Caribbean Youth Environment Network Congress Held In Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, August 16, 2009

On Friday, August 14, the 2009 Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN) Congress came to a close in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Two InteRDom students participated in the event, which was co-sponsored by Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and her sister organization in the Dominican Republic Fundación Global Democracia y Desarollo (FUNGLODE).

The advocacy training portion of the Congress was held on Monday, August 10 and Tuesday, August 11 in the conference rooms at FUNGLODE’s headquarters in Santo Domingo. It brought together 30 youths from the Caribbean region to learn strategies, tactics and ideas about fostering change in the Caribbean, given that the region is one of the world's most vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change. All of the participants presented their own country’s environmental and development challenges in the forum on Tuesday.

To punctuate the event on Tuesday evening, CYEN presented a certificate of recognition to President Leonel Fernandez, which was accepted by the Executive Director of FUNGLODE, Marcos Herrera, on his behalf.

The week of activities continued on Wednesday when the participants embarked on a 2-day trip to the Southeast region of the country, and then on Friday when they participated in a reforestation project in distinct neighbourhoods around the capital city before returning to their homes in various Caribbean islands on Saturday.

FUNGLODE and her sister organization in the United States, Global Foundation for Democracy and Development, supported the initiative through InteRDom, as it fulfils its mission to promote cultural and academic exchange.

CYEN is a biannual event that was first hosted in St. Lucia in 2003. This marks the first year that the Dominican Republic participates in the initiative, as well as the first year that the event is hosted by a Spanish-speaking nation. Other participating nations include Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, Belize and many more.

Other sponsors include :the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), PLAN International, Peace Corps, Brigadas Verdes, Consorcio Ambiental Dominicano (CAD), and the Inter-institutional Technical Group of the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources of the Dominican Republic.

InteRDom is an initiative of the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE) and its sister organization in the United States, the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), which has, since 2005, offered students the opportunity to acquire professional experience through internships in Dominican organizations and companies related to their areas of study. The program significantly contributes to the development of the national labor sector and the advance of academic research.