| After twelve days of discovery, discussing and deliberating , we the delegates of the Young People G8 group have compiled a document representing our views on issues we consider to be of the greatest importance. Equality and DiversityWe, the delegates of the Young People G8 group, believe that diversity exists in our society and we consider it an opportunity to learn rather than a reason to discriminate. Equality is a value we strive to obtain in the whole world. Unfortunately we realize that inequality exists and comes in different forms. Different people or groups can be discriminated against because of their nationality, skin color, religion, physical or mental disability, age, sexuality, ideology creed, income economic status, gender, looks image and culture tradition. We believe we should do our best to put an end to any form of discrimination. Firstly we believe that discrimination can be tackled by 'Personal Change'. Our actions and behavior towards different people should be guided by respect. The fundamental first step is to teach children from a young age through education to treat everyone equally. Other necessary steps to destroy discrimination must come from decision-makers in every country. Laws should be established to protect diversity in all aspects of life including education, the workplace, at home and everywhere else. The media is a useful tool to expose people to diversity so they don't fear what and who they don't know or understand. We recognize the importance of a fair portrayal and al so a vocal presence of many different people in the media. We believe that all of these measures will guarantee security, freedom, integration and social cohesion. The environrnentWe, the delegates of the Young People G8 group, recognize that preventing major changes in our climate is possibly the biggest challenge our generation has to face. Climate change is a global problem that requires a global solution. We are aware that the world leaders will be meeting in Copenhagen this winter to attempt such a solution, and that this meeting is of historical importance. These are our own recommendations, which we hope may be taken into account during this meeting. We think that to slow global warming countries should agree to set targets for their emission of greenhouse gases. These agreements on targets should be binding in nature to ensure compliance and more effective results. We do not believe that a dual division between developed and developing countries is an accurate representation of our world. Rather, each country should contribute given their economies and political means, as well as their current level of greenhouse gas emissions. This means that industrialized countries [i.e., all countries with a GNI above a certain threshold, to include such countries as China, India, Brazil, and Russia] ought to set more challenging goals than in previous agreements. We rely on these countries to understand the importance of setting challenging targets, and to ensure that noncompliance is monetarily penalized. Nations beneath the agreed GNI threshold should also set reduction targets. However, rather than penalizing noncompliance in these countries, those which reach the agreed targets should be rewarded monetarily. Countries which already have access to green technologies (in particular the E.U.) should assist lagging countries by providing such technologies at subsidized prices. To reach this goal, western universities should invest even more in sustainable research and development. Researchers and engineers from developing countries should be invited to partake in this research with generous and numerous grants. Environmental education should help young people and adults to change their lifestyles in order to reduce our collective carbon footprint. While schools will be the centrai site for such education, national awareness campaigns should inform adults of pathways to a greener lifestyle. We understand that personal actions play a huge role in determining change in our environmental climate. We count on your power as the G8 to encourage other leaders worldwide to convince and help their people to take the following personal actions: • To buy electricity from renewable suppliers • To use public transport, walking, cycling (perhaps government supplied) • To recycle - reuse • To buy electric cars and energy efficient products • To consume less and rely less on packaging • To run their homes more efficiently • To participate in "environmental days" We believe by encouraging the individual to do more we can make an environmental difference. The economyWe, part of the worlds youth, understand economics to be the allocation of resources, given infinite demand and finite supply and that this demand of goods and services constantly changes. We live in an economie system whereby individuals, firms, and governments interact to try to satisfy people's needs. We use this system to determine what to produce, whom to produce it for, and at which price. Whether or not people's wants and needs are satisfied is determined by this economies interaction. Having acknowledged these realities of our economy we comprehend that finding a solution to the current crisis will be difficult and long. However, we wish to present our own questions to the world leaders, to voice the concerns of the future generation: 1. If the financial crisis was a global problem, why did we respond with national solutions? 2. Given that the deregulation of the banking sector led to the current crisis, how do you plan to restructure banking to ensure this wont happen to future generations, while placing banks back into private hands? 3. If resources are finite why don’t we try to reduce production, and more importantly what we waste? 4. How will you ensure that we will be able to enjoy prosperity for the future generations with such a huge debt being placed upon their shoulders? 5. Why don’t the richest countries give a larger percentage of their national income to struggling countries through international aid? 6. How will governments discern when firms are rescued, and which are left to bankruptcy? 7. Will money be invested in the future to ensure people receive a financial education, and learn how to responsibly manage money? 8. How do you intend to create a new economy engine through green industries to reduce unemployment while protecting the environment? We believe that a global effort to answer these questions could produce a swifter, wiser end to the financial crisis, and allow our generation to enjoy and share prosperity. Global solutions for global problemsWe believe that the issues discussed above (and other global issues like migration, nuclear proliferation, and poverty) require not only national, but al so global solutions. Such issues wiII only become more prominent and global in scale as time progresses. Given this reality it is necessary to have concise, more effective, stronger international institutions which wiII provide c1earer and simpler policy solutions. Especially in this time of economic crisis the reduction of superfluous institutions can guarantee a swifter response to both expected and unexpected circumstances. While we support the decision by the G8 leaders to permanently include representatives from China, India, Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, and South Africa to create the G14, it is currently unclear to us what the significant differences between the G14 and G20 wiII be. Given that the more developed and more populated countries have greater international influence they must take more responsibility to represent smaller and poorer countries. We often see grand promises made at the end of international forums not being honored, and therefore we believe that greater effort should be made by participants to find solutions to ensure compliance to their agreements We recognize that decisions made among smaller groups of states can be more efficient, but they are surely less representative and inclusive. We therefore urge the G8, G14, and the G20 not to forget the international institutions under the UN umbrella in which decision making -though slower and more cumbersome- represents the voices of all nations. We also expect all global institutions to commit to a higher level of transparency and openness on the decision making results and processes. Concluding StatementWe, the delegates of the Young People G8 representing youth from across the world, believe that by changing our personal actions, and with our leaders committed to honestly and effectively dealing with these issues, global solutions are possible. We, today's youth and tomorrow's adults, believe that contact, communication and cooperation between diverse people in our own countries as well as internationally, wiII make these global solutions easier to achieve and will make our dreams of a fairer and c1eaner Earth come true.
Civitavecchia, 10 July 2009 |