Youth Encounter on Sustainability for MyClimate, Costa Rica 2017.
When my fellow interns were getting to know each other and the Oxfam Novib office in The Hague, I was all the way across the Atlantic in Costa Rica. I know, not very professional, right? Well, I was not in Costa Rica on holidays, although it did often feel that way. Instead, I was following a two–week course that I hoped would equip me with a set of tools for changing the world. Reflecting on it now almost a month later, I cannot imagine a better preparation for Oxfam’s fight against poverty, however brief my lab experience was.
Sustainability in Practise
How do we reimagine food, land and urban spaces for a sustainable future? What should solutions to the world’s most pressing social, economic and ecological challenges look like? How do we make sure these solutions include the world’s most vulnerable people? I hoped the Youth Encounter on Sustainability, aptly acronymised to YES, would be a good place to start developing answer to these questions, at the very least because it was held in Costa Rica. The small country, known as one of the world’s most sustainable, aims to be carbon neutral by 2021. Last year, Costa Rica generated 98,1% of its electricity from renewables. An impressive feat, but one hiding other challenges.
For one, Costa Rica’s mobility sector causes traffic jams, air pollution, and an increasing demand for oil. We had the opportunity to discuss these complex issues with representatives from the public sector, the private sector and civil society to learn what each stakeholder is doing, and what can still be done to alleviate Costa Rica’s most polluting sector.
YES also focused on Costa Rica’s land-use sector, with a handful of visits to smallholder producers of banana’s and cacao, two of its most famous exports. Although multinationals like Dole still hold mainstream monocultures, Costa Rica also has the world’s first carbon neutral coffee. We looked at the complete value chain, discussed business models granting market access to sustainable smallholder famers, and debated the advantages and drawbacks of certifications. These experiences have not only made me a more educated consumer, who knows where her banana split comes from, I can also better envision a career for myself in sustainability, as well as imagining sustainable agriculture on Curaçao, my corner of the world, where we import almost all our food.
Learning through Diversity
I was drawn to YES partly because of its interdisciplinary and international nature, and as soon as we began I realised that these words, “interdisciplinary” and “international”, were not just buzzwords to lure applicants. I was part of a diverse group: we came from 17 countries on 4 continents, specialising in 13 different disciplines. Expect chaos? Think again! This diversity prepared me for the coming months at Oxfam in ways I couldn’t have imagined.
At Oxfam, I will be supporting Land Rights Now, an international campaign on Indigenous and Community Land Rights. Although I have discussed this topic academically, I’m from a small island with no indigenous population. So, when we were allowed to present our personal projects, I pitched this internship, hoping to get a few tips. What I got was more than I was bargaining for: 3 fellow YESers volunteered their expertise, all from countries like Guatemala with sizeable indigenous populations. Together we discussed the realities of Indigenous peoples on the ground. How should Indigenous stories be communicated to a global audience? And how can this communication translate to a better quality of life?
The insights I received from Mario, Karla and Maria over our three sessions, and the many lessons I learned during YES, allowed me to enter the doors of Oxfam Novib feeling confident on my first day. Even though I had missed the introduction days!
This article was written by Danick Trouwloon, Land Rights Now intern.
Oxfam Novib Academy 