Vietnam MAB Youth Forum 2022 – Youth For Biosphere Reserve – Commitment to Sustainable Development
Cat Ba Archipelago Biosphere Reserve, 3 December 2022 – UNESCO recognizes that young people play an important role contributing to sustainable development of biosphere reserves. In the 4th World Congress of Biosphere Reserves in 2016 in Lima – Peru, while a workshop on youth engagement in biosphere reserves was organized, the lack of young participants was surprising and evolved into action to involve youth more directly with the MAB Programme and its World Network of Biosphere Reserves. As a result, the first ever MAB Youth Forum in the Po Delta Biosphere Reserve, Italy was organized in 2017 to offer an opportunity for young people who care about the special territories in which they live in to become active in the MAB Programme and to contribute to the sustainable development of their communities, in line with the Lima Action Plan. Since then, the UNESCO MAB Youth Forums were continuously organized in Ecuador in 2018 and in China in 2019, demonstrated the commitment of MAB programme towards youth engagement (UNESCO 2022).
Within the framework of the UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme and the Youth and Innovation for Ocean Initiatives, UNESCO Hanoi Office in collaboration with the Vietnam MAB National Committee and the Cat Ba Archipelago Biosphere Reserve organized the first Vietnam MAB youth forum 2022, which percieved as a platform to promote the participation of Vietnamese youth in solving environmental challenges for sustainable development goals of the Biosphere Reserves in Vietnam. The forum, organized on 3 December 2022 in Cat Ba, Hai Phong with the theme Youth For Biosphere Reserve – Commitment to Sustainable Development, was led by 20 youth and young professionals between 18 and 35 years who are working for or living in the 10 Biosphere Reserves in Vietnam.
The forum provided a wide range of acitivites for pariticipants, including but not limited to site visit in Cat Ba National Park, presentation, panelist discussion, and thematic group discussion. Through the panellist discussion: “Youth’s Roles to Sustainable Development of Biosphere Reserve”, youth had chances to raise their own voice and contribute their own thought to increase roles of youth to develop biosphere reserve sustainably.
One of the most favorite parts of the youth during the Vietnam MAB Youth Forum was the thematic group discussion How to promote and engage Youth for sustainable development of Biosphere Reserves. Youth participants of the forum went through 04 thematic topics:
- Biosphere Reserve as Learning sites for Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Change
- Youth engagement for Waste Management in BR toward Zero Waste
- Promoting Education for Sustainable development in BRs
- Capacity building for Vietnamese MAB Youth
Under support of facilitators on these thematic topics, all youth participated in fruitful debates to come up with a youth-led action plan toward sustainable development of BRs in Vietnam. In addition to that, the platform for MAB Youth was initiated, in which MAB Youth could maintain their connection, share knowledge/information/opportunities about youth and BRs – related issues.
I have never attended such an interesting forum, specifically designed for MAB youth. Not only the forum provided me knowledge of Biosphere Reserve sustainable development, but it also inspired me greatly on my work to contribute for a sustainable Biosphere reserve.
UNESCO is conscious that young people are agents of change and innovation. You are the future and the most precious resource of the nation. We truly believe that you will contribute to the sustainable development of biosphere reserves and with that of the local communities.
The Vietnam MAB Youth Forum is part of UNESCO’s global efforts to ensure that young women and men are engaged in policies and programmes, promoting actions for peace and sustainable development in their countries and communities. The forum ensured gender equality, inclusion and a culture-sensitive approach.