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The Osaka YMCA Global Department is excited to welcome Bianca Yamaguchi as the Keynote Speaker at the 2019 Global Youth Conference. Bianca is the founder of the ‘Zero Way’. On the 6th August, she will be sharing her vision of a Zero Waste future with around 100 international delegates at the GYC Opening Ceremony. These young people will be asked to critically examine their own behaviors and the habits and traditions that are contributing to our planet’s current environmental crisis.
Born in Romania, she settled in Japan because of her love for the culture, but she soon realised that Japan had its very own love affair; with single use plastics. For anyone that has travelled or lived in Japan, it is no surprise to hear this. Individually wrapped candies, disposable cutlery, plastic wrapped fruit and vegetables and wet wipes supplied at every restaurant, Japan has mastered the art of consumer comfort, but it has come at the expense of the environment.
Driven by a vision of a world where people live simple, effective and fulfilling lives without unnecessary ‘stuff’, Bianca founded the ‘Zero Way’ in November 2014. While on the surface, her mission might seem as though it is only focused on protecting the environment; she also keenly examines human behavior and challenges people to think about what they truly ‘need’ from life. She explains that ‘we earn money to buy things that help us have a more convenient life…[we] depend on them, and…[we] depend on them to be happy’ arguing that rather than making us happy, this dependence traps us in a constant state of stress and fear, that these things we depend on will slip out of our grasp. And this dependence is contributing to what could be irreversible damage to our planet.
What might seem radical to some, to Bianca is logic. Humans have the capacity to become completely independent of this cycle and rediscover our choice to control what we consume, saving the environment is the outcome, but what comes with it is the chance for a more content, fulfilled existence.
Presenting simple tools and lifestyle changes to people, Bianca is quick to assure everyone that a Zero Waste lifestyle is not impossible, rather it is a process of adapting your thoughts, actions, habits and choices in order to live a more sustainable, and more fulfilling life.
During her Keynote Address, Bianca hopes to inspire these young delegates to realize their own power, challenge them with new information and share with them that they too can become ‘Zero Waste Heroes’.
For more information about the Zero Way you can contact Bianca Yamaguchi.
W. https://thezeroway.wixsite.com/zwjp/home
E. zerowayjp@gmail.com
T. (+81) 90-4600-1944
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