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Showing posts from July, 2021

Youth, sustainability, and decision-making

By Dylan Kelly In June of 2017, Jayathma Wickramanayake was appointed the first United Nations Envoy on Youth. She was charged with engaging young people as critical thinkers, change-makers, innovators, communicators, and leaders in the support of a more sustainable world. Through the efforts of her office, young people are contributing their ideas, energy, and leadership to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals . How can we support youth in attaining these goals? We can do this by asking young people to consider the  social, environmental, and economic impacts  of their decisions. For example, I worked with a group of 4-H youth leaders who had an important decision to make. They had to decide which fundraiser to implement for their county 4-H program. Their options included continuing with the annual cheese sale, switching to a coffee sale with a local roaster, or switching to a local company that sells gift items and boxes. Instead of asking, “Which option will make us the