Environment and health youth

World Diabetes Day 2011 in Malta

2011-11-19T16:20:00.000-08:00

World Diabetes Day is the primary global awareness campaign of the diabetes mellitus world and is held on November 14 of each year. It was introduced in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization in response to the alarming rise of diabetes around the world. World Diabetes Day is a campaign that features a new theme chosen by the International Diabetes Federation each year to address issues ailing the global diabetes community.

Our National CEHAPE Youth Member from Malta, Ramona Camilleri, participated in World Diabetes Day.

The Malta Independent Online reported:

Medical students gathered opposite the Law Courts in Valletta yesterday from 9am to 2pm to commemorate World Diabetes Day. In an event organised by the Malta Medical Students’ Association (MMSA), in association with the Health Promotion Department, public awareness of diabetes was raised by explaining to passers-by how this chronic disease, which is quickly becoming a pandemic, can be prevented and managed.

Read the whole article here.

On photo: Ramona Camilleri (left) and participants of World Diabetes Day 2011 in Malta

European Environment and Health Task Force Meeting

2011-11-12T16:48:00.000-08:00

27-28th October 2011 were the dates for the first WHO European Environment and Health Task Force (EEHTF) meeting. This task force was established after the commitment made by member states at the Parma Conference and was held in Bled, Slovenia. The EEHTF meeting gathered Focal Points from approximately 50 countries of the WHO European Region, NGOs, Environment and Health Agencies and other relevant stakeholders in the process across Europe. Among them, the WHO CEHAPE Youth Network had its place. As important actors in the Environment and Health process in this region, 22 young people came to Bled to make their contribution। 15 of them were official members of National Delegations.

[On photo: Youth Representatives from WHO CEHAPE Youth Network, Bled 2011] On 26th of October a Youth preparatory meeting was organized where youth representatives discussed options and possibilities for future involvement in the WHO European Environment and Health process, and exchanged ideas, experiences, good practices they were involved in in their home countries। Francesca Racioppi and Christian Schweizer from the WHO European Regional Office and members of the Environment and Health programme, also participated and answered the questions from youth representatives. At the end of the Youth preparatory meeting, participants agreed the feedback which was presented on 27th at session B - Governance: involving all stake holders and other actors-. During this session we had fruitful discussion on the active role of youth in the implementation of the EEHP at national and international level.

On photo: Youth Representatives from WHO CEHAPE Youth Network, Bled 2011

At the final session of the EEHTF meeting, Jan Peloza, youth representative from Slovenia, gave an excellent presentation on the outcomes of session B discussions and presented recommendations to be submitted to EEHFT for endorsement।

We would like to thank the Government of Slovenia and the WHO Slovenian Country Office for their generosity in providing technical assistance and the facilities for hosting the preparatory youth meeting.

7th Ministerial Conference on Environment, Astana 2011

2011-10-13T05:44:00.000-07:00

In September 2011, (on left photo)Jovana Dodos and Alina Bezhenar ( WHO CEHAPE International Youth Delegates) attended 7th Ministerial Conference “Environment for Europe- SAVE WATER, GROW GREEN” in Astana, Kazakhstan. Jovana Dodos participated as speakers at the “Promoting access to safe water and adequate sanitation through the UNECE Region” side event and presented Youth involvement under the WHO/UNECE Protocol on Water and Health since Parma Conference. Alina Bezhenar participated in “Making THE Link: Transport choices for our health, environment and prosperity” side event where she shared experience how young people have been involved in Physical Activity Programme and what are their contributions.

For more information please write to cehiyr@gmail.com

GECHH Symposium

2011-10-13T01:36:00.000-07:00

In September 2011, Alma Almasi (WHO CEHAPE International Youth Delegate) and Diba Hadzibegovic (CEHAPE Youth Representative from Bosnia and Herzegovina) participated as panellists at UN University GECHH symposium in Verbana, Italy. The United Nations University launched Global Environmental Change and Human Health in 2006 as a Joint Project of the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) to respond to the growing need to understand better the multi-faceted and complex linkages between global environmental change (including climate change, land and sea use change, global biodiversity loss and change, global socio-economic change) and human health. The GECHH aims at elucidating the spectrum and magnitude of risks to human wellbeing and health, consequent upon human-induced global environmental changes, in order that society at large has a fuller understanding of the actual and likely consequences of the ways in which, collectively, human societies are changing the Earth System. In 2011, connected to the International Year of Forests, the GECHH organised its annual Symposium to exchange findings that can help prevent deforestation and the better usage of water resources worldwide.

TUNZA European Conference, September 2011, Bonn

2011-10-12T12:57:00.000-07:00

In September 2011, 50 youth representatives from European Region were invited to TUNZA European Conference, Bonn, Germany. Among the participants there were 13 CEHAPE Youth representatives. This meeting with prior to Rio+20 Summit in 2012.
This meeting was organized with financial support of UNEP and
WECF.

The main topics were global governance and green economy. There was a workshop about environment and health process in Europe and youth participation there. It was led by Tanja Wolf (WHO Bonn office), David Rivett (WHO Consultant), WHO CEHAPE In International Youth Delegates: Alma Almasi, Jovana Dodos, Alina Bezhenar.

More news 2011 about Protocol on Water and Health

2011-10-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

In January 2011, (on photo) Jovana Dodos (WHO CEHAPE International Youth Delegate) and Natalia Ciobanu (CEHAPE Youth Representative from Romania) represented WHO CEHAPE Youth Network at the first meeting of the Drafting group of experts on equitable access to water and sanitation held in Paris. We had an excellent opportunity to give our contribution to the Good Practice Guidance on Equitable Access to Water and Sanitation under: the Chapter 3, point 3: Awareness raising (including on the rights of users), transparency, education and communication tools ( Role of Civil Society) and the Chapter 6: Ensuring social equality for access to water and sanitation (Hygiene promotion campaigns). This document will be launched at World Water Forum in Marseille in 2012.

At the beginning of April 2011 the second meeting of the group of experts was held in Paris and we were given the opportunity to contribute under several more chapters related to Water and Sanitation issues in Roma settlements and Refugee camps.

