Tunza Youth Declarations

In February 2003, the Governing Council of UNEP adopted a long-term strategy for engaging young people in environmental activities and in the work of UNEP. The strategy was entitled the Tunza Youth Strategy. The word “TUNZA” means “to treat with care or affection” in Kiswahili (a sub-regional language of Eastern Africa). The overall Tunza Concept, therefore, is built around this theme. It is an initiative that is meant to develop activities in the areas of capacity building, environmental awareness, and information exchange, with a vision to foster a generation of environmentally conscious citizens, capable of positive action. Important by-products of this strategy include the annual Tunza International Youth Conference, Tunza Advisory Council and a quarterly Tunza magazine. The Tunza International Children and Youth Conference is built into the current TUNZA strategy and have taken place in Daejeon, Korea (2009), Bandung, Indonesia (2011), and Nairobi, Kenya (2013). In 2014, a Global Youth Gathering was held ahead of the First UN Environment Assembly, in Nairobi, Kenya. Youth declarations are available for:

• International Children & Youth Conference - 2009 - English
• International Children & Youth Conference - 2011 - English, French, Spanish & Portuguese
• International Children & Youth Conference - 2013 - English
• Global Youth Gathering - 2014 - English