Youth engagement event invites international students to take part in land action

Cologne, Germany – To celebrate 2018 World Day to Combat Desertification, the UNCCD Capacity Building Marketplace (CBM) team organized a youth engagement event at St. George’s International School on 15 June. The team presented the work of the convention to the students who come from many different countries, explaining how desertification and land degradation are relevant to everyone and contribute to many global challenges, such as forced migration and climate change.

The team highlighted various ways in which young people can get involved in the fight against land degradation, from global initiatives developed by the UN to photo competitions and community-organized tree-planting programmes. In the follow-up Q&A session, the students have also asked how their everyday choices can affect the land – for example, buying local produce to support small farms that invest in sustainable land management. The upper-school students were also curious how their future career paths, such as studying GPS mapping and remote sensing, can be used to protect land resources.

The event concluded with a photo session and a lottery – the three lucky winners will get a chance to visit the UN premises in Bonn and witness the UNCCD CBM team in action.