As a part of the project, at the beginning of July 2011 Workshop on equitable access to water and sanitation for marginalized groups and socially excluded people was held in Geneva, were the second draft of the document was presented to relevant stake holders all over the UNECE European Region. Participants had the chance to contribute to the documents and give their inputs and comments. The final version of the document should be finished after the last meeting of the group of experts which will be held at the end of September. The good practises document will be translated into 4 languages and launched at World Water Forum in Marseille in 2012.

Youth Gathering in Austria

2011-10-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

(On photo: WHO CEHAPE Youth Network with Niki Berlakovich, Federal Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management in Austria)

In October 2010, several youth representatives of our Network met together in Vienna for Youth Environment Days “Yuta” 2010: “10 years caring for our world!”. These youth representatives from the Balkan countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Croatia) and International Youth Representatives were invited by the Austrian government and supported by Jugend Umwelt Netzwerk

THE PEP and PHAN

2011-10-10T11:53:00.000-07:00

In September 2010, (on photo) Alina Bezhenar (WHO CEHAPE International Youth Delegate) and Marika Tsereteli ( CEHAPE Youth Representative from Georgia) participated in Workshop on safe and healthy walking and cycling in urban areas in Batumi,Georgia. They had a successful presentation about Parma outcomes of the Physical Activity and Nutrition project workshop, part of a large joint programme between WHO and the European Commission.

To learn more about THE PEP click here

60th WHO Regional Committee Meeting in Moscow

2011-10-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

In September 2010, WHO held the 60th Regional Committee Meeting in Moscow.
This is the annual meeting where all European Ministers of Health and other key stakeholders meet to review the work of the past year and plan for the next. Alina Bezhenar (WHO CEHAPE International Youth Delegate) was asked to attend the meeting on behalf of the Network and had the chance to take the floor and gave a short intervention about youth participation in the health and environment process. Her intervention is also included in the final report of the Regional Committee in Moscow.
(On photo: Vladimir Putin, Premier Minister of Russia, gave a speech at the 60th Regional Committe Meeting in Moscow, September 2010)

Protocol on Water and Health in 2010

2011-10-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

Jovana Dodos (on photo) is our WHO CEHAPE International Youth Delegate. She is our contact person in the Protocol on Water and Health process.

Events happened since the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health:
- Working Group on Water and Health meeting in Geneva, May 2010. Jovana Dodos participated there on behalf of WHO CEHAPE Youth Network. She gave a successful presentation on youth involvement in water and health projects in Europe. Working group on Water and Health discussed the possibility of including youth in 2011-2013 Protocol on Water and Health.

Second Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Water and Health in Bucharest, November 2010.Our proposal of including youth in 2011-2013 Protocol on Water and Health made at the Working Group on Water and Health meeting in Geneva, May 2010 was included in Work Programme 2011-2013 of the Protocol.

(On photo) Jovana Dodos and Alina Bezhenar - our WHO CEHAPE International Youth Delegates, Desislava Taneva (CEHAPE Youth Representative from Bulgaria) together with young colleges from Romania- Diana Calin and Natalia Ciobanu from International Fund for Cooperation and Partnership of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea and Daria Catalui from Danube.EDU Youth think-and-do tank organization participated in the Second Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Water and Health in Bucharest. They had an excellent opportunity to organize Youth side event “Let’s share experience! Youth involvement in Environment and Health projects : How can Youth contribute to the Protocol on Water and Health 2011-2013?” and make several interventions from the floor during the Meeting.
Also, Jovana Dodos participated as panellist in Partners in Cooperation Session.

Other related events to water and health in 2010:
In October 2010 Nikola Panduric ( CEHAPE Youth Representative from Croatia) and Jovana Dodos (WHO CEHAPE International Youth Delegate) gave a presentation at the Workshop on promotion of food and water safety in the school system in Croatia. They had an excellent opportunity to speak on behalf of the Network and provide information on youth perspectives on water and health in schools.

We are back! Protocol on Water and Health

2011-10-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers of our Blog!

We are finally back to update our Blog regularly!

We have lots of news to tell you!

Let's start! Since the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health held in Parma, Italy in March 2010 lots of events happened!

Since May 2010 our Network has been seriously involved in the process of Protocol on Water and Health (UNECE/WHO UN).

This Protocol introduces a social component into cooperation on water management. Water resources management should link social and economic development to the protection of natural ecosystems. Moreover, improving the water supply and sanitation is fundamental in breaking the vicious cycle of poverty.

To learn more about the Protocol on Water and Health click here .

From Austria with CEHAPE_love - video

2010-03-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

more participation...become a HELPER

2010-03-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

more participation...become a HELPER

About

Help, for a life without tobacco campaign http://www.help-eu.com/

you all met us at the conference: Celie,Eva, Daria, Jacob, Adrian and Michael. We were the HELP team and we once more invite you to take part in our campaign! Check it and decide !

HELPERS pe www.helpers-eu.com

Join us on Facebook!
HELP Team

Youth Participation at the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, Parma part VIII

2010-03-19T05:51:00.000-07:00

“Success is not the key to happiness.

Happiness is the key to success.

If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”

Herman Cain

WHO CEHAPE Youth Network

in front of the Parma Conference Venue

"Young people: a vital investment in the environment and health process", - WHO website

Youth Participation at the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, Parma part VII

2010-03-19T04:32:00.000-07:00

The 12th of March was the Closure of the 5th Ministerial Conferenceof Environment and Health.
The Parma Declaration and Parma Youth Declaration were presented.

"Delegates agreed that ensuring the full participation of young people in policy development adds a dimension of sustainability and legitimacy to the environment and health process", -WHO website.

