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Johannesburg, August (GYRP) – "Do as you say, Mr Blair. Don't be a backseat driver. Come here, and lead the Summit from the front!"
This was the passionate plea from representatives of the UK's Woodcraft Folk at the World Summit of Sustainable Development. The Woodcraft Folk is a 20,000-strong movement of children in the UK who have drawn up a Declaration for the Summit stating their demands for a sustainable society.
"We're not here because we're young. We're here because we know and care about the issues involved," said Rachel Schon, 14, at a press conference called to pass their message to the British Prime Minister, who is due to come here briefly before the end of the conference.
The children criticised Blair for failing to meet his commitments to sustainable development and pandering to big business. One of the items on their Declaration is: "We call for the end of multinational sponsorship of public institutions (e.g. schools and medical services) and demand that governments meet the needs of these institutions."
The Woodcraft Folk drew up their Declaration at a two-week International Camp in 2001, attended by 4,000 young people. Two Earth Summit meetings were held during the camp. Any adults present were banned from speaking at the second of these, because the young people felt their participation in the first had bogged the proceedings down in bureaucracy.
"In the Woodcraft Folk everyone has an important voice, you are all on an equal level," says Tamsin Pearce, 23, who is National Chair of the organisation. "I'm constantly learning from people who are younger than me."
The Woodcraft Folk have an ethos of "empowerment, cooperation and equality." Groups are spread out throughout the UK and meet weekly for games, music and discussions.
They are a member of the International Falcon Movement, a group of organisations that work to promote the rights and welfare of children. The Falcon Group Secretary General, Uwe Ostendorff, says: "I was in a youth group when I was a child that was very adult-lead. The great thing about the Woodcraft Folk is that it is organised by the children, they are the ones who make the decisions."
© GLOBAL YOUTH REPORTERS PROGRAMME
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Annabel Short
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