at the event engaging global leaders, pls indicate your interest to secretariat@nyaagaha.org by 10 March 2011 with the following details :
Full Name + Contact number + Email Address
Thanks.
GAHA Exco
Add comment January 31st, 2011
There is an exciting opportunity for GAHA members to drive the annual Asia Pacific Youth Water Forum. Would you want to be a volunteer at the regional event? Read on for more information.
Context of the Event
· The conference, organised as part of the Singapore International Water Week, will be attended by 120 youths from the Asia Pacific countries. They will share about the socio-economic issues relating to water in their respective countries, learn about the best practices in other countries as well as water treatment and conservation practices in Singapore.
· Value proposition:
o Ability to shape content: providing participants with exposure to water topics and chance to facilitate debates
o Great opportunity to learn: Government and external speakers presenting
o Interactions with fellow youths from around the region
· Event dates:
o 25 - 30 Jun (Fri-Wed),
o 26 Jun (Sat) will be the Official Opening @ the Courtyard Room, Marina Barrage
Volunteer role
There are areas where you can volunteer, depending on your interest and availability. You can choose from the following range of roles:
Next Steps
Please email your area(s) of interest, comments and queries, if any, to yingshya@nyaagaha.org by 14 Jun (Mon).
More information and support for volunteers will be provided subsequently.
Add comment June 8th, 2010
Submit your Dedications NOW!
In conjunction with Earth Day, 22 April, we would like to hear YOUR wishes and hopes for the environment. If you have a message or a dedication that will help to spread awareness of environmental conservation, water conservation and climate change, we would like to hear from YOU! Selected messages will be published on our website at http://www.nyaagaha.org and messages may also be read out during the Youth Eco-Concert 2010. Submission closes 11.59pm on 22 April 2010.
Add comment April 18th, 2010
The Singapore 2010 YOG is less than half a year away! Together with the tenets for friendship, excellence and respect at the inaugural games, we have done a sampling of comments, wishes and hopes for youth to make the YOG one which is not only groundbreaking, but sustainable, green and something all can be proud of. Below are excerpts of suggestions collected from youths at the 2010 National Youth Environment Conference on 27 Mar 2010:
I’d like a green YOG by…
‘…using more renewable energy for the lighting, etc.’ - Alvita Lindy, Pasir Ris Secondary School
‘…recycling more things’ - Pan Fei, Pasir Ris Secondary School
‘…having a clean environment’ - Glenn Ang, Pasir Ris Secondary School
‘…putting more dustbins for convenience’ - Low Jin An, Pasir Ris Secondary School
‘…advocating green habits to YOG participants and audience’ - Jim Tan, Raffles Institution
‘…Reducing, Reusing and Recycling!’ - Koh Seok Pheng, Ngee Ann Secondary School
‘…using porcelain plates and cups that can be washed instead of styrofoam cups and plastic plates’ - Cheryl Tan, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
‘…being nice to everyone’ - Li Xingyu, Maris Stella High Shool
‘…not wasting’ - Dillon Wee, Maris Stella High Shool
‘…saving our earth!!’ - Joan, Nanyang Polytechnic
‘…not using disposable materials (e.g. cups)’ - Erica, Victoria Junior College
‘…having the YOG participants and spectators recycle all their used plastic cups’ - Yong Yun Hua, Republic Polytechnic
‘…ensuring everyone is aware of what they can do to have a green sustainable lifestyle’ - Lim Jing Kai, Republic Polytechnic
‘…helping the environment by reducing paper and plastic bottles in school canteen’ - Peh Xin Ni, Cindy, Republic Polytechnic
‘…not littering in Singapore’ - Lim Woon Ching, Nanyang Polytechnic
‘…having solar panels during the YOG’ - Marcus Tay, Singpore Organisatiion
‘…using green products ‘ - Chua Yoke Kwan, National Junior College
‘…recycling all the plastic bottles used by the athletes’ - Jason, GAHA
‘…separating the recyclable materials from the garbage.’ - Nurmulianee Binte Jumari, ITE College West (Clementi Campus)
‘…using less packaging for giveaway items such as the plastic bags that the sponsored shirts come in.’ - Ratih Pratiwi, ITE CFollege West Clementi
