Next week, the members of the UN General Assembly will gather in New York City for a Climate Action Summit specially convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in light of the severity of the climate crisis as well as the urgent need to implement the commitments of the Paris Agreement and raise global ambition on climate action.

Given the instrumental role youth leaders have played in bringing the crisis to the fore of international discussion, it’s only fitting that the weekend leading into the event will feature a dedicated Youth Summit where pioneering activists like Greta Thunberg will have the chance to talk sustainable strategy with up-and-coming entrepreneurs, student innovators, and policymakers, laying the groundwork for new commitments to be announced at the Climate Summit.

Taking place on Saturday, September 21, this Youth Summit will involve youth climate leaders from almost every country in the world in an “action-oriented, intergenerational, and inclusive” event. The sessions scheduled for the Summit are well-aligned with C4C’s own advocacy priorities, addressing such topics as circularity in fashion (Fashion4Climate) and climate communication in sports (Sport4Climate). The Summit will also highlight young entrepreneurs with a pitch competition, examine “the anatomy of influence” on- and offline, feature a musical performance by Nigerian pop star Waje, and much more.

C4C is providing special support to the Youth Policy Jam happening in the afternoon, which will bring youth leaders together with experts in finance and policy for a dynamic discussion on how to unlock climate finance at a scale commensurate with the climate crisis.  The Policy Jam is designed to develop creative collaborative solutions on how to generate more ambitious and youth-friendly climate finance—solutions which will subsequently be presented as tangible outcomes during the General Assembly.

With the spotlight on youth action, Connect4Climate saw an ideal opportunity to launch a new #YouthTakeover, inviting local students passionate about climate communications to take the helm on C4C’s social media coverage of the Youth Summit and other exciting climate action events happening around New York City during the weekend of September 21-22.  Follow their journeys on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #YouthTakeover. 

The #YouthTakeover initiative has come a long way over the course of the past year, building momentum at climate events in Europe before making big splashes at the 2019 Innovate4Climate conference in Singapore and, most recently, Asia-Pacific Climate Week in Bangkok, Thailand. C4C looks forward to debuting the #YouthTakeover concept in North America and to giving young people the chance to tell the stories of their own climate heroes on the historic occasion of the UN’s Youth Climate Summit.

The human rights nonprofit Amnesty International is well known for its support of humanitarian causes around the globe; its ambitious goals include ensuring the rights of refugees and abolishing the practice of torture. In today’s world, climate change, too, has become a human rights issue, with more and more displaced each year by rising sea levels and increasingly intense natural disasters—a situation with the potential to grow exponentially worse absent swift and decisive action in line with the Paris Agreement of 2015.  As Amnesty International’s Secretary-General Kumi Naidoo said on Monday at George Washington University, “The right to a liveable planet is essentially Article Zero of our basic human rights as a people.”

In recognition of the ongoing climate crisis and the amazing work youth activists around the world have been doing to raise awareness of it and spur concrete action, Amnesty chose to confer this year’s prestigious Ambassador of Conscience Award on School Strike for Climate founder Greta Thunberg and the regional leaders of the international #FridaysForFuture movement that her efforts in Sweden galvanized.

“All around the world, Amnesty is gathering to lift up these inspiring young climate activists who are ringing the alarm bell,” Amnesty USA Executive Director Margaret Huang stated at the awards ceremony Monday evening.

Two other young advocates of climate action, Takota Iron Eyes (16) and Ramona Sarsgaard (12), made it abundantly clear in their speeches why Thunberg and the #FridaysForFuture team were deserving of Amnesty’s highest honor. “At 16, I am worried about what it would look like if I want to have kids,” Iron Eyes candidly told the audience, her frustration at the lack of action on the part of older generations apparent. Sarsgaard echoed this sentiment, saying that “A child should not have to have this responsibility. But in order to make change, we cannot pretend that everything is okay.”

