Youth Union 5th Conference
In the evening a “Colourful Concert” took place, organized by Yoga in Daily Life Prague, in the Salvator Church, in the heart of the city. This concert of spiritual music performed by famous Czech musicians marked the opening of the 5th International Youth Conference, entitled: “Save the Earth”.
On Saturday morning, in the International Youth Conference at Boheminan Hall “Hagibor” in Prague, youths from numerous countries gathered ,as well as renowned artists and dignitaries from the fields of politics and science, among them the representative of the Ministry of Education of Czech Republic and Mr. Manuel Perez from UNESCO, from Barcelona, Spain.
The Conference was opened by His Holiness, Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda (Swamiji). In his opening speech, he said that Yoga in Daily Life is a worldwide organization whose aims include support for peace, tolerance and understanding among young people, accessible education for the young, and ensuring that the older generation leaves the Earth to them at least in the same condition as their parents left it to them, if not better.
Swamiji emphasized the importance of ethics and morals in educating young people, because the young are the culture of tomorrow. It is up to the adults, however, to educate them. Education should not be limited to attending school – social education in the family, and learning to respect tradition, are just as important. Today, millions of children live in broken families – especially in so-called developed countries. Yet, for children, loving and understanding parents are more important than money and toys.
In their presentations the young speakers presented lots of interesting facts that concern us all, such as:
- The negative impact of increasing meat production, based on FAO figures: 16,000 litres of water are consumed to produce one kilogram of meat, while one kilogram of potatos requires only 160 litres, i.e. 100 times less. Meat production is also a major source of water and soil pollution and contributes to hunger in the world. Also according to the FAO, meat production would need to be halved in order to stop the further environmental degradation of our planet. The FAO and UNESCO have said that vegetarianism is one way to help improve the environment, address the growing crisis in access to safe water, and feed the growing global population.
- Chemicals are responsible for 18-30% of all work-related diseases. Toxins are all around us – in furniture, electrical devices, cosmetics, cleaning agents, and even in clothing. Exposure to toxic substances can disturb a child’s development even before it is born.
- An estimated 280,000 children aged 9-12 work on cacao plantations in West Africa from where more than 70% of the cocoa production originates, putting in long hours in very poor conditions. The situation is similar in the production of other commodities such as bananas, rice, tea, coffee, etc. Since 1997, the Fair Trade mark has provided a way for consumers to distinguish products produced under fair conditions for farmers and agricultural workers, and help put a stop to child labor in the third world.
- Czech Republic (population approx. 10 million) produces 30 million tons of trash each year.
- The divorce rate in Europe is more than 40%. Each day, in just the Czech Republic, 80 children learn that their parents have divorced.
- The building industry represents nearly 50% of world energy consumption, buildings are a major source of greenhouse gases. The design of a “passive energy house” consumes 5 – 9 times less energy per square meter than a conventional house. The passive energy house design even makes use of air filtration and recirculation to recuperate waste heat radiated from people, PC monitors, etc.