On photo: Desislava Taneva (Bulgaria) and Kristina Aare(Estonia) presented Parma Youth Declration

Youth Participation at the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, Parma part VI

2010-03-19T04:27:00.000-07:00

The 11th of March was the big day for the whole youth network, because we had the opportunity to participate in panel session and to ask questions from ministers. Also after the success of the 10th with the side event, on the 11th we took part in another side event with World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and Cefic (chemical industry). In the morning sessions on CEHAPE started at 8:30 with the announcement of the winners of CEHAPE Best Practice Awards. After this NGOs and the youth had the chance to ask questions directly to the ministers who signed up for this session, so we asked about mobility in Austria, health care in Norway and education. The stakeholder session aimed to point out how collaboration between civil society, NGOs and the business sector can be strengthened. There was a roundtable discussion with all the relevant stakeholders and we had the possibility to participate there as well. All these sessions went really well, and all of the four international youth delegates were extremely proud of the group and the people who participated. Later that afternoon we had another young person participating in a roundtable discussion, just before the side event with WBCSD. The side event was attended mostly by young people and some NGOs who were interested in the opinion of the business sector on some relevant topics. Our youth representative there was very powerful and expert in the topic so we were very proud to have her there.

Youth Participation at the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, Parma part V

2010-03-19T03:27:00.001-07:00

In the morning of 11th of March there were CEHAPE Awards.
Our Network is proud of Irina Fedorenko and Evgeniya Soboleva from Vladivostok, Russia.
Their Organization "Green Light" won a prize of 1000 euro in the nomination of Youth Participation.
Our congratulations and best wishes for future work!
more information can be found here

Youth Participation at the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, Parma part IV

2010-03-19T03:15:00.000-07:00

In the afternoon of the 10th of March 2010 the official opening ceremony of the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health was happened.

Provisional programme for the Conference can be found here

Youth Participation at the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, Parma part III

2010-03-19T03:14:00.000-07:00

WHO/DG SANCO physical activity workshop went extraordinary well in the morning of 10th of March. We had 2 very nice facilitators from Oxford University, UK. First we had to work individually with a sheet of paper collecting as many good and bad experiences connected to physical activity. Then we had to form groups and we had teamwork. We got a piece of paper with a description of a possible project and the group had to make it youth friendly somehow and had to create a project plan according to it. Just to give you some examples we had to create projects for disabled young people, for people living in the city centre with limited accessibility to green areas, for young people living in the suburbs etc. After reading all project plans with all the advantages and disadvantages we had a discussion on all of them to conclude the session. In the presentation Paul Kelly assured us that further consultations will take place before they publish the blueprint on physical activity, so we gave him our e-mails and we’ll be consulted after they summarize the results from the workshop. All in all it was a very successful event because all the participants were active and they enjoyed it a lot.

Youth Participation at the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, Parma part II

2010-03-19T03:13:00.000-07:00

On the 10th of March WHO CEHAPE Youth Network splited into 2 groups in the morning. One part participated at the workshop with Oxford University and WHO on WHO/DG SANCO physical activity programme. The others went to joint side-event with CEHAPE youth and HEAL about youth participation. The programme can be found here .

Genon Jensen (Executive Director, HEAL) and Jovana Dodos (Serbia, International CEHAPE Youth Delegate)

It was a brilliant side-event with fantastic presentations and good questions!

Youth Participation at the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, Parma part I

2010-03-19T03:03:00.000-07:00

Over 72 young people from 36 countries of WHO European Region arrived to Parma on the 8th of March 2010 in Parma.

This group of young people considered to be a strong group of WHO CEHAPE Youth Network.

Young people were excited and full of energy.

On the 9th of March 2010 all young people met in the Eco-sustainable building for final preparations at the 5th Ministerial Conference.

Parma Youth Declaration was finalized, the communication strategy was discussed, the role of young people at the Parma Conference was the main topic of the discussions.

During the preparations young people met with journalists and shared their opinions about environment and health.

In the late afternoon WHO CEHAPE Youth Network met the WHY Network where they shared the role of youth participation at the conference.

Snow didnt have a chance to stop young peope to reach a Conference Venue!

Never never never give up! - Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill

To CEHAPE with love from Ireland

2010-03-08T04:53:00.000-08:00

Parma message

2010-03-08T04:51:00.000-08:00

Pascal Conges, France

France prepares for Parma

2010-03-04T06:11:00.000-08:00

Appel de la Jeunesse (Youth call to action) held the first youth and
decision-maker conference on health and environment in the National
Assembly in Paris on Thursday 26 February in preparation for the
Parma conference.

Martin Rieussec and Pascal Conges of the Collectif Appel de la
Jeunesse have been part of the Europe-wide development of a
declaration that will be signed in Parma by the ministers of health
and environment present at the meeting.

The five associations which make up the Appel de la Jeunesse
collective include an association for osteopath students (Regards
Croises) who recently organised a conference on the causes of cancer
following the death of one of their fellow students. They discovered
that the causes of the illness were inked to an industrialised food
chain, intensive agriculture, pollution, different types of ionising
radiation and so on.

The collectif aims to bring together student organisations and young
people interested in health and environment and encourage lifestyles
and consumerism that is respectful of health, societies and ecosystems.

Martin Rieussec, President of the Collectif Appel de la Jeunesse and
founder of Regards Croises told the meeting: "We do not think that
our generation et those to come can be in good health on a sick planet."

Contact: Martin Rieussec, President, martinrieussec@gmail.com
http://www.appeldelajeunesse.org/

Invitation to the Symposium "Youth Participation in CEHAPE RPGs in countries" at the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment & Health, 10 March 2010

2010-03-01T06:33:00.000-08:00

Dear participants of the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health in Parma 10-12 March 2010,

HEAL and WHO CEHAPE Youth Network is pleased to invite you to the Symposium "Youth Participation in CEHAPE RPGs in countries". Please read the information below. We look forward to meet you there.

Symposium organized by

Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and the WHO CEHAPE Youth Network

Youth Participation in CEHAPE RPGs in countries

Wednesday, March 10, 10:30-12:00

The side event aims to highlight how youth have been involved in children’s environmental health issues and CEHAPE implementation throughout the WHO European Region. The organisers will briefly present their contribution, the development of the WHO CEHAPE Youth Network, and HEAL’s educational and advocacy materials for young people.

A series of lively presentations and videos from young people across the region will showcase concrete examples of how youth can significantly contribute to awareness raising and action on environment and health at local and national level.

OPENING

Genon K. Jensen, Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) Executive Director

Jovana Dodos, CEHAPE International Youth Delegate

· Olivia Heller (Switzerland) from European Child Alliance, who will have presentation about “Youth on injury prevention – how do we make a difference”

· Lydia Etzlstorfer (Austria) who will have 7 minutes movie about CEHAPE projects in Austria by youth - highlighting the best priorities on 4 RPGs.

