For the second year, we have partnered with the Permanent Mission of Norway to the United Nations to host an educational challenge that utilizes an art medium. The inspiration for this challenge comes from Trygve Lie’s life journey for global peace as the first Secretary General of the United Nations.

Last year's challenge was a video competition centered around a vision for a peaceful world in 2030. The winning video from Ohel Shem High School can be found here.

The challenge this year will be related to the upcoming Rio+20 conference and environmental sustainability: 

Sustainable development affects everyone – including you and your community! The question is: how can we move forward without ruining tomorrow’s world? This June, world leaders will discuss just that at the UN’s Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro. But are the right issues on the table? And can they find the right solutions? The Trygve Lie Youth Challenge is your chance to set them straight! Imagine yourself at the Rio+20 Conference. What would you tell the world leaders? Which important issues affect your home, your city, and your community? Create an eye-catching poster that emphasizes an environmental problem in your local community and give it a short tagline (10 words or less). You have full creative and artistic license. Submit your poster electronically (jpg or pdf) by February 9th, 2012 to external.nhsmun@imuna.org. Don’t forget to bring your poster to NHSMUN 2012 so you can display it at the closing ceremony in the UN General Assembly Hall. A representative from the Rio+20 Secretariat and the Permanent Mission of Norway to the UN will be present to accept the winning poster and take your message to Rio de Janeiro in June!

Click here for a special letter from Ambassador Smith with reminders about this project!

Useful links:

Rio+20 Conference website: http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/index.html
Permanent Mission of Norway to the United Nations: www.norway-un.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UNRioplus20
Twitter: @UN_Rioplus20

We will be donating the money raised for our service learning project--the Environmental Defense Fund--in the name of our winning school and NHSMUN to make a direct impact on environmental sustainability. If you have any questions, please contact Chelsea Wagenbrenner, Chief of External Relations, via email (external.nhsmun@imuna.org) or telephone (770.778.8014).