Taking on the Challenge!

Hundreds of young people from around the world attended the non-governmental forum at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janerio in 1992. Unfortunately, many of the world learders were not prepared for what young people had to say, or the way in which they chose to say it. However, determined to have an impact, young people went back to their respective countries with a mission to spread Rio's message and the plan of action (also known as Agenda 21).

Peace Child International, a small organization in Britain, mandated to work with children and youth around the world, devised a new and youthful way to carry out that mission. The objective was to take the artwork, the voices, and the work of young people around the world to create a colourful, down-to-earth and honest account of Agenda 21 from Rio, entitled: Rescue Mission: Planet Earth. It includes what governments promised they would do, what issues world leaders didn't agree on or even talk about, and most importantly, what young people are doing and can do around the world to tackle issues relating to the environment and sustainable development.

Launched in Britain on Earth Day, 1994, the president of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO recieved a copy and introduced the book to a Canadian committee. A 45-member Consortium of Canadian organizations concerned with the environment, education, science, youth and business, came together with the mission of creating a Canadian version of Rescue Mission: Planet Earth.. The goal was to transform Rescue Mission into a tool that would be accessible to all Canadian youth in order for them to become active. To do that, the Consortium decided that a teacher's guide needed to be added to the original book, and who better to write and develop it than Canadian students? Through a series of focus groups hosted by Health Canada, the Action Guide insert was born! The activities in the Action Guide are based on problem-solving and action planning approaches suitable to any academic level and learning style.

After creating a french version, the Consortium set out on the task of raising the money necessary to print a copy of Rescue Mission for all 16,000 schools in Canada, with an additional 2,000 going to youth groups, and a reserve of 2,000 to be sold to finance the further printing of the book.

Providing each school with a copy of the Canadian Edition, and creating this website as a place to learn about Agenda 21 issues, are parts of the goal to get every young person in Canada to become inspired; to realize what young people all around the world are able to do about these issues; to motivate youth and the adults around them to formulate fresh, relevant, local responses in order to build a sustainable future.

Rescue Mission Planet Earth , the Canadian Edition, is about more than just the environment. For young people, it's a new mission! It's about learning and understanding ... learning to question and challenge all the environmental assumptions and behaviours society has taken for granted as being harmless ... It's about taking a bold new step as youth approach the millennium and making decisions that positively affect the world in which young people live. It's about youth recognizing the connections between the world's Agenda 21, and the situation in their own communities, their schools and their personal lives, and creating their own Agenda 21 for each. Youth have the energy and the vision to take on this mission; now with a little direction, more information, and a little motivation, young people can rise to the challenge of creating a new direction for the twenty-first century.