Throughout their work, the Elders strive to hear from young people. Having met youth of Cairo, Gaza, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, Nicosia, Pyongyang, Ramallah and Seoul in the past few years, they welcomed the opportunity of their biannual gathering in Rio de Janeiro, in October 2011, to meet around fifty young Brazilians.
“It warms my heart listening to you”, said Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Chair of The Elders, as he welcomed young Brazilians with former President of Brazil Fernando Henrique Cardoso. “The future of your country is in your hands, and it is in very good hands,” he added.
“When I first visited your country, many of your parents and grand parents were in prison because there was no freedom here,” former US President Jimmy Carter told young Brazilians, referring to Brazil’s former military dictatorship.
Talking about sustainable development, a participant told Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland: “A wealthy country is not just a country without poverty; it is also a country that values its natural resources. We need economic growth, but we also need to preserve the environment.”
“In the favela where I live, throwing rubbish on the ground is commonplace and many people are more concerned about present challenges than the future,” a young Brazilian told Gro Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway. “Parents often don’t teach their children how to respect the environment, so there is a vicious cycle that needs to be broken through education,” he added.
Discussing race and multiculturalism in Brazil with Desmond Tutu, a young activist said: “We have lots of laws against racism and if you ask a Brazilian – they will say they are not prejudiced. It’s always someone else. But this hides the racism.”
“The emergence of women in politics is by far the best investment for the future,” said Jimmy Carter, praising Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s first female President. “We are not at the forefront, Brazil still has a long way to go in terms of gender equality” a young woman replied.
“We should focus on actions that can close the gap between women and men, the bottom and the top, and between the haves and have-nots,” said Ela Bhatt, founder of the more than one-million-strong Self-Employed Women’s Association in India.
“I leave Brazil knowing that you will all play an important role in the development of your country, because you realise that this is not achieved by governments or local authorities alone, but that all of us can make a difference in our societies,” said Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland.
Activists, students or entrepreneurs, the young people were selected from across Brazil for their role as change-makers in their own communities. For over three hours, they took part in an open and frank dialogue with the Elders on sustainable development, gender equality, multiculturalism and violence. A report summarising the discussion was sent to President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil.
Photos: Jeff Moore / The Elders