Kazakh teens learn about sustainable development at OSCE Centre-supported summer camp

ALMATY, 13 June 2008 - Raising awareness of the balance between economic development and environmental protection is the aim of a summer camp for teenagers from the Caspian Sea region, which ends in Almaty today.

Twenty-one teenagers from the Caspian Sea region attended the nine-day camp, organized by the OSCE Centre and the NGO National Forum for Radiological Protection and Ecology. Through games and interactive exercises, the teenagers learned more about the economic and environmental situation in their region and discussed ideas for its rehabilitation.

"The long-lasting impact of exploitation in the Caspian Sea region has created a range of environmental problems, which affect the social and economic development in the region," said Jan Olsson, Economic and Environmental Officer at the OSCE Centre in Astana. "The Centre actively promotes education to raise environmental awareness and stimulate proactive thinking among the future generation."

The camp is part of the OSCE Centre's ongoing activities to promote sustainable development in the Caspian Sea region. Similar summer camps have also been organized for teenagers from the Semipalatinsk and the Aral Sea regions.