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.

On the occasion of World Environment Day 2019, celebrated on June 5, the Jadir Taekwondo Association launched the third edition of AJTKD Environment Week. Several activities were planned and executed throughout the week aiming to raise awareness of the importance of the environment and its preservation.

The event began with lectures on the themes "Sustainable Use of Energy" and "The Sustainable Development Goals", carried out by prof. Paulo Rocha, Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at COPPE-UFRJ and volunteer at AJTKD.

Rocha explained how "the efficient use of electric energy reduces the emission of greenhouse gases and contributes to the environment," and how "it minimizes electricity bill expenses at the end of the month."

Youth participants then had the opportunity to watch a cartoon animation about the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, which reinforced the importance of preserving the environment in order to keep the planet sustainable.

Perhaps most exciting of all for the students was a virtual reality experience whereby they got the opportunity to visit the largest rainforest in the world - the Amazonia. Virtual reality makes it possible to take students into places that would otherwise be physically unviable.

Parque Madureira, the third largest public park in the city of Rio de Janeiro, was the host of the sports activities held during the event. Several Taekwondo classes were held, as well as presentations aimed at students, their families and the community.

The park has an area of ​​109,000m², and is home to more than 800 planted trees.

Banner image from Jens Hausherr. Others courtesy of the Jadir Taekwondo Association.

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.