· Gulnara Zhenishbekova (Kyrgystan) who will prepare presentation about Youth Parliaments Work on environment and health issues in Kyrgystan behalf of "Central Asian Alliance for Water" and "Youth Independent Republics"

· Alexandros Karyolaimos (Greece) who will present the CEHAPE Pilot project “Healthy schools” (experience from Greece)

· Jovana Dodos (Serbia) who will present work with National Focal Points - youth involvement in creating national CEHAPE projects

· Martin Rieussec (France) from the Appel de Jeunnesse will present their school and university project on environment and health .

GENERAL DISCUSSION - PANEL WITH ALL THE SPEAKERS

CONCLUDING/CLOSURE REMARKS

After the Conference

2010-02-19T02:48:00.000-08:00

We decided that as meeting together is a rare event, we would make the most of the time we have together and schedule a post Conference feedback and de brief session following the closure of the conference on 12th March. We will convene in the building we held our preparatory days in and hold a debriefing and feed back session.

Our consensus is that CEHAPE is not a five year project, so we will also take the time to reaffirm our commitment to continuing the activities of the WHO CEHAPE Youth Network and build our plans for the expansion of our Network and extension of our activities, building upon the outcomes of Parma.

Participation at the Conference

2010-02-19T02:37:00.000-08:00

We plan to be visible during the Conference
through, for example, the daily update of our Youth Blog

http://env-health-youth.blogspot.com/

Regular postings of our activities will be placed on the blog as a record of our activities during the days. These will include our reactions to Conference session outcomes, reports on ad hoc discussions with key people in the Environment and Health movement and thoughts on the whole process recorded by our observers.

A number of us will be participating as official members of national Ministerial delegations and we aim to be active delegate members through our participation in plenary debates and discussions with our Ministers and officials.
Some of us are busy already in our countries, preparing short video spots. We hope that these will be projected at various timed throughout the conference, providing a youth perspective on different aspects of CEHAPE.

In the panel sessions we will be putting our prepared questions to Ministers and providing a youth focus to the discussions that the sessions stimulate.
We also hope to make ourselves visible during some of the less formal moments of the Conference when we are able to circulate at coffee breaks and lunches, sparking off discussion, networking with other organisations and maybe asking those questions that there were no time for during the debates.

WHO CEHAPE Youth Network Conference preparation days

2010-02-19T02:17:00.000-08:00

The plans that we have for our participation in Parma are extensive. Our representation at the conference will include young people from over 40 countries of the WHO European Region, all of whom are in action in environment and health activities in their countries. We will come together on the two days before the conference to finalise plans for our Conference participation.

The preparatory days (9-10th of March 2010) will include the final selection and preparation of representatives who will participate in the three panel sessions we are scheduled to be active in.

In addition we will put the finishing touches to the presentations we will be making at the joint side events that we are planning, in collaboration with HEAL, (the Health and Environment Alliance) and the World Business Council.

The Network has been working on the preparation of the 5th Ministerial Conference WHO CEHAPE Youth Network Declaration which it is hoped we will be presenting to Ministers for its inclusion as a Conference outcome, as was the case in Budapest when the first Youth declaration was presented. During the preparatory days, we will finalise and approve the declaration ready for its presentation.

WHO in collaboration with DG SANCO are preparing for a three year project on physical activity, children and young people. They have approached the WHO CEHAPE Youth Network for collaboration in the project and so we have scheduled a session on the second day of our preparatory days to discuss some of the case studies that have been prepared and plan the activities for the three years collaboration.

The City of Parma is hosting us during the conference an we know that they are preparing a number of events for us to enjoy. These include site visits to some environmental projects in the city and different kinds of evening entertainment.

Towards to Parma. WHO CEHAPE Youth Network participation

2010-02-19T01:57:00.000-08:00

WHO CEHAPE Youth Network participation

at the WHO 5th Ministerial Conference
on Environment and Health

10-12 March 2010, Parma, Italy

We, the WHO CEHAPE Youth Network, set ourselves up in 2004 when, in Budapest, at the 4th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, Ministers and young people agreed to build youth participation into the implementation of the Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe. Since that time, groups of young people from around Europe have met on a regular basis to discuss CEHAPE with policy and decision makers and plan our active participation in CEHAPE, adding value to its implementation. Young people have also been active internationally through our regular participation in the European Environment and Health Committee and the CEHAPE Task Force meetings.

The 5th Ministerial Conference provides another opportunity for the WHO CEHAPE Youth Network to participate at an international gathering. We will meet again with Ministers, senior ministerial officials and other key organisations in Europe, and ensure our voices are heard on matters that have a direct bearing on our health now and in the future. We will inherit the results of the decisions taken at the conference and so we want a say in what is decided.

Towards to Parma. Youth Preparatory Meeting, Brussels, 8-10th of January 2010

2010-02-15T02:52:00.000-08:00

Young people from seventeen countries of the World Health Organization’s European Region met in Brussels in January to build capacity for youth involvement in the upcoming WHO Environment and health conference.

Twenty youth representatives met in the HEAL offices in early January for a preparatory seminar in the run up to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health to be hosted by the Italian Ministry of Health in Parma, 10-12th of March 2010. This Ministerial will discuss progress towards the achievement of the Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan (CEHAPE).

Since the 2004 Ministerial, young people have been officially part of the WHO CEHAPE process. The two and half day seminar in Brussels was organised by the CEHAPE youth representatives, and facilitated by the European Youth Forum. Bringing together this diverse mix of young people enabled them to discuss the draft text of the Declaration that focused on children’s environmental health and to brainstorm on the questions they could be ask Ministers during the CEHAPE Good Practice Award and panel discussion on March 11 in Parma.. The event was organised with financial support of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Consumers (DG SANCO)and logistical and technical support by Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL).

This workshop resulted in increased capacity of this core WHO CEHAPE Youth Network, who will be coming to Parma to help organise and foster the youth involvement in the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health in Parma in March 2010.

