What’s your Green Dream?
UN agency wants to hear from Scots ahead of 20th anniversary of Rio Earth Summit
25 January 2012
A new campaign has been launched ahead of this year’s Rio+20 Summit to capture the hopes and dreams of thousands of Scots on the future of the planet, with Stirling and Glasgow the latest cities in Scotland to have their say.
The United Nations sponsored campaign, Green Dreams, has been launched as part of a global effort to highlight the impact of climate change by recording the thoughts of men, women and children on issues such as health, air quality, community, transport and energy.
The campaign is being launched in Scotland by CIFAL Scotland, a UN affiliated sustainability training agency based in Forres, Moray, but set to expand into the central belt with the opening of a new Edinburgh office this year.
CIFAL has launched a dedicated Green Dreams website to allow people to post their videos online using their smart phone or digital camera. To record your Green Dream, go to www.youtube.com/greendreamcifal
Politicians, sports stars, musicians and celebrities will be among those invited to record their thoughts on the environment, along with schools, youth groups, charities, pensioner groups and trade unions.
A series of roadshows is being held across Scotland this week in a bid to capture as many Scottish voices as possible.
Following an earlier visit to Inverness, CIFAL plans a day of activity in Stirling today, including a visit to the offices of Keep Scotland Beautiful and Stirling rail station, followed by two days in Glasgow on Thursday and Friday, when ‘dream catchers’ will visit the STUC, a playgroup in Tollcross and various community groups in Canongate.
The campaign is being held to mark the 20thanniversary of the landmark Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, which eventually gave rise to the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
World leaders will reconvene in the Brazilian city for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development – also known as RIO+20 – in June 2012.
May East, chief executive of CIFAL Scotland, hope the campaign will send a powerful message to world leaders that Scots expect more progress at this year’s Rio Summit.
She said: “The Green Dreams campaign is designed to record the green dreams of men, women and children from across the globe. Our aim will be to capture a wide cross section of Scottish society, with people of all ages and all walks of life invited to share their hopes for the future of the planet. We want to hear from people in every corner of Scotland, from every community, from every school, from every MP and MSP. Thousands of people from across the globe have already taken part. But we need many more to share their green dreams.
“We hope that by recording the dreams of people across Scotland, we can spark a debate about the kind of world we want to leave future generations and send a message to world leaders that we must continue to make more progress on climate change, poverty and sustainable growth.”
-ENDS-
More information:
Donald Morrison, New Horizon Media
0141 848 6627/ 07915 853129