Thunberg has always maintained that it should not be the job of children to fix problems created and subsequently neglected by their parents. Her activism and that of the overarching #FridaysForFuture campaign is grounded in the use of public demonstrations to illustrate the gravity of the situation on the world stage and bring about transformative policy changes in government and industry.

“Right now, I think an awakening is taking place,” Thunberg asserted in her acceptance speech. “Activism works. So what I’m telling you now to do is act. See you on the streets.”

Climate change is just global warming was a huge misconception I had when I stepped before the registration counter of the UN Asia-Pacific Climate Week conference, held in my hometown of Bangkok.

It is safe to say that I was totally clueless about climate change, especially when compared with those in business attire standing next to me. The only thing I knew was that, as youth ambassadors, my four classmates and I would try to learn as much as possible from the event in order to produce content for Connect4Climate's social media accounts.

I followed a stream of people into the conference hall as the plenary session was about to begin. I grabbed my notebook, doubtful there would be anything cool to tweet about. But by the end of the very first session, I had already learned numerous surprising facts.

One sad truth that I learned was that the Asia Pacific region is “the most vulnerable to climate change,” losing more than 675 billion dollars every year to natural disasters exacerbated by the unstable climate. And unfortunately, we are only making matters worse, continuing to emit the harmful greenhouse gases responsible for climate change.

Panelists at the conference took turns proposing possible ways out of this dreadful situation. As I was listening to their refreshing ideas, I could not help but notice that all of them referred back to one key term: Article 6.

Curious, I did my own research, coming to the realization that Article 6 is a part of the Paris Agreement, a mutual agreement among members of the UN to curb the rise of global temperatures. Since the agreement was signed in 2016, Article 6 has been used as a rallying cry to raise ambition and boost international cooperation in the fight against climate change. I think its message aligns well with the motto for this year’s upcoming UN Climate Action Summit, 'a race we can win.' 

Starting to realize the importance of the event in Bangkok, I directed my energy to trying to understand other parts of the complex discussion. What sparked my interest the most was the topic of ‘carbon pricing.’ I was surprised to learn that by simply putting a tax on carbon, we could persuade the industrial sector to take responsibility for their pollution. The government could also use the revenue from those taxes to tackle other national issues such as poverty and food security.

I was also impressed to hear of the progress we’ve made in recent years. Indonesia has become the leading country in meeting decarbonization standards, the Philippines is investing greatly in renewable energy sectors, and Bangladesh and Thailand are developing eco-friendly transportation systems. Every country is putting in an incredible amount of effort to push forward the actual implementation of their targets under the Paris Agreement.

I thought my learning process would end when I left the conference room, but I was wrong; I found that the space outside, which had been empty in the morning, was suddenly filled with exhibition booths of various organizations. Even though they were from different corners of the world, all of their work was dedicated to the mutual goal of identifying the best climate solutions.

You could say I was young at heart when I walked past all the advanced innovative technologies and stopped at a game booth for elementary schoolers. The person at the booth explained to me how effective it was bringing in a simple Snakes and Ladders game to teach kids about climate change. The rules were easy: if you rolled the dice and landed on the square with eco-friendly actions, you would go up the ladder. On the other hand, you would move down the ladder for eco-unfriendly actions.

Of course, I could not resist the invitation to test the game, and I ended up playing for ten full minutes. I was enjoying it so much that I completely forgot that it was 'educational.' Yet, by the end of it, I remembered so clearly what eco-unfriendly actions had jeopardized my position as a winner that I walked out of the booth with a new mindset, committed to not doing any of those things in the future. 

Apart from the fun, educational exhibition booths, there was also an action hub: a stage where ideas were exchanged and creativity was ignited. You did not have to be the greatest entrepreneur or the most renowned activist to be on the stage. It was for everyone.

My four classmates and I were standing before the stage, jaws dropping, as one of young entrepreneurs shared his vision. "I believe everyone has the ability to get out there and do something about climate change." The sparkle of passion in his eyes and the strong determination in his voice made his words sound so promising and far beyond his age.

