First impressions of Rio+20

Post by Patricia Grossi Reis, ECI Intern at Rio+20

Rio+20 - First Impressions (Day 1, 13 June)

The much expected Rio+20 had its official kick-off yesterday. Thousands of people from all over the globe arrived at Rio Centro Convention Center throughout the day, all of whom are hoping to have an impact on the course of the proceedings. What is at stake are potential policies that country leaders will be discussing, and hopefully agreeing on, which could lead to a fairer, more sustainable future.

The day started slowly, with people trickling in for the first few hours, but picked up momentum in the afternoon. The excitement in the Convention Center was so great that you could almost touch it! After months of preparation, it is clear that everyone is ready to take action. And despite last minute constructions in the “T” Pavilion - the site for official side events hosted by various organizations - rooms were filled with people interested in sharing ideas, ready to offer opinions about the conference themes and about the future we all want.

There were over 20 official side events scheduled for the first day, covering a range of topics. The Earth Charter International side event was one of the most notable. The panelists presented a new publication highlighting the importance of faith communities in promoting the transition to a fairer, more just world. The publication explores the synergies between ethical and spiritual values and education for sustainable development from the perspective of several faiths. It was inspiring to see members of the audience engage with the panelists and with each other in the Q&A, and to hear some of them state they felt “very much at home” during the presentation and in the discussion that followed. Audience members expressed their hope that ethical and spiritual values are incorporated into the sustainability discussions taking place in Rio and beyond and actually applied to the green economy.

Read more about the publication here.

Another notable event was the one organized by the Bahá'í International Community, which explored different perspectives on the elimination of the extremes of wealth and poverty in the context of the green economy. Speakers were unanimous in their opinion that the current economic model is flawed and that, in order to achieve a fairer, more equitable future, the gap between the extremely wealthy and extremely poor must be narrowed. More than ever before, we need to link together human rights and ethics in the context of a green economy.

In sum, the first day of the conference was a success. People are excited and ready to act. They want their voices to be heard; they want to be involved. As for me, I leave the first day of this conference with more questions than I came in with. Perhaps the most pressing one is how we ensure side event discussions don’t simply stay on the fringe of the conference. It is everyone’s hope that these ideas make their way into the center stage and are actually incorporated into the sustainable development agenda chiefs of state will be discussing and agreeing upon later next week.