We

Canada

In February 2012, a group of young sustainability advocates embarked on a two-month cross-country tour, Dialogues and Action for Earth Summit 2012. They talked to Canadians about the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Earth Summit 2012, Rio+20) and the opportunity the conference presents.

The tour goal was to empower citizens by sharing the history of the United Nations Earth Summits and the Canadian role in them, educating about Rio+20 and how to get involved. It held the microphone to youth voice as the world accelerates towards Earth Summit 2012.

Each event held at schools and universities included a combination of a presentation, a dialogue, and a workshop. During the tour, the attendants had an opportunity to send a letter to the Minister of Environment Peter Kent or their local Member of Parliament, describing their vision of the country at the Earth Summit 2012 and demanding that sustainability be a long-term commitment for Canada that begins now. 

The tour headline speakers included members of We Canada: Victoria Wee, speaking in high schools and elementary schools; Aleksandra Nasteska, speaking in Universities starting in Montreal until the last tour stop in Vancouver; and Marie-Pierre Daigle, speaking in universities starting in Corner Brook until the tour mid-point in Ottawa. Full list of tour stops is available at the bottom of this page. 

The tour also featured prominent guest speakers, including David Suzuki, keynote in Toronto at University of Toronto Scarborough Campus; Désirée McGraw, keynote in Montréal at Concordia University; and Ta'kaiya Blaney, guest speaker in several elementary schools. A full list of speakers is available at the bottom of this page.

The results from the dialogues facilitated during the tour will be included into a report that will be presented during the conference in June 2012 as Canadian civil society priorities and objectives for Rio+20. We Canada will also make this report available for download (and use) online, on this page, and via social media. 

The total tour attendants rose to 7,837, of which 75 per cent were youth between the ages of 10 and 25. A total of 1,129 letters have been sent to political leaders, demanding that the Government of Canada makes a sustainable development a priority of the federal agenda for the Earth summit 2012 or 'to not show up' at the conference. During school events, students were not invited to sign the letter unless approved by a legal guardian. 

In each city the touring troupe members were hosted by Canadian families, who made the experience all that much more amazing. We would like to thank our hosts for the logistic support, amazing food and even greater conversations and site seeing tours.