Getting to meet inspiring people at Asia-Pacific Climate Week, I came to realize that climate change is much more than boring scientific facts we have been taught in school. It is not only about the rise of global temperatures, melting icebergs or ozone depletion, but countries’ economies, people's well-being, and even the vision of our future lifestyle. Everything is connected.

Thus, it is now time to help get the message across that solving climate change is not only the duty of one region, one country, or one government, but every single one of us. When we believe that our voices matter and are committed to doing better, the mission of saving Planet Earth will not be far out of hand. It is a race we can win.

Photos by fellow #YouthTakeover participant Kamolchanok Kieatmontri.

From September 2-6 in Bangkok, Thailand, Asia-Pacific Climate Week (APCW) will bring together climate leaders from around the world to discuss the way forward for the region and the planet at large. Connect4Climate is excited to announce that the conference will mark the latest installment in its #YouthTakeover initiative, providing local students with a chance to communicate new ideas about how to engage and activate young audiences.

Building on the momentum of recent #YouthTakeover events in Singapore and Italy, Connect4Climate will take the opportunity presented by the wide-reaching APCW to hand its Twitter and Instagram channels over to a team of communications and media students from Thailand’s prestigious Mahidol University. As the region’s leading climate experts convene to create clear pathways to the UN Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit in September and COP25 in December, these talented young people will offer their perspectives on what’s happening through original messaging and Instagram stories. September 4 and 5 are the official #YouthTakeover days at APCW, but be on the lookout for surprise youth posts elsewhere in the week as well!

All participants in the takeover will set out to seek answers to a fundamental question: What innovations can help bridge the gap between the solutions currently being implemented on the ground and the further action that must be taken in order for the region to reach its Paris Agreement goals? It will be a challenging task for the young journalists, but undoubtedly they will be up to it.

Connect4Climate is honored to continue the #YouthTakeover program in memory of Max Thabiso Edkins, who always recognized the power of youth to take the helm on climate issues, speak out for their planet, and steer society towards a sustainable future.

Connect4Climate is thrilled to be back at Venice Film Festival, this year joining the world premiere of new documentary The Great Green Wall at Giornate Degli Autori. Produced by MAKE Waves and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) with major support by long-standing Connect4Climate partner Building Energy, the film features Malian singer and activist Inna Modja as she travels across Africa, visiting countries along the Great Green Wall path from Senegal to Djibouti where sustainability and reforestation projects are taking root.  Along the journey, she witnesses the myriad ways that climate change is impacting communities – increased desertification, drought, ​resource scarcity, radicalization, conflict, ​migration – and is inspired by stories of resilience, optimism and collective action.  See the brand new trailer here:

Directed by Jared P. Scott (Age of Consequences) and executive produced by Oscar-nominated Fernando Meirelles (City of God), the documentary features a host of original songs inspired by the vision of the Great Green Wall that Inna Modja creates in collaboration with musicians she meets on her journey. As Modja passionately pursues an African Dream for a generation seeking to control their own destiny, she reminds us of the enormity of the task ahead and that time is not on our side. The resulting journey of hope, hardship and perseverance reveals our shared human condition, ​reflecting a deeper moral and existential question we all must confront: “Will we take action before it's too late?”

The Great Green Wall will premiere at Venice Days – Giornate degli Autori on August 31st. To keep up to date with the exciting news from the team on the ground in Venice, follow @Connect4Climate @GreenWallAfrica on Twitter and join the conversation with #Giornate2019, #GreatGreenWall and #Film4Climate.

“This is a hopeful documentary about a positive initiative.”​ – Fernando Meirelles, Executive Producer

At the Guadalajara International Film Festival in 2018, Connect4Climate introduced an exciting opportunity for Latin American filmmakers passionate about climate action and sustainability more broadly: the Film4Climate Post-Production Award. Partnering with the leading post-production company LaserFilm, C4C launched a work-in-progress film contest whose winner received full post-production for their sustainability- and social issues-minded film at zero cost to them. The second-ever recipient of this award, “Son of Ox,” just wrapped its post-production at LaserFilm this spring.

