Rosina Bierbaum about Youth and Sustainability #GEFLive
[video:https://vimeo.com/278665105]
|
#YouthStepUp Contest: A call on young people to take climate ambition to the next level
Youth face some of the most significant challenges when it comes to climate change, but also have the biggest opportunity to make a difference.
As climate leaders convene at the landmark Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, California on September 12-14, 2018, they are looking for people across government, business, and civil society for the solutions we need to stop climate change. Will young people answer their call to "take ambition to the next level"?
If we continue on our current track, youth will inherit the most significant impacts of a warming world through direct impacts on social, economic, cultural, and environmental stability.
As the largest voting block in the United States, unprecedented numbers of young people are rising to meet the climate challenge, but even greater levels of action are required to protect our future.
Credits to Our Climate
The Summit will be a moment to celebrate the extraordinary climate action achievements of states, regions, cities, companies, investors, and citizens. It will also be a launchpad for even more ambitious worldwide climate commitments.
It all begins with young people. What ideas do you have to break through the gridlock that persists around climate change? How can we drive real and meaningful solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? How can we engage youth to lead this transformative process? Our Climate invites all 18 to 24-year-olds residing in the U.S. to answer these questions by designing a concrete and implementable policy solution, sustainable business, advocacy campaign, land use design, or scientific proposal.
Contribute your creativity and ingenuity in the #YouthStepUp climate contest. The top winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize, and multiple winners will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to California to help make your visions a reality.
All applications are due by August 3rd, 2018 at 11:59 pm PT.
Photo Credits to Our Climate
|
Inclusivity must be the basis of SDG2030
The plight of Syrian refugees has been dominating news headlines for many months now. Every social media platform broadcasts haunting images of their sad fate, especially those of women and children, who inevitably suffer the most. Feeling sorry for them is no longer the solution, and it is imperative that each and every member of civil society takes steps to alleviate their suffering as they have every right to a life of dignity like all of us.
The youth organization, Green Hope Foundation, believes in turning words into action and we decided to bring smiles to the faces of Syrian refugee children living in camps in Lebanon close to the border. We wanted this New Year to be very special for these children and with the help of our members collected a large consignment of clothes, woolens, books, flasks, and toys. A five member Green Hope team flew to Lebanon in the first week of January with this consignment and visited camps housing the Syrian refugees. Green Hope works on Education for Sustainable Development, and we try and reach out to all sections of civil society with our message so that "no one is left behind" as we march towards sustainability. Our main objective was to engage and educate the Syrian refugee children on environmental conservation as we believe that every child has a right to education. Through our workshops and other activities we wanted to engage, educate and empower them so that they too become a part of the sustainable development process and start taking actions within their zones of influence.
Over a two day period, we conducted six environmental workshops with each workshop targeting a specific age group. Several hundred children ranging in age from 7 to 18 attended our workshops. This was their first exposure to conservation issues, and their enthusiasm was limitless. We educated them about global warming, the impacts of climate change, the UN Environment’s “Beat Pollution” campaign, the need to go “plastic free," how tree planting reduces the carbon footprint impact and the need to recycle and reuse so that they could reduce wastage in their camps and do “more with less”. Our workshops were extremely interactive, and we used music, songs, art, and quiz to communicate with the children. Each group painted their dreams of the future on white T-shirts that we gave them, and their ideas and expressions were truly amazing. After each activity we distributed prizes in the form of books, toys, flasks, woolens, and clothes that we had carried with us and their joyous smiles lit up the room. Since their camps are without electricity for most of the day, we also distributed solar rechargeable lamps which would enable them to study at night. After each activity, the children would break into an impromptu dance, and we joined in with them, sharing the moment. Despite being from different parts of the world, we became one thus proving the universal nature of humanity. After attending the workshops, the children said that they would organize a cleanup campaign in their camps once the rains stopped. They also planned to plant trees within their camps soon. All the attendees wrote down action pledges on handprint cutouts which they put up on a “tree of hope.”
Our efforts were only a drop in the ocean of their misery, but we left vindicated that we were able to bring momentary joy in the lives of a few hundred children. We also planted the seed of environmental action in their hearts, and some of them would take the cause of sustainability forward within their zones of influence. A dream of a sustainable world can become a reality only if all sections of civil society, especially the marginalized sections are involved, and Green Hope will continue to reach out to them and empower them so that together we get “The Future We Want.”
Kehkashan Basu is one of Connect4Climate Youth Ambassadors.
Pacific Voices in Unison at COP23 #Uniting4Climate
Pacific Voices in Unison 
Opening of Youth and Future Generations Day at COP23 #Uniting4Climate
Opening of Youth and Future Generations Day #Uniting4climate
|
Italy and UN Launch Fellowship Programme for Climate Vulnerable Countries
The Government of Italy and UN Climate Change have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch a new Fellowship Programme aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to respond to the challenges arising from climate change.
The new Programme titled “Capacity Award Programme to Advance Capabilities and Institutional Training in one Year" (CAPACITY) will contribute to developing local professional expertise in the countries that are most vulnerable to climate change by:
Supporting innovative analytical work on climate change in the context of sustainable development Promoting a network of experts who can bring creating and innovative options to bear on questions of climate change Encouraging the leadership potential of young and promising professionals in the fieldsSpeaking at the MoU signing ceremony, Patricia Espinosa, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, said: "I would like to extend my deep appreciation to the government of Italy for providing support to launch this important fellowship programme. It marks an important step forward in our endeavor to ensure widest possible support to SIDS and LDC countries to combat climate change and help them build institutional capacity to build resilience to climate impacts.”
Patricia Espinosa, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary
Gian Luca Galletti, the Italian Minister of the Environment, Land and Sea, said: “The Italian government firmly believes that enhancing the ability of individuals, organizations and institutions in developing countries to identify, plan and implement ways to mitigate and adapt to climate change is crucial to enabling developing countries to pursue our common objectives for sustainable development in a climate-friendly manner.”
Gian Luca Galletti, Italian Minister of the Environment, Land and Sea
The programme is specifically targeted at mid-career professionals in SIDS and LDC countries who are working in a broad range of national, regional, and local governmental organizations, ranging from educational institutions, research institutes and ministries. Italy has agreed to provide a funding of 2,500,000 euros for the fellowship programme, which will initially be launched for a period for five years.
Annually, up to five one year fellowships will be awarded that can be further extended by one year. Selected fellows will have the opportunity to gain exposure to a wide range of opportunities available the UN Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn, Germany. They will be able to work on projects relating to the Paris Agreement, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), global climate action agenda, finance, legal, regulatory and institutional framework.
Youth Climate Action Awards Ceremony at COP23
Timezone:
“Showcasing the power of young people as key players in reaching innovative and ambitious solutions to combat climate change”
World Bank Group Youth Summit 2017: Technology and Innovation for Impact
Timezone:
We find ourselves amid the greatest information and communications revolution in human history and must take advantage of this rapid technological change to make the world more prosperous and inclusive. With youth being the early adopters and the most active users of Information and Communication technologies, their participation is essential in expanding the reach of technology and fulfilling the transformative potential of the digital revolution.
follow us
