The Earth Day Network's Climate Leadership Gala, which took place this Wednesday at a hotel ballroom in Washington, D.C., saw an unlikely congregation of climate allies come together to recognize one another's work in accelerating climate action and to lay out new strategies for ensuring a greener future. Attendees included influencers from governmental organizations, popular media, social media, private industry, and the youth protest movement.

Earth Day Network president Kathleen Rogers kicked off the festivities with a reminder of the impact the original Earth Day made on so many people in the United States and abroad back in 1970, and maintained that the Network remains fully committed to promoting that same kind of enthusiasm around climate issues to this day. Rogers and her organization are looking forward to the many climate awareness activities planned for Earth Day 2020.

Washington, D.C.'s Ward 3 councilmember Mary Cheh emceed the event, calling special attention to the recent achievements of youth in the realm of climate advocacy.

Early on, the night focused on the efforts of business leaders to cultivate greener images for their brands. Suzanne DiBianca, executive vice president of corporate relations at the San Francisco-based software firm Salesforce, accepted an award in recognition of her company's work eliminating its carbon footprint and enlisting community stakeholders in a sustainability and climate awareness campaign. Toyota's sustainability director Kevin Butt, for his part, discussed the automaker's latest strides in hydrogen- and electricity-powered vehicles, and laid out new goals for further reductions in the company's overall carbon emissions.

After these talks the gala pivoted toward popular media when well-loved Today show veteran Al Roker accepted an award of his own for his commitment to communicating the severity of climate change. In his speech, Roker said he was grateful to be able to use his platform to distribute scientific fact to the American public and keep the dialogue on sustainability going in these contentious political times.

As fish and falafel dinners were served to the assembled guests, National Football League chef Charity Morgan took to the podium to discuss her work improving the diets of American footballers. She noted that, contrary to what you might expect, the food provided to these athletes has historically been nutrient-poor and unsustainable. She's been changing that one meal at a time, establishing a positive, sustainability-minded relationship with the NFL and arranging more nutritious plant-based dietary options for players.

The next award recipient was the evening's youngest speaker, 13-year-old climate striker Alexandria Villaseñor, who was recognized for her work galvanizing the first-ever worldwide school strike for climate on March 15. Inspired by school strike for climate pioneer Greta Thunberg, Villaseñor is mobilizing youth around the world for an even mroe ambitious international demonstration on May 24.

Rounding out the evening were presentations from actress-turned-documentary filmmaker Ashley Bell and blockbuster director James Cameron. Bell, whose documentary debut Love and Bananas makes a compelling emotional case for the protection of elephants worldwide, accepted her climate leadership award with a call to preserve the beauty of nature for future generations. Cameron concluded the gala with remarks beamed in from New Zealand, focusing on the importance of civic engagement in bringing about systemic change and exhorting everyone to "Get involved, get informed, and vote Earth!"

On Friday, April 5, some 700 high school and college students gathered at the the Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II in Naples, Italy for an honest climate discussion with Italy's Minister of the Environment, Sergio Costa. At the heart of the event was the question of how best to safeguard the world's natural capital, i.e. protect the scope and diversity of natural ecosystems everywhere. Biodiversity and robust forests are essential to the health of our species and our planet; over the course of the three-hour session, Costa and the assembled young people strove to arrive at a common understanding of how to keep the Earth from further damage, and, where possible, how to undo the damage already done.

Opening remarks were delivered by professor and university dean Gaetano Manfredi and Connect4Climate's own program manager Giulia Braga. These introductions set the stage for an event emphasizing the power of youth innovation and activism to make an impact on climate worldwide. With a touching tribute, the event was formally dedicated to Connect4Climate's late climate expert and content lead Max Thabiso Edkins, who always went the extra mile to include young, bold thinkers in the climate dialogue. The tribute recalled a spirited exhortation from Edkins to "take this momentum and help solve this challenge of our generation."

The event kicked off in earnest with a lively performance from sustainable music collective BungtBangt, who played on intruments made from recycled everyday materials. "Together," the group's frontman said, "we can be protectors, not destroyers, of the Earth." He maintained that natural capital was absolutely essential to the daily existence of everyone on the planet, and noted that music was an especially fitting means of distributing this message, for "Music is the purest form of natural energy."

After the performance came a discussion between Sergio Costa and journalist Paolo Chiariello and a question-and-answer exchange with the students in the audience. Costa pointed to recent ocean conservation legislation and other good work the Italian government was doing as examples of steps in the right direction, but made it clear that there was a tremendous amount of work left to be done, and that it was up to young people to stand up for their beliefs and be as vocal as possible about the changes they wish to see implemented.

"Our families understood before our institutions that a different future—one that is plastic-free—is possible," Costa said. "Get on the streets, make yourselves heard. That's the only way change will ever happen." He made it clear that the environmentalism of today "has to touch everyday life" if it's to be successful. "If it does not upset our habits," he noted, climate discussion will not solve anything. Action must always undergird the movement if we're to have a chance at saving our planet. And the youth of the world have demonstrated their willingness to make that action happen.

Connect4Climate live-streamed the event from beginning to end on our Facebook channel, and you can still watch the footage in its entirety at this link.