Marina Mansilla - Motivations & expectations

I try to take part and be involved as much as I can in all BC Climate Generation activities. I think the network, training, visibility and the connections it provides are invaluable. I will try to get involved as much as I can during Rio - although I want to stress that I already have a full agenda and commitment with all the Rio+YOU activities going on during Rio (which is why im going to Rio in first place), so I most likely won't be able to join the daily meetings or many of the BC exclusive activities (besides, im going to be in a hostel on the other side of the city with all the Rio+you people, and for security reasons I will need to stick to my group to go and come back from the conference centre as the neighbourhood gets quite dangerous after sunset). So, it will be challenging!! And I want to make sure we are on the same page in terms of expectations so as not to disappoint anyone.

 

I hope that Rio will be an opportunity to show the world all what has been achieved through the Road to Rio and Rio+YOU initiatives, and to clearly demonstrate that young people do care a lot about sustainability and are taking the matters in their own hands. We hope it will also serve as a time to reflect on all our work from the last year and a half, evaluate and plan for the future and next steps, in a collaborative process with as many youth and partners as possible (of all the people that have been involved so far in this initiative). We hope that it will be an opportunity to share what has been done and plan even more ambitious actions on the road from Rio. In terms of the overall negotiations, of course I'd like to see ambitious and serious, concrete and tangible commitments from the governments. But likewise I would like to see the same from all other sectors: business, NGOs and individual citizens. We all need to commit and take action if we are to address the challenge of achieving sustainable development. I hope Rio will serve as a hub for new ideas, collaborations between sectors, innovations and commitments that truly help us transition to a low-carbon economy much quicker.