In response to the pressing issues of climate change and sustainability the South East African Climate Consortium Student Forum (SEACC SF) was formed in February 2010. SEACC SF is a non-profit, non-political (i.e. not attached to any political organizations) student forum that aims to lead a student crusade to tackle issues of sustainability and climate change. We recognize that students, as potential leaders and key players in society, have a responsibility to respond to what has become one of the strongest moral callings of our time by exerting our influence to creating more sustainable societies in order that we can protect our natural environment, and the rights of current and future generations to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being, as enshrined in Section 24 (a) of the South African Constitution.

SEACC SF espouses a commitment to the principles of the Green Generation:

• An evolution of energy production, based on sustainable carbon-usage and renewable energy, thereby reducing our dependency on fossil fuels;
• Collective individual commitment to responsible, sustainable consumption;
• Establishing a green economy, to lift people out of poverty and create sustainable green jobs;
• Creating a green global education system

Although we are a young organization in just under two years we are developing into one of the biggest and more progressive student organisations in South Africa. The South East African Climate Consortium Student Forum (SEACC SF) has moved from strength to strength in 2011, and is emerging as one of the biggest and most progressive student organisations in South Africa. SEACC SF has official nodes at four universities in the Eastern Cape, namely Rhodes University, the University of Fort Hare and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, with Walter Sisulu University quite recently establishing a newly-fledged committee. At each university there is a committee of students who are working in a professional and responsible manner to further the goal of SEACC SF, which is, as the SEACC slogan suggests, sustainability through knowledge and action. Not only that, but SEACC SF has managed to secure a number of dedicated partners, such as the Sustainable Seas Trust and the Environmental Learning and Research Centre, and together we are working on creating a more sustainable future for all. SEACC SF has access to a pool of hundreds of different students in varying academic disciplines, year of study, culture, and backgrounds, which is a truly valuable resource, which has allowed us to push forward with some great projects in the 14 months that we have been running for, and here are just some of the awesome projects we are running (for more info on us visit our temporary site  or stay tuned for our new site.

WildREACH – Since its conception in late 2010, WildREACH (Wildlife Outreach) has grown to become an exciting, progressive and active project fostering a valuable relationship between student volunteers and local communities in which knowledge is shared and applied in an effort to promote social and environmental sustainability through wildlife conservation.
The WildREACH vision realises that knowledge is a prerequisite to shifting attitudes and perceptions and it is these attitudes and perceptions that will determine the success of any conservation effort.  WildREACH focuses on developing an interest in wildlife in a fun and exciting way and lets those who have been empowered with knowledge discover for themselves why wild areas are worth conserving. With the recent and substantial financial support provided by the Wildlands Conservation Trust, WildREACH looks forward to moving from strength to strength and reaching more and more children with this powerful vision. In 8 months WildREACH reached over 200 children in the Grahamstown area.

SEA Pledges and SEAS Centres (http://sst.org.za/pages/14?project_id=3) – SEACC SF in partnership with the Sustainable Seas Trust has put together a team of passionate individuals who are developing and pioneering the way forward on an exciting community development, environmental conservation and charity initiative. We have developed a strong strategic plan for the roll out of SEA Pledges, which is a project aimed at getting members of the public to make moral and monetary pledges to protect our oceans and natural environment. The monetary pledges will in turn go towards the development of Sustainable Education and Skills (SEAS) Centres in rural and underprivileged communities in the Eastern Cape. SEAS Centres aim to impart skills and education to the communities so that they may end their dependence on unsustainable usage of natural resources through developing sustainable livelihoods. We aim to develop SEAS Centres through bringing together the strengths of all of the partners within SEACC, while also taking into account the importance of indigenous knowledge and its contribution to this endeavor. SEA Pledge also acts as a vehicle to raise environmental standards by getting individuals and organizations across South Africa to pledge to raise their environmental standards. Much of the project has been made possible due to the generous support of Artists Project Earth.

There are many facts about climate change that have become fairly common. For example, most people now know that climate change has a variety of impacts on natural systems.

Most people also know that the world's poorest depend more on those natural systems to survive and make a living. But many are not aware that climate change poses a great risk to the poor and threatens to undo decades of work to end poverty.

Addressing climate change is crucial in the fight to end poverty, and we need people in order to address climate change. That's why we've partnered with the World Duty Free Group to share the following message on more than 125 screens in airports across the US, as part of our work tobring climate change messages to new audiences.

[video:https://vimeo.com/107056361]

For three weeks the #TakeOn Climate Change video above will play in eighteen US airports. More than five million passengers will see the message about the connection between climate change and poverty.

If you happen to see the video, please tweet at us with a photo or selfie of the display and let us know how you will #takeon climate change.

Connect4Climate looks back on 15 highlights in 2014 celebrating climate action with a view of advancing the climate movement in 2015. We are so thankful to all of you for taking on climate change.

In its first edition in January 1985, in transition from dictatorship to democracy, Rock in Rio invited Brazil to celebrate freedom. Presenting the biggest names in international show business, the event attracted more than a million people and reached 100 million Brazilians through television and radio, brought visitors from every continent and was covered by media from 30 countries.

The 16 previous editions in the four cities has totalled 8,218.600 viewers present at the City of Rock and 1,498 artists from all genres. A success of such magnitude imposes responsibilities and demands from the organizers to help improve the community's quality of life somehow. Thus, in 14 editions over the last 14 years of the Social Project, Rock in Rio has invested USD 31,687, 918.38 in various parts of the world with the support of sponsors.

The organization's vision has also evolved and since 2001, the year that the Social Project was created, the focus evolved from social issues to the integration of these with environmental issues. In 2006 the sustainability of the event became a reality within the organization, reaffirming what already had been assumed as an effective commitment of the organization towards social, environmental and economic issues related with event. Therefore in every edition Rock in Rio develops an extensive campaign on sustainable mobility, alongside a public mobility plan (including spaces and differentiated access for people with reduced mobility), and a sustainability plan for the organization, sponsors and suppliers, having assumed a commitment in 2013 tomaintain the ISO 20121 certification - sustainable events, develops awareness campaigns on good sustainability practices targeting group artists, sponsors, suppliers, public and community, delivers to artists Carbon free certificates ensuring that Rock in Rio offsets its carbon footprint, implements a demanding waste management plan aiming to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible, donating materials after the event as well as the food, that remains in good condition, to institutions and families in need, also created an award for sponsors and suppliers with the best sustainability practices in the City of Rock.

These measures and decisions allowed Rock in Rio to build 14 sensory stimulation rooms used by more than 1,000 young people a year; 3,200 young people finished their basic studies in Rio de Janeiro through financial support; 760 photovoltaic panels have been installed in 38 Portuguese schools that will produce energy for 15 years and the profit made by the sale of energy will be applied in social and environmental projects,  winning the Energy Global Award 2009; 10 music rooms were installed in public schools; 2,200 musical instruments were donated to 150 NGO; 40 young people trained in luthier assistants; 80 scholarships were created, for the teaching of music; more than 10,000 meals were donated to institutions providing aid to families in need; 60,000 trees were planted in California in a forest area that burned, 126,435 in Rio de Janeiro to help preserve the water of Guandu river that supplies Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area and other 118,000 trees will be planted until 2016 in burnt areas in Portugal.

And that was just the beginning!

We believe that our attitudes can help to transform society into a more harmonious and balanced place.

For a better world (Por Um Mundo Melhor) is Rock in Rio's motto. Photo credits: Agência Zero