‘…saving water’ - Elffing, YMCA
‘…saving electricity’ - Chuchu Ji, YMCA
‘…not littering.’ - Shanthiya, ITE College East
‘…being the first games to propagate green values while being the educator, advocator and enabler for environmental conservation.’ - Mark Cheng, Avelife Foundation
‘…not changing soccer balls every game, just reusing them! In addition, athletes can just wash their shirts instead of changing into new ones. The organisers could also ensure everyone attending the YOG brings their own water bottle instead of giving free plastic water bottles.’ - Adeline, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
‘…placing more rubbish bins around the area so that the audience is able to throw their rubbish. Giving them cloth bags to use rather than issuing plastic bags each time’ - Aaron, ITE (Bishan)
‘…not consuming too much food, causing more waste. ‘ - Shu Huey, Singapore Polytechnic
‘…having more trees around Singapore, and use of less plastic bags and paper cups.’ - Tay Pei Fen, ITE College East
‘…making the YOG logo out of recycled materials’ - Huong Gao, Republic Polytechnic
‘…using recycled materials for publicity and communication. And make the lights dimmer to save electricity.’ - Teo Hui Min, Temasek Polytechnic
‘…more solar panels (especially for sunny days) to light up the street lights -this would help conserve electricity.’ - Cherie, Nanyang Polytechnic
‘…using Recycled water bottles.’ - Joni Tan, Hong Kah Secondary School
‘…having athletes/participants use their own bottles instead of buying bottles for them/using disposables. Planting more plants along the street. Switching off handphones to save electricity. ‘ - Gan Shun Xian, St. Andrew’s Secondary School
‘…putting recycling bins at the venue to re-use resouces like paper’ - Shawn Chen,
‘…reusing towels to dry sweat after the athletes exercise’ - Wong Rui Jian, Tanglin Secondary School
‘…having more campaigns to educate people’ - Carlston Yong, Nanyang Polythenic
‘…recyling used sports equipment (eg. shuttlecocks), instead ot throwing them away’ - Tey Yi Kai, ACS (Independent)
‘…using energy efficient appliances (e.g. air conditioners, lights, etc.)’ - Sandra Cheok, St Margaret’s Secondary School
‘…trying to reduce the amount/intensity of lighting for tournaments that occur in the day’ - Jolene, St Anthony’s Canossian Secondary School
‘…educating the athletes, letting them know the seriousness of Climate Change’ - Joel Lee,
‘…recycling unused material’ - Shaoze, Unity Secondary School
‘…reusing Sports equipment’ - Sarah Noble, St. Anthony’s Canossian Secondary School
‘…installing dual flushes in the toilets (allowing for “half flushes” to save water)’ - Lee Tzu Chieh, Pasir Ris secondary school
‘…using recycled material to provide drinks and food for the participants’ - Audri Gideon Hasibuan, Anglo Chinese School (Independent)
‘…using energy-saving lights in the stadiums’ - Benjamin Tay, ACS (Independent)
‘…reusing the sports equipment’ - Teo Bei Fang, Hua Yi Secondary School
‘…using your own bottle instead buying it ‘ - Goh Shi Ling, Hua Yi Secondary School
‘…getting people to bring their own bottles because bottle are made up of plastic which is hard to get rid of.’ - Andy Tan, St Patrick’s School
‘…cutting down on unnecessary freebies that are mass-produced but people will just throw away.’ - Chiong Si Hui Joyce, Hwa Chong Institution
‘…placing more recycling bins around the competition area’ - Tan Teck Woon , Mayflower Secondary School
Add comment April 18th, 2010
One hundred and ninety-three countries’ Heads-of-States, Heads-of-Government and Ministers arrived at Copenhagen to attend the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 15th Conference of the Parties and 5th Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP15/CMP5) from 7th December 2009 till 18th December 2009. They came to review the Kyoto Protocol, which will expire in year 2012, to discuss and agree on new legally-binding documents that will bring the efforts of Kyoto Protocol to new heights with greater reduction of carbon emission for every country to meet. COP15/CMP5 was unlike any other COP held so far, the stakes were much higher than ever before and media coverage was unprecedented.
