Checklist results - final conclusions

To pull together the results of all three "key players" in sustainable development, and Local Agenda 21 work, all those interviewed, are actively participating, in one way or another. This indicates that municipalities within the Nordic countries have been quite active in fulfilling the requirements of Agenda 21, signed in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. There are mainly two aspects where the municipalities could do better. Emphasis on the social aspects is in general very little and in some cases, they would need to do better in "getting it into the system". This applies to actively involving the staff and making LA21 a defined procedure within all of their operations.
When looking at the companies, it becomes clear that they seem to be more into focusing on technical solutions in their emphasis on environmental aspects, than empowering and actively involving their staff.
Finally, the work in the nursery schools is very much focused on starting with the individual. This can be seen from their strong focus on environmental education together with less emphasis on technical solutions and more on factors that are based on environmental awareness.
With all of these conclusions, it is necessary to be aware of the limitations for interpreting the results of the checklists. As mentioned previously in this chapter, there are very few lists in each category and the fact that the lists were in English might also mean that there was not always clear understanding. Also, the checklists were designed for use within very different organizations, i.e. from large companies to small nursery schools. Therefore, certain questions do not apply to the nursery schools, which tends to benefit the companies when results are compared.

Bearing in mind these limitations, it is nevertheless interesting to see that emphasis on the environment is increasing in the Nordic countries. Good Local Agenda 21 work in each community is based on broad participation, from top to bottom. The municipalities lead the way in so many of the basic environmental factors, such as waste and sewage. The companies are another key player, who have a tremendous power. The results indicate that they seem to have an increasing awareness of the environment, which is possibly due to demands from their markets. Finally, an increased environmental awareness and the empowerment of individuals from early age, is what can be seen in the nursery schools. All this can only lead to an optimistic conclusion about a future with better balance between ecological, economical and social aspects.

The participants in the "Vi lærer af hindanden" project, did a very good job on gathering the information for the checklists. They generally proved to be very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about environmental issues. After only ten to twenty years, their generation will be stepping into more power in their countries. The message that they took with them from the project was that it is their role to bridge the gap into a sustainable future.

The results from the checklists with the municipalities show that in general young people are not active participants in LA21 work. When asked whether this is a general "nobody ever listens to us" syndrome, many of the participants could agree to that. Other explanations raised were also that they are at a time in their life when they tend to be very occupied with other things, such as school, hobbies, work and friends. But the interest is there, and some shared that they had actively tried to take part in community matters, but did not get listened to, or given opportunities.
This leads to the conclusion, that there is interest with young people to take more active part in LA21 work and other community matters and also in Nordic friendship schemes. They are demanding however and have a high standard when it comes to choosing how they want to spend the limited time they have for activities outside of their regular schedule.

This project achieved a good balance between edcuation, activities and giving participants opportunities to get to know each other. Hopefully, the project has also supported LA21 work within the participants´ municipalities, if only through the discussions that took place during the checklist interviews and follow up in the home towns. There is every reason to explore further projects within the field of environment and/or Local Agenda 21, in the Nordic friendship schemes. Especially, involving young people is a very positive way to nourish a fertile ground, both within the Nordic friendship schemes as such and also for a better future on the planet.