Taking the big dip

This blog was borne out of my recent 'serious' involvement with environmental issues. The other night, I was invited as a youth representative 'expert' to a political dialogue on "Biodiversity and Poverty Eradication" in Bonn. Among the invited panelists are German Federal Economic Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, UNEP Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director Angela Cropper, and leading scientific adviser Prof. Jeffrey Sayer. Invited guests from Kenya, Ethiopia, academe, and business sector also graced the event.

How did it feel to talk in front of more than 300 people. Read all about it here. I wish I could get more feedback from my five minutes of fame.

The invitation came as an added engagement after I got selected to participate in the Go 4 Biodiv International Youth Summit 2008 from May 16 to 26. After the youth summit we will troop to the Conference of Parties 9 (CoP9) of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) in Bonn from May 26-31.

In my application to the youth summit, I mentioned that "I can contribute to a fertile discussion of our different (world) views of the environment and our interactions with it. This is not to provide a solution, but to put into perspective, through reflection, our human-environment interactions." How can you and I go about this? You don't have to take a great plunge into environmental issues. Be cautious as one can drown in all its technicalities and politics. One step at a time. For now you can test the waters with me as I take a small dip.