The International Break Free From Plastic Youth Summit
April 14-15, 2023
Virtual
Interpretations available in Vietnamese, Indonesian, Spanish, Portuguese, and French.
The Break Free From Plastic Youth Summit 2023 celebrates youth power at this pivotal point in the fight against plastic pollution.
We’re bringing young leaders, youth organizations, and allies together to learn about the Global Plastics Treaty, to understand what it means for young people, and to learn how to campaign for ambitious treaty demands as countries fight for their citizens’ future in this crucial negotiation series.
For decades, plastic pollution has been contributing to the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. In this session, we will learn about the history of plastic, its extractive life cycle, and what civic society groups from all around the world are doing to combat it.
Abhishek Rawat, Founder of Nature’s Buddy, India
Skye Male, Community Engagement Manager of Break Free From Plastic, Global
45 min Skillshare, Main Hall 30 min Workshop, Breakout Groups w/ facilitator
Break
10 min
The Global Plastics Treaty
In March 2022, the United Nations approved an agreement to create the world’s first-ever global plastics pollution treaty. The mandate sets the stage for governments to negotiate a comprehensive and legally binding treaty that will cover measures along the entire life cycle of plastic. In this session, we will learn about the technicalities of this treaty, its coverage so far, and what it means for organizations that are working to end plastic pollution for good.
Shashank Prabhu (Facilitator), Waste Warriors, India
Rachel Radvany, Program Associate for Plastics Policy of Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
Arpita Bhagat, Plastic Policy Officer, GAIA Asia Pacific
Third speaker - TBC
45 min Skillshare, Main Hall 30 min Workshop, Breakout Groups w/ facilitator
Break
10 min
Putting youth leadership on top of the climate agenda
The youth have shown that they have what it takes to expedite the climate movement’s demands, and inspire more people to join in the movement. In this session, we will learn about the ways that the youth can elevate their voices in the treaty process, and utilize the platforms they need to maximize their contributions.
Activating our voices to influence different stakeholders in the process is key in campaigning for an ambitious Global Plastics Treaty. But how do we do this, exactly? In this session, we will learn about ways that different campaigns in different work streams contribute cumulatively to the global treaty process, and learn about how we can leverage these campaigns in influencing policy.
Eah Antonio (Speaker for Reuse Revolution) Asia-Pacific Comms Officer of Break Free From Plastic
Jacob Attakpah (Speaker for Campus Projects) of Green Africa Youth Organization
Third Speaker - TBC
45 min Skillshare, Main Hall 30 min Workshop, Breakout Groups w/ facilitator
Break
10 min
Global and Regional Opportunities
After learning about all the ways that we can link our energy and passion towards our greater goal of ending plastic pollution, how do we figure out our possible next steps? In this session, we will have a discussion on how to get further involved with opportunities that are already happening in different regions.
Archie Abellar, Zero Waste Coordinator for the Philippines, GAIA Asia-Pacific
Speakers, TBC
45 min Skillshare, Main Hall 30 min Workshop, Breakout Groups w/ facilitator
Yet ...the federal and state cleanup threshold is 1,000 ppt, so there is no legal requirement for US or Ohio EPA to test and remove that soil.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/17/norfolk-southern-derailment-east-palestine-ohio-carcinogenic-chemical-levels