Meet our WHO CEHAPE Youth Network Coordinator, David Rivett

2010-01-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

My name is David Rivett. It was at the beginning of 2009 that the WHO Europe Environment and Health programme asked me to work with the WHO CEHAPE Youth Network in their preparations for the participation of Network members at the 5th Ministerial Conference for Environment and Health. I was very pleased to say yes because it brought me full circle in the series of Environment and Health Ministerial Conferences.

I was responsible for the same task at the 4th Ministerial Conference which was held in Budapest in 2004 and where the CEHAPE was launched. At that time I worked in the WHO Young People’s Health programme and had been involved in young people’s participation in several initiatives such as the WHO health promoting schools programme and the 2001 Stockholm Ministerial Conference on Alcohol and Young People.

Young people’s participation has been a theme throughout my career which began when I was a teacher in the UK and continued when I became a youth worker and then responsible for drug prevention and health promotion programmes for young people in a region of South East London. Later my role expanded to include responsibility for national programmes.

Young people’s participation in the CEHAPE is now firmly established and the CEHAPE Youth Network’s participation at the Parma Conference is another opportunity to strengthen the Network’s national and international role in the Action Plan.

I am enjoying working with the Network members, who are planning to not only participate fully in the Conference programme but also to prepare a work plan for their future activities following up on the Conference outcomes.

Alina Bezhenar, my history of involvement in the CEHAPE

2010-01-20T04:19:00.000-08:00

I think that CEHAPE is part of my biography now. Since I was 16 years old I have been involved. The development of CEHAPE has been a long and interesting process. Every day I am becoming more and more inspired by it.
In June 2004 I was a Youth Delegate at the 4th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health in Budapest. Since that time I could not imagine my life without my input into youth participation. CEHAPEplays an important part in my activities.
In 2007 I was selected to be an International CEHAPE Youth Delegate. Since that time I have participated in High Level Preparations for the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health in Parma, 10-12th of March 2010.
Now I am coordinating the preparations for the CEHAPE Youth Network’s participation at the Parma Conference.

Kyle Worgan, my history of involvement in the CEHAPE

2010-01-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

Hello! My name is Kyle Worgan. I have been involved in the CEHAPE/ Health Environment and Youth Process since Luxemburg 2007. I was elected as an International Youth Representative at the IMR meeting in Vienna 2007 and am very committed to achieve positive changes and outcomes in European Environment and Health. Environment, Transport and Health has always been the topic that I am most passionate about. Prior to the CEHAPE process I was part of my schools Pupil Council, then I also became part of my Local Authority. I found this work particularly rewarding as I could meet with individuals and help them with their problems. I was then elected to the National Youth parliament and helped lead talks in the Environment and Transport Committee, lobbying the government, which achieved a Ј30 million investment to lower the cost of public transport for young people in Scotland. I have worked closely with the UK government in creating the CEHAPE strategy for the UK which is now a green paper. I have also been representing the network and its views at many European meetings like the EEHC and the CEHAPE task force. For the Future I strongly believe in the network becoming a more independent, semi-autonomous, organisation continuing to have an input in high level meetings working with governments and organisations to ultimately attain a better life for the children and people of Europe.

Jovana Dodos, my history of involvement in the CEHAPE

2010-01-05T08:08:00.000-08:00

My name is Jovana Dodos and I am a member of Government committee for establishing Children Environment and Health Action Plan in Republic of Serbia since May 2008. I was Serbian Youth Delegate on United Nations Youth Assembly „Global Road Safety” in Geneva in 2007. where I became a youth ambassador in UN. After that I have shown great results in implementation of Youth Declaration for Road Safety in my country and I was invited to join CEHAPE team. Since then I am in charged with duties of Secretary for Regional Priority Goal 2 on accidents, injuries and improvement of physical activity of children. I also work as an assistant for road safety campaign. In summer 2008 my job was to organize a Youth preparatory meeting for the Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health in Serbia and I got an excellent opportunity to join CEHAPE International Youth Network. I became CEHAPE International Youth Representative and from that period I took a part in different kinds of conferences and youth meeting related with Environment and Health issue on European level. I am highly motivated to continue with my present work and I hope I will have much more opportunities to collaborate with WHO in future. Nowadays Environmental issues are one of the most important things to consider, and I want to play an active role in finding appropriate solutions for them.

Ildiko Almasi, my history of involvement in the CEHAPE

2010-01-05T08:03:00.000-08:00

My name is Ildikó Almási but everyone calls me simply Alma since nursery. I got in contact with the CEHAPE process and youth participation in 2004 during the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Health and Environment. The Hungarian Ministry of Health wrote a tender searching for 10 young people with interest in environment and health to coordinate the work of the first youth parlaiment, and I applied for the position. Fortunately they chose me as a memeber of this youth group. In the frame of the conference they introduced the Budapest Declaration and the CEHAPE to us which are very important documents from the view of youth participation. Since then I’ve been involved in the process as a national youth delegate, buti n 2007 in the Luxemburgh meeting I applied to be elected as international youth representative. This meant hard work in a small group to create and ellaborate on the Youth Friendly CEHAPE which was launched in 2007 during the Intergovernmental Midterm Review. The elections of our network took place there as well, where we (Alina, Rena, Kyle and me) were appointed. Since then I’ve been representing the network on an international level participating in the meetings of the European Environment and Health Comittee and the CEHAPE task force. I’m very dedicated to this work and in my future i can imagine working in collaboration with WHO further on projects like CEHAPE.

Second week and results of COP-15

2009-12-21T01:15:00.000-08:00

Today I can say that COP-15 has become a part of history. It finished 2 days ago.
It was unforgettable experience for everybody who took part there, who was inside or outside the Bella Center.

It's hard to judge the results of COP-15. Copenhagen Accord of course is not the best result and was the worst prediction of COP-15 but it's better than nothing. World leaders came to the Bella Center during the last two days and gave their speaches. But 2 days could not be enough as 2 weeks for getting a good solution and result.

I agree with the words of Russian President Medvedev that we are going to have long and deep work. And it's only our first step.

The full text of Copenhagen Accord you could find on the unfccc.int website.

In the end I would like to share with you the youth voice at the Plenary sessions at COP-15:

GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION_day 6

2009-12-12T07:12:00.000-08:00

Demonstrations on the roads of COPENHAGEN.

