Report 18th June

Event: Water is Life

The Ecumenical Water Network arranged the side event: The Spirituality and Ethics of Water, co-sponsored by the United Religions Initiative, URI,; the Faiths Without Borders and the World Council of Churches. Andre Porto from Brazil moderated a panel with Dr. Reijo E. Heinonen, Finland, Ms. Rebecca Gonzales-Tobias, USA, Mr. David Weaver, USA.

The question that facilitated the discussion among the panellists was... "who owns the water?" Water is life, and so who owns life? At the end of the rich exchange there was a ceremony with people from different faith traditions bringing water from their own countries. Sonja Ohlsson from the Brahma Kumaris in Denmark introduced Brahma Kumaris in this ceremony.

School of Commerce

Joachim Golo Pilz presented the Renewable Solar Energy project for an hour to around 50 youth in the school of commerce (SESC). This is a most prestigious national organization and is dedicated to education, culture and sports. The Federal Senate organised the program, and we were invited to participate through Senator Cristovam Buarque. He? was accompanied by Sonja Ohlsson and Patricia Carvalho.

The group of 16-17 year old students asked: How should we store energy? Why do governments not invest more in alternative energies? Joachim Golo Pilz inspired the youth with a discussion about self-empowerment and methods to stay inspired.

After Golo's presentation, Sister Luciana and Teresa Lugones joined them to attend a sustainable short jazz concert and a panel with Marina Silva, former Environment Minister of Brazil, Edgar Morin, from the Institute of Research in Politics, from Paris/ France, the indigenous chief Raoni, from the XINGU Indigenous Park in the central Brazil.

Role of corporations in sustainable development

Ken O'Donnell and Teresa Lugones attended an event arranged by Global Compact, Brazil entitled: Innovation and Collaboration for Sustainable Development. There were representatives from the most important corporations and high-level politicians from all over Brazil. Some of our contacts who were present on the panel were: Ricardo Young, from the Institute for Democracy and Sustainability; Jorge Samec, President Itaipú Hidroelectric; Isabella Teixeira, Minister of the Environment of Brazil; Gilberto Carvalho, General Secretary of the Presidency of Brazil; Ricardo Voltolini, Publisher of Sustainability Magazine.

All the panelists agreed that Brazil should demonstrate to foreign countries how to successfully move from a consumer society to a society that focussed on wellbeing as the aim and the measure. A spiritual approach is at the heart of considering well-being and enabling a change of civilisation through improved education, reduction of working hours, and increased social connectivity, time for creative pursuits and the opportunity to spend time in nature. There has to be negotiation between all the different actors to enable this.

A new model of production and a new model of consumption is being born. Spirituality is being introduced in the management of enterprises to stimulate a different working environment. Prosperity of enterprises depends on their capacity of inducing this change. We have seen our previous models fail. We therefore need to be detached from old forms, have the courage to change and the wisdom to fundamentally change our values. After our event, we met the Chief Minister of Brazil, Ms Gleisi Hoffman.

Empowering Youth Leadership for a Sustainable Future - Report by Juan Vazquez

I had been looking for tools to improve leadership in my daily life and so I was attracted by the title of this event. A mix of youth and adults who shared their powerful positive experiences conducted it. One of the most enjoyable was experiences was from a women who went to Bhutan, a small country of 700 thousand people between India and China. She told of meeting the King of Bhutan who told her the story of the country changing their economy from one of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to Gross National Happiness (GNH). The government has decided to employ only renewable energy, supporting cultural conservation as a priority and - impressively - that because Bhutan's carbon foot print is in credit, the extra energy is sold to India. She finished by reminding everyone that we are all the creators of change, and the new era of unity is about to begin.

Jean Paul mentioned the efforts and commitments of those who hadn't had the opportunity to come to Brazil. Being the one responsible for the Rio+20 music contest, he presented the winning singer with an award, and the session was completed with a beautiful song.

Peoples Summit

Education we want for the new century, social and environmental justice.

Moderator: Rachel Trajber

Speakers: Moacir Gadotti (Instituto Paulo Freire), Celita Eccher (International Council for Adult Education), Ilich Ortiz (Latin American Committee for Education - CLADE), Uchita of Zoysa (Treaty of the Peoples for Sustainability), Robbie Guevara (International Council for Adult Education - Asia and South Pacific), Valeriane Bernard (Brahma Kumaris),Marina Silva (Silva Institute), Moema Viezzer Network (Planet of the Treaty on Environmental Education).

Valeriane Bernard, representative of the Brahma Kumaris to the UN in Geneva, began her presentation by sharing that we all want the same thing; we want to be happy, peaceful and feel well. She recalled when in 1995 the Brahma Kumaris asked people from 50 different countries which are the most important values in their culture. They determined that human values are truly universal. The seed of a life filled with value, are thoughts based on these universal values. How can I strengthen my mind in this way, and better manage my inner world, she asked. Education is a continuous process for which each person is responsible. Values, qualities and power can be taught, like any skill, and become part of my character.