Bayer - Eco-Minds - Participants’ Feedback

Eco Minds 2005

Participants' Feedback on Eco-Minds 2005

Leyla Acaroglu, RMIT, Australia

Leyla Acaroglu

“Eco-minds was an amazing experience that helped me to develop leadership skills, expand my knowledge of sustainable development and gave me the opportunity to meet amazing and inspiring people from all over the Asia-Pacific region. I really enjoyed learning from the Indigenous people of the Philippines when we went on the jungle survival trek and from the experience I feel that I have a stronger understanding of sustainable development.
The experience cemented my desire to strive for effective cultural and environmental change within my own region. I encourage students to apply who want to experience and learn from different cultures and perspectives and above all students who are really passionate about being part of a sustainable and an equitable future.”

Carl Chenery, Auckland University, New Zealand

Carl Chenery

It was an amazing experience and really opened my eyes to see how different cultures operate. It was also interesting how we have a lot in common in terms of wanting to create a better future. The whole experience was invaluable.

Jenjit Ratchanet, Thailand

Jenjit Ratchanet

“Since I participated in the Eco-Minds forum, I realize that Unsustainable Development has impacted people’s life and other systems in societies in negative way, so if we want to develop our economy, the most important thing we have to think of is relating the present impact to the future impact in order to save the world resources for our next generations. Another impression that I will never forget is friends. I brought back with me a whole lot of the most precious thing called “friendship” when I came to Thailand. Now my e-mail’s mail-box is always full of foreign friends’ e-mails. At first, I was really worried about going to the Philippines because I thought my English was not good enough, but when I met other delegates my tension reduced. They were all very friendly and kind.”

Anne Molineux, Victoria University, New Zealand

Anne Molineux

The Bayer/UNEP Eco-Minds Forum can only be described as inspiring. When a conference is opened by the president of the country you are visiting, and includes such amazing speakers as Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the UN Millennium Project, it can only serve to motivate and enthuse its attendees. Add to that field trips into the Philippine jungle, and 27 of the friendliest and most passionate young people from around the Asia Pacific region and you have a pretty incredible event.
If you are considering applying to be a member of the 2007 New Zealand delegation, I would strongly encourage you to go for it. Not only will you learn about sustainable development from some of the worlds finest and have the opportunity to apply your newly acquired knowledge in a practical setting, you will also get to experience a new country and culture, and make friends with other young people who are as interested in the fate of our planet as you are. If you care about the future of our planet and the people who inhabit it, this forum is for you.

Alison Hamilton, The University of Western Sydney, Australia

Alison Hamilton

"The Bayer Eco-Minds Forum was an excellent experience. The combination of having the opportunity to meet UN delegates and field trips into the Philippine jungle as well as getting to meet people similar to myself who are passionate about sustainable development, was a once in a life time experience.
If you care about the future of the planet and would like to kick start your career and make new friends I encourage you to apply. The Eco-Minds experience gave me the edge on other people in my field and I believe employers look upon it favourably.”

Srichan Monrakkharom, Thailand

Srichan Monrakkharom

“This trip lasted only one week, but so many beautiful things happened to my life. My previous concept on sustainable development needed to be changed. I could expand my idea of how sustainability in terms of development or management was supposed to be. To me, very exciting activity was the jungle-trek with a professional local guide, which was the most fun-filled and tiring at the same time. And this was the real test of sustainability because I learned how to survive in such a big forest by just using some specific parts of the plants such as leaves and roots as food and medicines. I will apply my knowledge in future projects and also provide my friends and other people with the knowledge to sustain themselves first as per my concept of Sustainable by one, Sustainable to all.”

Soriya Em, Auckland University, New Zealand

Soriya Em

Attending the forum was a totally amazing experience. It really made me appreciate how lucky we are in New Zealand and that we are in an ideal position to create real changes to the environment we live in. I learnt so much from the delegates from our neighbouring countries, the challenges they face are on a completely different scale, real extreme poverty, rapid economic growth vs sustainable growth etc. I made some great friends while at the forum (still in touch with them today)!
We were only together for six days, but our shared enthusiasm for a common goal really brought us together.

I have brought back many ideas which I am currently trying to use in my local community.

For example:

environmental education at the grassroots, community level, bringing global environmental issues home, realising the importance of environmental sustainability in business.
Youth are full of bright positive ideas – we need to keep that enthusiasm up! From the case study, the delegates came up with some interesting and innovative ideas. Youth have a powerful voice and should be encouraged to use it more!
Our global community is smaller than we think. We need to connect more with our Asia-Pacific neighbours; we can learn a lot from them! I can now appreciate the degree of urgency for us to work together.

Kim Markwell, Griffith University, Australia

Kim Markwell

"If you have an interest in how natural systems operate and in helping local communities manage their environment more efficiently, the Eco-Minds Forum is a great opportunity for you to use your knowledge to make a difference."

Penradee Chanpiwat, Thailand

Penradee Chanpiwat

“This forum gave me not only an opportunity to participate in a solution-oriented group work with the other delegates that made me think of creative and practical ways to solve real-life problems of the Sustainable Development through a multi-disciplinary approach but also gave me a chance to meet new friends from different countries, cultures and backgrounds which enable us to share our experiences and our opinions on sustainable development.”

Kristy Swan, The University of New South Wales, Australia

Kristy Swan

"I believe the Eco-Minds Forum is a great opportunity to share ideas and prototypes with other students and further discuss housing and sustainability in developing countries. The Forum is a great opportunity for students to contribute to submissions and suggestions about sustainable living environments."

Marilyn Head, journalist, New Zealand

Marilyn Head

There was nothing predictable about Eco-Minds except the excellent organisation, which meant that everything promised was delivered – and a lot more besides. I hadn’t been quite sure what to expect, but years of experience at international meetings told me that a “TalkFest” would probably feature prominently; and seriously brainy young people with original ideas about how to clean up the planet suggested a level of solemnity and earnestness that would surely be far removed from the hip-hop, skateboarding, laidback dudes” that I was used to with my four teenagers and their friends!
But from start to finish, Eco-Minds was more like a significant family gathering, with distant rellies coming from all corners of our Asia-Pacific backyard, eager to share experiences, language, culture and, most importantly, their optimistic vision for the future. I was prepared for acid rain, desertification, lectures about biodiversity and global warming, but not for the diversity and depth of proposed solutions, based on delegates’ understanding of the problems of unsustainable development in their own countries and experience in managing projects to overcome them.
For our fantastic young New Zealand delegates, contact with peers from such diverse backgrounds together with firsthand experiences of the populous Philippines, the still-visible devastation of the Pinatubo eruption, the jungle and Aeta people at Subic Bay (former site of the largest US naval base outside the US), gave an invaluable perspective to a number of global issues. And although New Zealand’s environmental problems seemed on the surface to differ from those facing China, for instance, delegates from both countries saw the underlying connections and exchanged thoughtful views on how to achieve the common goal of sustainable development.
It was a fabulous opportunity for young, bright innovative people from our region to share their visions and, with the high level of government, research, business and community support, it felt like the beginning of the sort of long-term cross-national collaboration necessary if we are to find sustainable solutions to global development.
And solemn and earnest? Well… how about passionate, opinionated, informed, original, fun-loving, witty (in several languages even), eccentric, hardworking, and exotic? It was a roller coaster ride for the mind and body - and not even that scary for an aging journalist!