Yeoncheon UNESCO Designated Areas Delegation joins conference in Yerevan
Yeoncheon-gun announced Wednesday that it attended the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Yerevan, Armenia from Oct. 19 to 30, alongside the Yeoncheon UNESCO Designated Areas Delegation from Oct. 19 to 25.
The participation is part of the implementation plan stemming from the "Yeoncheon Future Generations Declaration for Nature and Peace," announced at the "Yeoncheon International Forum on Nature and Peace for Future Generations" co-hosted by Yeoncheon-gun and the ICLEI Korea Office last year.
Yeoncheon-gun and the ICLEI Korea Office supported the participation of two local youth and one youth mentor in the international conference. Yeoncheon-gun was the only local government in South Korea to send youth delegates; international youth delegations from Kobe, Japan, and Canada also attended.
On Oct. 21, Yeoncheon-gun co-hosted a side session titled "Nature and Peace with Youth" with the ICLEI Korea Office and the Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea Office. The session opened with remarks by Yoon Young-ran, secretary-general of the ICLEI Korea Office, and a congratulatory address by Kang Keum-sil, Global Climate and Environment Ambassador at South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ingrid Coetzee, director of the ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center, was among the panelists.
At the session, youth delegates presented a draft action plan developed with domestic mentors through a shared school program conducted last August by the Yeoncheon Education Support Office and Sahmyook University. The final plan is to be completed with mentors from Korea and abroad at the "Yeoncheon International Forum on Nature and Peace for Future Generations," scheduled for Nov. 2 and 3 at Baekhak Jayuro Resort.
Yeoncheon-gun also participated as a panel discussant in an Asia sub-session on "Local Solutions through Innovative Leadership for the Realization of the Rio Conventions," organized by ICLEI on Oct. 22, and in a "China Cities Day" event organized by the ICLEI East Asia Secretariat on Oct. 23.
The Yeoncheon-gun delegation attended a youth session organized by the Global Youth Biodiversity Network and documented the conference by producing video interviews with participants on site. The delegation also visited the Yerevan Botanical Garden and the Armenian Genocide memorial and museum, reflecting on the meaning of nature and peace. Students' accounts of the visits are set to be introduced at the upcoming forum.
"Yeoncheon-gun, home to the DMZ, is a UNESCO multiple-designation area holding both a biosphere reserve and a global geopark, and is also an ICLEI member city," said Lee Seung-gu, head of Yeoncheon-gun's tourism division. "We will continue to create more opportunities for future generations to be active on the international stage."
pjh@heraldcorp.com
