South Africa
22 February 2006
With just two months to go before government adopts a National Strategy for
Sustainable Development, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
will tonight launch a âMy Strategyâ campaign to be popularly known as the NSSD
Youth, Art & Essay Challenge.
The challenge forms part of an awareness raising campaign about the strategy
and is targeted at school children, high school students and youth who are
required to express their understanding of the sustainable development in a
creative format through an essay, a business plan or in a visual artistic
expression.
The need for governments to develop a National Strategy for Sustainable
Development is one of the milestone targets agreed to at the Johannesburg
Worlds Summit held in South Africa in 2002 and reaffirmed at the five-year
review of the Millennium Summit held in New York in 2005.
Whilst acknowledging that government had taken too long to develop the
strategy, Mr Blessing Manale, Director for Sustainable Development Co-operation
at DEAT, said that âSouth Africaâs key strategic framework for development, the
Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), included many elements of
sustainability, within the context of addressing the inequalities of apartheid
and the NSSD will build on that and other major policies and initiatives
currently unfoldingâ
The Deputy Minister for Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Ms Rejoice
Mabudafhasi said, âThis challenge is an extension of work commenced when the
World Summit on Sustainable Development held here back in 2002 and is aimed at
engaging our youth to be participants and not just recipients of the outcomes
of sustainable development.â
The challenge is divided into three categories targeting lower grade school
children, high school students and youth and youth organisations and has
received financial support from the Danish Government through its foreign
development agency â Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA).
The campaign runs from February to April 2006 and will result with the
winning categories receiving a total pool prize of R100 000 towards their own
studies, their schools and their community youth projects
Ms Mabudafhasi concluded that, âWe are satisfied that through conscientising
our youth about matters relating to sustainable development they will grow up
to be sensitive creating a balance between human and environmental needs.â
For further information please contact: Mr Irvin Molefe Molamu
Tel. (012) 310 3899
Email: imolamu@deat.gov.za
For more information about the challenges, students, teachers and parents can
call (012) 310 3457 or email to nssd@deat.gov.za or visit our website http://www.deat.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
22 February 2006