Today is the Global Day of Action.

more informations here:

SURVIVAL IS NOT NEGOTIABLE

2009-12-12T04:09:00.000-08:00

Today I would like to tell you about my 2 good friends: Anna C Keenan from Australia and Sara Svensson from Sweden. It seems to me that I know them for ages.

( Anna and Sara on the photo)

Anna: ClimateJusticeFast is a moral and principal action to give politics a major wake up call!

These two brave girls are on hunger strike. Today is the 37th day of Global Day of Climate Action in Copenhagen!

more details: ClimateJusticeFast .

Video for COP-15: ~SURVIVAL IS NOT NEGOTIABLE~ written by Emma Lilliestam

some actions during COP - 15

2009-12-11T06:35:00.000-08:00

Climate Action Network (CAN) regularly judges three ‘Fossil of The Day’ awards to the countries who perform the worst during the past day’s negotiations at UN climate change conferences. The slightly sarcastic yet highly prestigious awards are presented by Avaaz.org daily at 6pm during climate talks, followed by presentation by local activists at winning embassies in capital cities around the world. The Fossil of the Day awards were first presented at the climate talks in 1999 in Bonn, initiated by the German NGO Forum.

http://avaaz.org/

http://www.fossil-of-the-day.org/

first photo report from COP 15

2009-12-11T06:22:00.000-08:00

Some photos from Bella Center:

Climate Wall:

people are working, discussing, eating and relaxing at the same time!!!

Plenary session salle:

at COP 15_day 5

2009-12-11T04:49:00.000-08:00

Everything is related to COP-15 in Copenhagen. And I really like it. I feel the atmosphere of the conference not only at Bella Center where I am working during the day. People are so friendly ouside and inside Bella Center.

Signs and indicators are everywhere in the city! You could not be lost! Everybody is ready to help you!

There is a feeling that we are big big family who is ready for big deal and changes.

travel and arrival to COP15_days 2,3,4

2009-12-10T05:05:00.000-08:00

Eventually I am in Copenhagen. I am in Bella Center now. Lots of, lots of people are here. The real feeling that you have is trying no to loose yourself and concentrate on your plan which you have with you.

I am a bit tired. I took a train from Brussels to Copenhagen. It took me 15 hours to get here. But it was so excited! I met different people in the train and most of them, of course, are attending COP15.

I am happy that I am here. I have already met my friends, met new people and expected to get more and more new faces on my facebook friends page ;)

I am going to have photos from the Bella center and get news for you!

packing for COP15_day 1

2009-12-07T07:53:00.000-08:00

Today I sorted all my things together in my to-do-list for my trip to Copenhagen. I am going to be a part of fantastic event COP15 - The UN Climate Change Negotiations in Copenhagen (the 7th of December - 18th of December 2009).

I am accreditated by 350.org as a youth climate change observer. I prepared my plan of events which I am going to attend. The huge amount of different meetings concerning to climate change are going to be during these 2 weeks.

Today is the opening of COP 15. Diplomats from 192 nations are attending it. Denmark's prime minister said 110 heads of state and government will attend the final days of the two-week conference and President Barack Obama is among them.

I am really inspired, motivated and excited of my participation in COP-15.

Youth Health Initiave: Blog for your health!

2009-12-04T04:16:00.000-08:00

Youth Health Initiave: Blog for your health!

The European Youth Forum is working closely with the European Commission again on the Youth Health Initiative. Since the success of this summer’s health conference that brought together 150 young delegates in Brussels, the initiative will now be kept alive by means of a blog. http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/youth/index_en.htm The latter, which is moderated daily by the European Youth Forum will be the tool for bringing young people together from all over Europe to talk about their health.
Known as ‘Be healthy, be yourself’, the youth health initiative blog raises important public health issues in an attractive way. From sociology to simple tips on hygiene, the portal is an interactive way for young people to have their say on topical or forgotten health issues. As we all know, there is a huge social gap between people within member states, the EU and the whole world so the blog is a way to remind people of these shocking realities. Youth is a priority for the European Commission and they do wish to involve us more in EU health policies so by counting on the European Youth Forum to update this blog, they are taking a postive step forward. By doing so, the EU hopes to strengthen youth partnership in the decision making process, involve other sectors across EU policy areas and at national level on the implementation of prevention programs targeted at young people and support Member States activities on the health of young people.
Young people juggle studies, sport, part-time jobs, internships, relationships and socialising all at the same time. Due to low salaries or precarious job situations, it is often difficult to strike a healthy balance. For many, there is no time or money to invest in preparing a decent dinner. And for others, the financial crisis, education, social background play a huge role.
So, the blog is an attempt to cater for all. It is not a portal that aims to lecture on giving up smoking, the dangers of drinking or the amount of fat in take-away chips, but rather a meeting point to gather facts, learn about doing things in moderation and above all, learn to love our bodies. So, topics like lifestyle, physical acitivity and mental health will be explored through the blog as well as obesity, sexual health and chronic disease.
For the moment, the blog is made up of simple text and photos but over the next few months it will be getting a makeover. More interactive and innovative tools will be used on the blog so that youth opinion reaches out to as many as possible. Users will be able to send in their very own videos and photos and take part in some more hands-on debates and workshops over the coming year. To ensure this success, the blog does need a sigfinicantly high level of participation bringing about a daily, lifely, virtual debate. So, feel free to join in, raise topics or add comments by visiting the blog at the following link. http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/youth/index_en.htm

Youth Call for Entries- the 2nd Children's environmental health project competition

2009-11-20T07:05:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Five years after the launch of the “Children Environmental and Health Action Plan for Europe” (CEHAPE) at the Budapest Ministerial Conference, we are now seeking entries to the second CEHAPE Good Practice Awards.

As the health and environment youth coordinator, I am practically interested in hearing from youth related projects or projects in schools or being led by youth, as these are two of the competition categories. The entry form is only two pages, and will enable your project to feature on our CEHAPE website.

In March 2010, the Fifth Conference of Ministers on Environment and Health - "Protecting Children’s Health in a Changing Environment" - will take place in Parma, Italy. The Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health is the next milestone in the European environment and health process. Focused on protecting children’s health in a changing environment, the Conference will drive Europe’s agenda on emerging environmental health challenges for the years to come.

