Hein Htet Oo started his environmental advocacy on a grassroots level, where he stood strong for the future of our planet. He is also a member of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee - INC Youth Focus Group, the Stockholm+50 youth task force, and the United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth. Next to this, he was a student from the 8th cohort of the Parami Leadership Program (PLP).
About Parami Leadership Program - PLP
With a vision to empower students from Burma and other Southeast Asian through liberal arts and sciences education, Parami started as the Parami Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2017 to provide quality education to adult learners in Burma. The Parami Leadership Program was its flagship program that admitted university graduates of Burma from all across the country to cultivate critical thinking, leadership skills, and a compassionate service mindset through a year-long intensive liberal arts and sciences curriculum.
Parami alumni are from all walks of life and are some of the most talented and driven individuals across Myanmar. Some alumni are pursuing further study abroad, while some decided to return to their hometowns to pursue their careers. Including the last cohort, PLP 8th cohort, the program has over 150 alumni who have entered diverse professional fields and higher education programs.
We are proud to share that Hein has been selected as an accredited youth stakeholder delegate for the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-1) to develop an International legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including the marine environment, in Punta del Este, Uruguay, from 28 November to 2 December 2022.
About the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee - INC
The rapidly increasing levels of plastic pollution represent a serious global environmental issue that negatively impacts the environmental, social, economic, and health dimensions of sustainable development. Under a business-as-usual scenario and in the absence of necessary interventions, the amount of plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems could nearly triple from some 9–14 million tons per year in 2016 to a projected 23–37 million tons per year by 2040.
At the Fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, the famously called “plastics treaty” was adopted. This treaty is a resolution calling for the development of an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. To understand the importance of the treaty: it does for plastics pollution what the Paris Agreement did for climate change. The instrument will establish a comprehensive approach that addresses the full lifecycle of plastic. The INC will consider ways to promote sustainable production and consumption of plastics, from product design to environmentally sound waste management, through resource efficiency and circular economy approaches.
Hein will represent the voice of young people at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-1) and contribute to policy dialogues and co-create solutions with decision-makers to achieve a more inclusive, sustainable future for all. He is preparing for the INC-1 by having relevant conversations with from respective focal points at the Office of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Department of State, and different youth constituencies.
Hein’s message to young people across Myanmar and the world is:
“This is your world, this is your environment; therefore, you are responsible to look after it, believe in your voice, and stand-up for your rights.”