The last couple of days have been so interesting and exciting. This is my first time at COP and so far it's been a great experience.
One of the questions I had when we knew that COP was being moved to Madrid but the presidency was still from Chile, was how will this work?
And now it's becoming clearer.
On the first day I went to the venue, IFEMA, I saw the names of the halls and rooms were all from Chilean places, like ATACAMA, VALPARAISO, etc. Then, the topics that are being discussed are global but also there is a huge presence of the Latin American countries and pacific isles, organizations, indigenous people and youths. However, the indigenous people and the youths still feel like they are being side-lined in the decision-making spaces. We do not have real representation and it is still something we are asking for, as a right.
We have met some people from Chile and also went to one of the meetings they were hosting. Perú and Chile, have spaces known as SACRIFICING ZONES, which are places where living beings are affected by contamination, most of the issues relating to extractivism and mining. The zones have been set up by people as a way to protest the lack of action from the government but until now there has been no action.
We have also met some from Green Faith and other ecumenical organisations.
I invite you to continue following us on our social media as we promote various events at the conference. You can find us on Facebook: Renew Our World, Renovar Nosso Mundo, and Renovemos Nuestro Mundo. You can also find us on Instagram and the official twitter of Renew Our World campaign.
Children saw a way to stop their lake getting polluted - once they got organised. Jhumeliya Mishal from EFICOR tells the story.
Dr Tiwonge Gawa from Malawi Creation Care Network reports
Young people are taking action on the Global Plastics Treaty - our friend Miriam Moreno in Peru writes