Keeping children’s health in the spotlight: Awarding good practice
Children’s health continues to be a leading concern; their health is at risk from a changing environment. The second CEHAPE Awards aim to uncover and highlight inspiring and innovative projects that promote children’s environment and health. Entrants must be based in one or more countries of the 53 in the WHO Europe region (map with full list of countries)
The winners of each category will be award 1,000 Euros towards their project, and will be invited to present their project at the Parma Ministerial.

How to enter: Tell us your story
To enter the CEHAPE Good Practice Awards, we want to hear about your projects and campaigns in children’s environment and health.

There are eight individual categories for entry:

• Water and/or Sanitation,
• Accidents and/or Physical Activity,
• Indoor air and/or Outdoor air,
• Chemicals and or Radiation,
• Youth participation,
• Mobility,
• Climate protection,
• Schools

If you are involved in a project to protect children’s environmental health, please send us a completed entry form to Olivia Radu (olivia.radu@wecf.eu).
Information about the call is available in English, Romanian, Russian, Kirghiz, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian, Armenian and Georgian. However, the entry form can only be filled out in English and Russian.
You can find out more about the competition and the entries from the 1st Children’s Environmental health project competition on the website.

KEY DATES:
• The deadline for submission of entries is 7 December 2009.
• The winners across the eight categories will be announced on 22nd January, 2010.

The 2nd CEHAPE Awards have be developed jointly by Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF), Health & Environmental Alliance (HEAL), ISDE Austria and European Eco Forum, and are sponsored by the governments of Austria, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, and supported by the European Commission.

(On the photo: Sascha Gabizon WECF, Genon Jensen HEAL at the IMR, Vienna, June 2007)

Please help us by disseminating this announcement through your own networks.

Good luck, we look forward to receiving your entries!

Alina Bezhenar

Choosing our Future

2009-11-19T03:54:00.000-08:00

The “Choosing our Future” comic strip highlights – in a humorous and simple way – the recent evidence of harm to health from certain widely used chemicals.

Produced jointly by HEAL’s Chemicals Health Monitor project and Mouvement pour les Droits et le Respect des Générations Futures (MDRGF) in English and French, the publication and associated website aim to provide readers with what is currently known about the links between health and man-made chemicals and examples of individual action and EU policy opportunities that can help produce changes for the better.

French comic strip designer, David Ratte has created the stories that bring to life contemporary concerns about the man-made chemicals found in our bodies that are implicated in certain cancers, brain development disorders, asthma, allergies, immune deficiences and falling male fertility. The facts behind the dialogue are explained and supported by scientific and governmental references.

Our aim is provide advocates and the wider public with examples of individual action and European Union policy opportunities that can help change our future for the better.

to know more information and download book in English and French click here

Part 7 of the History of Youth participation in the process of environment and health policymaking

2009-11-18T01:04:00.000-08:00

Since the fist Declaration Drafting group meeting [Brussels, June 2008] youth delegates started to participate in preparation the Declaration for the Fifth Ministerial Conference.

In Luxembourg in January 2009 the Thematic meeting on healthy environments was held. It was a part of the preparatory process towards to the Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health to be held in Parma, Italy, in 2010. It addressed respiratory diseases, obesity and injuries through spatial planning of health promoting environments. The participants discussed technical issues and advanced the drafting of the Declaration of the forthcoming Conference.

The Third High Level Preparatory Meeting in Bonn [27-29 April 2009] was the last high level meeting in the series of EEHC events for Member States in preparation for the Fifth Ministerial [Conference on Environment and Health, to be held in Parma, Italy, on 10-12 March 2010.
Participants were informed on the proceedings that are expected to take place during the Conference as well as on the activities and products to be delivered at the Conference. They commented on drafts conference papers - notably the Conference Declaration - and on events. Precedence was given to discussion on the main topics on the Conference agenda: CEHAPE priorities, climate change and socioeconomic and gender inequities.

to download the Report of the Third high-level preparatory meeting in English click here

With the kind support of the Ministries of Health and Environment in Serbia our plan was to hold a youth preparatory meeting in June 2009. This meeting would have as its agenda some worksessions on skill building, such as proposal preparation, working with ministers and high level officers in ministries of Environment and Health, making presentations as well as technical workshops on CEHAPE and preparations for our participation at the Ministerial Conference in Parma 2010. Unfortunately the funding we hoped would be in place for the June meeting failed to materialise, although our Serbian hosts had worked hard on our behalf to prepare the ground. In support of this, we co-opted Jovana Dodos from Serbia to be our international Youth Delegate link in the country. Although our efforts for our meeting in Serbia did not work out, we can announce that now our preparatory meeting will be held 8-10 January 2010 in Brussels with funding from DG SANCO and and support from HEAL.

Part 6 of the History of Youth participation in the process of environment and health policymaking

2009-11-16T15:21:00.000-08:00

During the Second High Level Preparatory Meeting in Madrid [October 2008] youth met their new WHO coordinator of the youth network David Rivett.
This preparatory meeting was dedicated to preparing for the 2010 Ministerial Conference in Italy. It addressed Regional Priority Goals III and IV of the Children's Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE) which concern ensuring clean air and protection from chemicals, noise and other harmful exposures.

A coordination meeting for the youth involvement process was held during the lunch breaks of 23 and 24 October to plan activities towards the 2010 Conference.

Young delegates made a successful presentation to the representatives from ministeries about "Current Madrid Participation in the CEHAPE process".

to download the presentation click here

The meeting in Madrid was also part of an Environment and Health Week and took place back-to-back with the International Public Health Symposium on "Science for policy, policy for science: bridging the gap".

Part 5 of the History of Youth participation in the process of environment and health policymaking

2009-11-13T00:48:00.000-08:00

New CEHAPE Youth Delegates [Alina Bezhenar, Ildiko Almasi, Rena Javaid, Kyle Worgan] started to participate in the high-level preparatory meetings and Declaration drafting group meetings for the 5th Ministerial Conference since IMR elections in Vienna.

