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There is a growing widespread awareness that many of the problems we witness today, such as global warming, explosive population growth, the widening gap between rich and poor and the continual devastation of our natural environment, will become exponentially worse within the lifetime of today's youth. We are coming to realise that these crises must be dealt with immediately to prevent the next generation from facing the dire consequences of our collective neglect.
By combining the energy, idealism and creativity of the young with the experience and wisdom of their elders, we hope to conceive a new symbiosis of thought which can produce answers to some of our most pressing dilemmas. With this goal in mind, Group 21 and Museum for World Peace Ritsumeikan University organised a symposium in Kyoto near the end of 1999, called "Youth at the Millennium - An Intergenerational Dialogue on Global Issues."
The symposium was a dialogue between youth and elders concerning issues of critical relevance for the future: Green Economics, Democracy, Peace and Spirituality. Prominent speakers from various countries discussed the issues with young people of college-age, and countless others through the internet. The conference included lectures, discussions, workshops and an open forum.
Group 21 has decided to continue the process by organising other symposiums, both in Japan and abroad. We seek interested parties to further the aims of our group.
January 19, 2003: A Proposal to Pre-empt War Itself
Dear President George W. Bush,
The rest of the world is watching in disbelief as you pursue what can only be interpreted as a petty, vindictive, callous, cynical, ill-advised, unjustified and potentially disastrous campaign of political and corporate expediency (and mass media distraction) against Iraq.
Despite having the ill fortune to be ruled by Saddam Hussein, what have the people of Iraq done to deserve the anguish of being targeted once again by the world's most ferocious high-tech weapons systems?
Will you "liberate" them by slaughtering beloved sons, fathers, husbands, and fiances in one-sided "battle" Ñ with the lost lives of mothers, grandmothers, wives, daughters, young boys and babies dismissed as "collateral damage"? Will the U.S. convince them of its benevolence and the superiority of advanced industrialized democratic Christian civilization by again destroying their homes and vital infrastructure Ñ their water supply systems, their power stations, their sewage systems Ñ and then blocking medical supplies?
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Spent Nuclear Fuel Imports into Russia: the Government's Will vs the Public 'Won't' A statement by Yekaterina Terenova, Natalia Stoulova, Alexandra Kopieva, Darya Fyodorova, Makar Alexandrenko, Natalia Borzenko, Maria Faingor, and Marina Mache
Moscow State University, Russia
2002 is the ten year anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit. And to
commemorate the event, the UN hosted an even bigger event in Johannesburg,
South Africa. The Skyfish Project made a debut here, at the World Summit on
Sustainable Development. Me-- Severn Cullis-Suzuki, Jeff Topham, Aaron Mate
(all from Canada), Ian Cheney (USA) and Bertus Louw (South Africa) were its
representatives.
Johannesburg had to prove itself to the skeptics that said Africa couldn't
host an event like this, with some 40 000 people attending, as well as some
180 heads of State. The city geared up for the event, putting welcoming billboards up
everywhere, clearing the streets of unwanted residents (in the tradition of
Rio) and the fancy Sandton Convention Center was full of intense military
surveillance; helicopters hovered overhead...
"...There are so many problems on our planet that have malignant effects on us. Our life has been become convenient. We get this convenient life from resources, such as electric power, the power of atom, oil and trees. When we use these resources too much in daily life, it causes bad effects around the globe..."
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"...Generally speaking, compared with men, women are more likely to be victims of sexual harassment. Therefore, I hope that privileges only for women should be more widely introduced where men and women being together such as transportation not only trains but airplanes, public buses etc..."more
"...We are unconcerned about those who are confronted with death, and living our ordinary life. People should stop giving up that until malnourished or poor disappear in the world. We especially young people must be concerned about world wide issues and think about what can do for people other than not only providing money...." more
The Institute for Reverential Ecology and G21 are currently conducting a fund raising campaign for the coming three symposia. Interested foundations, sponsors and individual contributors should contact Robert Kowalczyk at |
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 Group
21 is a non-governmental project whose main aim is to educate and empower
young people for the coming century. The men and women of the group are
volunteers of varying ages and nationalities, most of whom are associated
with universities and educational institutions. In 1997, Group 21 organized
a project that brought together young people from twenty-one countries
of the world to express the concerns of youth regarding their future at
the COP3 Conference on Global Warming in Kyoto. At that time, through a
postcard and Internet campaign, the project attracted the attention of
major news organizations both in Japan and internationally. More than 12,000
post cards were sent to the group from young people of 55 countries and
presented to COP3 participants. College-age members of the group attended
the conference and were able to express themselves directly to the delegates
of many nations. Group 21 has also organized a number workshops, community
meetings and public forums on issues of critical concern to the world's
future. Group 21 has no religious or political affiliations.
Click on the photo to find out more!
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Website by: Albie Sharpe
Last updated on: January 21, 2003
The year 2001 can be regarded as a "milestone" in the dismal nuclear history of the Russian Federation. This year Russia was to become the world's nuclear dumpsite. On July 11, 2001, the Russian authorities passed the legislation authorising the importation and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel into Russia in an attempt to reverse a continual budget deficit. The changes to Russia's environmental law purporting to enhance Russia's presence in the world market for spent fuel management were made due largely to the lobbyist efforts by the Ministry for Atomic Energy (MINATOM) promoting SNF imports as a very profitable deal. MINATOM believes that over the next decade it could import up to 20,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel from various countries including Japan, Switzerland, Spain, Taiwan, South Korea, China, under contracts worth up to $21 billion.