Now, in collaboration with the Chilean Corporation of Documentary (CCDoc), C4C is bringing the popular contest back for a third round as a part of Conecta 2019, an event taking place from December 10 through 13 alongside COP25 in Santiago. If you’re from Latin America, have a film in the works focusing on one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and would like to submit your film to be considered for the Film4Climate Award at Conecta, you have until August 28 to do so! LaserFilm will once again be providing the winner with full post-production at its studio in Rome, Italy.

As C4C’s Program Manager Giulia Braga says, “We are tremendously excited to collaborate with CCDoc and to continue the long-standing partnership with LaserFilm. Film is perhaps the most uniquely effective medium for amplifying the need to act urgently to protect our planet.”

CCDoc’s Executive Director Flor Rubina adds that films can “give audiences quite a special focus on social and environmental issues relevant and vital to advancing our culture and society.” Andrea Di Nardo, Managing Director at LaserFilm, agrees: “Movies are mirroring the major issues of our society,” he says. “LaserFilm has a mission: producing movies that raise awareness about SDGs. And that's the goal of our prize as well.”

From Aug. 8-10 in Washington, DC, passionate young people joined veterans of geopolitics on the campus of George Washington University for the 24th session of the Friendship Ambassadors Foundation’s Youth Assembly. The aim of the three-day event was clear: to identify strategies maximizing youth’s impact in the global push to bring the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to fruition.  The group gathered at GWU included students of many talents from all over the word: economics, policy, science and the arts were all represented.

 

Connect4Climate advisor Francis Dobbs had the opportunity to address the audience in a panel centered on Climate,Youth and Innovation. He was joined by Dr. Miroslav Polzer, Secretary-General of IAAI GloCha; Hawa Diallo, Public Information Officer at the UN’s Department of Global Communications; Bobby Kia, cofounder of The People’s Prize; Frank Niepold, Climate Education Senior Program Manager at NOAA; and Tracey Ritchie, Director of Education for the Earth Day Network.

As convenor of the session, Dr. Polzer dedicated the gathering to our dear C4C colleague and climate hero, Max Thabiso Edkins, who we lost in March of this year, with a video introducing Max to the young audience followed by a minute’s silence. Each member of the panel then spoke on their own programs and youth campaigns; all were agreed that the mobilization of youth is critical in checking the advance of climate change now and rolling back the tide in the years to come. “We have to help open the door for young people,” Tracey Ritchie asserted. “When you ask, ‘Where is our army of climate activists?’” Frank Niepold added, “the answer is that it’s the youth.”

Last to speak, C4C’s Francis Dobbs delivered a heartfelt presentation in honor of  Max Thabiso Edkins, whose passion for elevating young voices and bringing young people into climate discussions was renowned worldwide. Dobbs announced an exciting new campaign to keep Max’s memory shining bright across the global climate community while simultaneously galvanizing youth engagement in on-the-ground action.

At the heart of the campaign is the simple symbol of a green bow tie pin, a nod to Max’s signature bowtie that he would wear at almost every climate event and a reliable eye-catcher on a dress or lapel.

“Max was a man of fashion, and he loved his bow ties,” Francis told the assembled young people, “but as both a scientist and a communicator they also had a special meaning to him. The bowtie symbolizes how the complexities of science are often woven together into wonderful structures that also make a strong statement.”

Beginning on September 10, C4C will launch a climate awareness bow tie blitz, distributing the colorful pins among partners and allies while simultaneously deepening youth outreach efforts all around the world in the spirit of Max’s own relentless activism.

Francis concluded the panel talk with the signature call-and-response sign-off of Nelson Mandela, which Max had always held a special fondness for.  “Amandla,” (“Power”), Francis began. “Awethu!” (“To us!”), the young room replied.