Various youth organisations and United Nations agencies combined to launch EarthYouth.net yesterday, a site dedicated to allowing young people to keep in touch with the World Summit on Sustainable Development and to keep organised once the event concludes.
"Young people have what many of the government leaders apparently do not - passion and energy for sustainable development, and a long-term vision for our planet," says James Moody, a site co-ordinator and co-chair of the UN Environment Programme`s youth advisory council.
The site provides news and views from a team of young reporters at the summit as well as contributors from around the world. However, its primary function is to serve as a meeting point for young environmental activists where ideas can be exchanged. It includes multilingual chat rooms and discussion boards.
In its second phase, to kick off once the summit concludes, management of the site is to be decentralised to a number of youth organisations around the world. It is then to become "a unique project management tool to help youth organise local, national and international action", its creators say.
Although the site was only officially launched yesterday, EarthYouth administrators say it drew high volumes of traffic over the weekend as an estimated 10 000 young people arrived in Johannesburg to take part in the summit. More than 40 government delegations include young participants.
TakingITGlobal, a Canadian organisation that uses the Internet to involve young people in issues ranging from job creation to environmental issues, spearheaded the site project. Although it is supported by the likes of the United Nations and Oxfam International, youth groups are looking for ongoing financial support from governments and other sources to sustain the project.
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