They took part in the 24th EEHC meeting in Bonn in October 2007 where they presented a successful presentation about "Current participation of youth".

To download this presentation click here

Also in Bonn the priorities of the CEHAPE process were endorsed. And they include:

- inequity in environment and health;
- gender issues;
- specific needs of the Newly Independent States and countries of south-eastern Europe;
- working with new stakeholders including local authorities, the private sector and young people;
- synergies and new opportunities in working across boundaries, with a particular focus on climate change (established political processes will also be addressed under this priority);
- understanding the influence of the economy on environment and health policy making.

In Milan [March 2008] during the First High Level Preparatory Meeting was held. This meeting focused on safe water and sanitation and on injury prevention and promotion of physical activity, two of the four priorities of the Children's Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE). It also helped set the theme and agenda of the Ministerial Conference of 2010.

Part 4 of the History of Youth participation in the process of environment and health policymaking

2009-11-11T03:17:00.000-08:00

Youth Event in Vienna, June 2007

Youth Conference held in Vienna, June 2007, in parallel with the Intergovernmental Midterm Review (IMR) of progress made since the Budapest Conference. The Conference gathered 51 young people from 28 countries. Youth had discussions and elaboration about future steps up to the 5th Ministerial Conference in Parma, Italy, March 2010.

Young people had a presentation of youth views and a youth-friendly version of the CEHAPE (YFC) during the review meeting to the European Environment and Health network.

The videos were also shown to the youth delegates and government officials gathered at the IMR to spark discussions and give an audio-visual testimony of what young Europeans have to say regarding health and environment issues.The videos were produced in a five-day workshop organized in Belgrade by WHO/Europe, UNICEF and the One Minutes Foundation, with the support of the WHO Country Office in Belgrade and the Department of Health and Children in Ireland.

New youth delegates were elected for the period of 2007-2009 for participation in High-level meetings, decision and policy-making processes, for developing youth network, having the youth preparatory meetings for the 5th Ministerial Conference in Parma, 2010.

The purpose of youth participation:

1. Bring in the youth point of view
2. Participate actively in decision-making processes and in their preparation
3. National youth network to maximize participation through local projects
4. Raise awareness of the CEHAPE and the European Environment and Health process among youth

To download YFC click here

To know more about ideas for implementation of YFC click here

To read Official WHO Meeting report about Youth conference during IMR click here

Part 3 of the History of Youth participation in the process of environment and health policymaking

2009-11-09T02:45:00.000-08:00

Youth Media Workshop in Belgrade, April 2007

Short videos on children's environment and health focused on
children’s environment and health.

Twelve teenagers from the Balkans (Albania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Ukraine) produced OneMinutesJr videos as part of WHO/Europe's preparations for the 2007 review meeting, where countries discussed their progress on the Children's Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE).

Watch the videos:

Wind of change [external link] Neli, 18, from Stara Zagora in Bulgaria talks about children's health problems in her city caused by nearby factories.

Dark light [external link] Sanja, 16, from The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, deals with the WHO statistics on the top 10 causes of death.

Minor threat [external link] Iva, 17, from Serbia, tested if minors can buy alcohol in stores in Belgrade without being asked for identification.

Let's play - Together? [external link] Nevena, from Serbia, discusses the social exclusion of Roma children.

Part 2 of the History of Youth participation in the process of environment and health policymaking

2009-11-06T01:56:00.000-08:00

Youth Workshop in Luxembourg, March 2007

Youth workshop brought together near 40 young people from 25 WHO Member States in Luxembourg, in March 2007.

Young people started the process of creating the Youth Friendly CEHAPE (YFC). This document reflects the youth view about CEHAPE document. Young people worked in a small groups and then presented their ideas to others. They agreed that for better work after such productive meeting in Luxembourg they need to launch their own youth health and environment network.

The European Youth Health and Environment Network (EYHEN) is experienced in children and young people's environment and health issues. It consists of young people between the ages of 16 and 23 from all over Europe. The EYHEN is able to inform the local network of how young people participate in relevant decision making processes in their own countries. The members of EYHEN are willing to participate, if necessary, in the further development of national plans and the European Plan.

The working languages are English and Russian

You can join the network writing to cehapeyouth@gmail.com

Part 1 of the History of Youth participation in the process of environment and health policymaking

2009-11-04T03:57:00.000-08:00

"Our health cannot be negotiated. It is a precondition of our personal development and happiness. Nobody should make money on the back of other people's ill health. We need and deserve a fundamental human right to a clean and healthy environment. We also need access to information and education to most effectively take care of our health."

Budapest Youth Declaration, 24 June 2004

Youth Declaration was presented by young people to the ministers from 53 Member States, calling for youth representation on the European Environment and Health Committee (EEHC) and on the Task Force for the Children's Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE) during the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health in Budapest in 2004. Youth Parliament and 30 official youth representatives from Member States were participated at this huge event.

You can download the Youth Declaration in English, in French, in German, in Russian.

I was personally involved as youth participant at the 4th Ministerial Conferene in Budapest. I was participated in the video project It’s our world, our future too. This seven-minute video produced in 2004 contains the voices of young people from Russia, UK and Belgium - and explains why listening to them is important. The children and students describe how the environment is affecting their health, and what they think can be done for a better future. Three themes are highlighted: urban environment and mental health; water, chemicals and air quality; and, other issues, such as racism, drugs and violence.

To watch the video "It's our world, our future too" click here

Welcome post!

2009-11-02T03:04:00.000-08:00

Dear Friend, Partner and Guest,

I would like to welcome you to my official blog which is supported by HEAL (Health and Environment Alliance). My name is Alina Bezhenar. I am 21 years old. I am originally from Moscow (Russia). I grew up there and got my Bachelor Degree in Economics at Moscow State University (June).

Since October 2009 I have been moving to Brussels for 6 months where I am doing my internship programme at HEAL. I work as health and environment youth coordinator.

My main role here is to mobilize European youth and get information support for them about health and environment issues in Europe. My blog will be the first of its kind to show youth activities, youth voice and youth opinion to everybody in health and environment process.

Several times a week I would write new posts with information, photos and videos, interesting stories and news about health and environment in Europe.

Welcome!

p.s. you could always reach me by email: alina@env-health.org