On 17 May, UNEP Brussels Office, FAO Liaison Office Brussels and the Youth & Environment Europe (YEE) jointly organized a webinar titled “GenerationRestoration : YOUth reconnecting with Nature” to mark the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration for youth in Europe. Activist and young leaders, including two of the GEO-6 for Youth report, participated in the event to showcase their initiatives, share their involvement in restoration and inspire peers to take action.
The event was opened by the Head of the UNEP’s Brussels Office, Veronika Šafránková and the Head of Marketing and Communications at FAO’s Liaison Office in Brussels, Myrto Arvaniti. They introduced the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and stressed the urgent need to restore our ecosystems and planet in order to achieve the Global Sustainable Development Agenda by 2030. After the opening remarks, two of the GEO-6 for Youth authors, Jaee Nikam and Samanta V. Espinosa presented the main findings of the report, focusing on chapters 3 and 4, which outline key actions youth can take to contribute to land conversation and restoration. “In order to restore our relationship with nature we need everyone to get involved” concluded Samanta V. Espinosa, “because, alone you can plant a tree, but with the support of your community you can grow a forest.”