Prior to the arrival of the countries’ Heads-of-States, discussions and negotiations took place at the Bella Centre, the conference venue for the next two weeks, to see if the countries can come to common consensus and agreement for new legally-binding documents to be signed by the various Heads-of-States at the end of the Summit. The new treaty in Copenhagen covered the key issues of mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas emissions), adaptation (coping with the consequences of climate change), finance and technology transfer to developing countries. There were two negotiation tracks - the Long-term Cooperative Action (LCA) and the emission reduction targets of developed countries from 2013 to possibly 2020 under the Kyoto Protocol (KP).
I was given the opportunity by the British Council, under the capacity of British Council International Climate Champion, to attend the COP15 in Copenhagen. At the same time, I assisted in the coordination work for the delegates from the British Council (East Asia) at the Conference.
My involvement in COP15 enabled me to gain more knowledge on how the organizations at the UN operate. It was an eye-opener and a new experience for me to get involved in the UN Summit. Besides the informal activities, youth involvement included speaking at the plenary session in the COP/CMP, joining the different contact groups such as Ad-Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP), the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA), Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and also in planning for actions (such as peace demonstrations, gatherings, rallies). They also used their networking skills to get in-touch with policy-makers and decision makers to push their ideas forward. Besides being involved locally, youths also participated internationally by joining websites such as www.unfccc.int and www.youthclimate.org, and the working groups within YOUNGO in areas such as Policy, Communication, Actions, Logistics, COY-05, Youth Media, Global South and Capacity Building.
Through project sharing sessions, youths were able to network, share ideas and resources with one another to implement meaningful community projects to promote environmental conservation to the masses.
Almost every day outside Bella Centre, I was greeted by demonstrations initiated by various NGOs to try to exert external pressure on Governmental officials and most importantly, to capture media attention for greater publicity.
Whilst the demonstrations were going on outside, several meetings, discussions, negotiations and side events were held for participants in Bella Centre.
During a personal interview with Sudanese Ambassador Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping, Lead Negotiator for G77 + China, on how the United States can contribute in the role of civil society, its people and their businesses, Ambassador Lumumba shared and stressed that civil societies can and should play a more active and crucial role in influencing their decision makers to combat climate change.
It was indeed a privilege to be able to attend the presentation by Dr Steven Chu, US Secretary of Energy at the BrightGreen Forum. In his short thirty minutes presentation on the green technology that US is currently embarking on, Dr Chu pointed out that the danger of Climate Change cannot be ignored any further. It can be resolved through the use of new green technology. Dr Chu highlighted some key initiatives on green technology in US such as (1) Wind turbine; (2) Geothermal Energy as a heat reservoir; (3) the Dept Of Energy Retrofit Ramp-Up (R2) Programme with US$454 million to fund a retrofit programme for industries that make energy efficiency savings easy to access and available to everyone; (4) Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy’s (ARPA-E) CO2 Capture with Enzyme Synthetic Analogue and Carbon Nanotube Membranes for Energy-Efficient Carbon Sequestration amongst other new solutions for climate change and (5) Nuclear Fission.
I was able to meet Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim (Minister for Environment and Water Resource) at his hotel for a short discussion before he rushed off to Bella Centre to attend the plenary sessions and negotiations. Even though the meet-up was only about 30 minutes, I was able to share with the Minister on my mission to Copenhagen and my involvement with the British Council and the aims that I had set for myself in Copenhagen.
Minister Yaacob also generously shared his views on COP15/CMP5 and how the negotiations and discussions were taking place in Bella Centre. Minister shared that as a small country of only 702km2, Singapore will still play her part in combating climate change. However, we need the larger industrialized countries to take the lead and support the developing countries in achieving the common goal set.
In the BBC radio recording on “World Have Your Say”, I was selected as one of the twenty-two youths that gave the opening “Youth Declaration” to the audience and the people listening to the BBC radio broadcast.
Overall, the experience gained in Denmark had broadened my perspective of international relations and negotiations between both industrial and developing nations. The workshops and projects presentations made me more aware and discerned on the need for saving the environment for future generations. I will cherish the momentous events of these two weeks. With the knowledge acquired and networked friends made at the summit, I will continue to advance the call to implement meaningful community projects to promote environmental conservation to the masses.
Contributed by:
Wong Chong Wai Kenneth
Add comment March 2nd, 2010