News.
Climate smart lifestyles in focus for Nordic and Baltic youth summit
This year’s ReGeneration 2030 Summit focused on climate smart lifestyles. One of the outcomes was a statement handed to the Nordic Council of Ministers, including the most important points for the future of food systems from a youth perspective. Meet one of the delegates, Alix Gabaude, student from the University of Gothenburg.
Alix Gabaude is a student from the University of Gothenburg and has just finished a master in European Studies with a special focus on urban sustainable development policies.
Why did you attend the ReGeneration 2030 summit 2019?
I got to hear about ReGeneration 2030 Summit through my involvement in the Gothenburg Students for Sustainability Alliance (GSSA). I instantly thought it sounded like a great event. I helped to organise EuroEnviro 2019 so it is not my first experience in joining events on youth and sustainability. I am always looking to do more and meet interesting people. The location in Mariehamn on Åland was also a selling point. I had never been there and I was very much looking forward to spending some time in the middle of the Baltic Sea.
Was there anything in the programme that you found particularly interesting?
The participants were separated into six different groups relating to SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production and SDG 13: Climate Action, and I got to take part in the group discussing “Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems”. We were a group of 7 people from 5 different countries with widely different backgrounds – some more technical and scientific, some, like me, more in the social sciences. We spent our weekend trying to understand what the challenges are but also the possible solutions. I also appreciated the intervention of some very knowledgeable external contributors which made it even more interesting and led to a real exchange of ideas. By the end of Sunday, we had the opportunity to draft and send a document explaining to the Nordic Council of Ministers what we, the youth of the Nordic and Baltic Sea countries, thought were some of the most important points when it came to the future of food systems. It was the first item on their agenda on Monday 26 August!
What do you take home from the conference?
I made some friends, particularly in my group, that I hope I can meet in the future and that we can continue to work on what we discussed during those three days. Every solution that the groups came up with, whether on Zero Waste, Green Fashion, Food Waste, or us on Food Systems, was a solution that we could try to work on at our level. Let’s hope that in 2020 and afterwards we will be able to see one or more initiatives that says, “This was started at ReGeneration 2030 in 2019!”.
Regeneration 2030 Summit 2019 focused on SDG 12 and 13. What do you think should be the focus next year?
I liked the fact that SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production is one of the SDGs that is the easiest to act upon as an individual. SDG 13: Climate Action should stay a priority for the years to come, but it could be interesting to focus on SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities and see how the youth can impact their local environment in a meaningful way. Maybe I am a bit bias because my research focuses on cities and what they can do for climate but helping youth act at the local level for climate is so important!
About ReGeneration 2030
Youth from around the Baltic Sea region met at ReGeneration 2030 Summit in Åland Islands in August 2019. This year’s Summit focused on climate smart lifestyles, being one of the most topical questions following the international Fridays For Future Movement. The Summit gathered around 70 youth delegates and 40 observers from 13 out of 14 countries and autonomous regions in the region.
ReGeneration 2030 is a movement led by teenagers and young adults in the Nordic and Baltic Sea Region making the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) become reality. it is a collaboration between the Baltic University Programme, SDSN Youth in Northern Europe, SDSN Russia, Bärkraft.ax and Hanaholmen.
