On 22^nd April , which is celebrated the world over as Earth Day, Green Hope UAE held an environment academy at a school in Jumeirah, Dubai. Terms like Global warming , environmental degradation, deforestation and desertification were alien to our vocabulary a few decades ago but are extremely relevant to us today and are threatening to obliterate our future survival. Thus Earth Day takes on a huge significance as it seeks to draw the world?s attention on moving towards a sustainable lifestyle before its too late.

With this objective in mind,  my youth organization Green Hope UAE , engaged over a hundred secondary level students and staff  and with the help of powerpoint presentations, group discussions and an interactive workshop spread awareness about climate change issues , the progress made on the Millennium development goals and the need for embracing sustainable consumption and production lifestyles. Children and youth are the Future Generations and must have a defining role to play in the sustainable development dialogue . To aid this, and to ensure the rights of Future generations are preserved , there is an urgent need to institutionalize Ombudspersons at all levels – local , regional and international. This concept of Future Justice was presented to the attendees of the academy and their support for the same was unanimous.

Universal education has been acknowledged to be one of the key building blocks of sustainable development and access to it is the fundamental right of every child irrespective of race , creed and gender. This message was highlighted during the academy. The academy concluded with a pledge by the school students to mark Earth Day not just on 22^nd April but make it a part of their daily lives. As a symbolic gesture of solidarity with green movement ,the students , teachers and Green Hope UAE members planted two trees in the school campus .

The school management presented Green Hope UAE with a certificate and plaque of appreciation and will carry forward this partnership to engage more students in environmental advocacy. The enthusiasm and passion shown by the students was truly inspirational and reinforced the importance of engaging civil society in the march towards a green future.