A few weeks ago, there was the Youth in Landscapes Initiative workshop, followed by the Global Landscapes Forum over the weekend. For a lot of people on Earth, 1st to 6th of December may have been an ordinary week, but for us these 6 days were so intense, so wonderful, so exponential, so giant that it felt like 6 months. With no exaggeration! These days were transforming and empowering. It was hopeful and it was magic.
In 4 days of workshop, we got to know each other, define our challenge, find a solution and work on our pitch. We had to do this across differences of culture, background and perspectives… And if only it was that simple! We still did so; while trying to interact with everyone, while learning so many new things, while making sure that we had a good solution to our landscapes challenge, while building a sense of community, while trying not to be late for the next activity (without forgetting your slice of quiche!)… wow!
Not only did it work but also we were actually able to activate the best in each of us, we developed synergies, bonds and great ideas. The moments we had were unique and very special. This was so much more than a workshop. It was a blast of youth!
…but when the weekend came, I was not at ready for what was going to happen. The 2 GLF days were mind blowing!
SO
MANY
AMAZING
PEOPLE
TOGETHER.
Great ideas being presented, people talking about awesomely successful projects, professional advice, experience experience experience, wisdom, courage, innovation, hope, excitement, importance, connection… these were some of the feelings I captured as I walked down the hallways of Palais des Congrès.
All the talks were really, really good. Across the rooms, you could find Marc Tercek (The Nature Conservancy), Frances Seymour (Center for Global Development), the leaders of Indigenous Communities, the head of the Amazon Fund, Ministers from many countries, people from UN, amazing leaders from IFSA, YPARD and UN Youth and so many others that I had read about or seen on YouTube videos before! It was like a dream – this is the best description I can find.
It was all incredibly powerful and transforming. Also, super exciting! There is so much I am taking back home. All in all, I learned much more than I would learn in an average semester at the university. Imagine!
As expected, I sincerely recommend it to all young people working with landscapes worldwide. Come to Youth in Landscapes, come to GLF, come to YPARD, engage, participate, connect and share your great ideas!
Because me, honestly, I can’t wait for the next one! 😉
Sabina Dessartre Mendonça is one of the 10 young champions who worked on the “Measuring success ” Landscape challenge with Youth program’s partner: UNEP-DHI.
Learn more about the Global Landscapes Forum Youth program, meet our 50 youth champions, discover the 5 Landscapes challenges they took up and the solutions they developed and pitched at the Dragon’s Den on 6th December 2015, in Paris.
