Celebrating World Environment Day – launch of Climate Change Toolkit

Take action now! It’s more than a catchy phrase. It is what many children and young people around the world are saying, loud and clear, as the changing global environment puts their communities at risk and threatens their collective and individual futures.”
(Quote from the Climate Change Toolkit)

Our planet’s climate is changing and this change is already having a lasting impact on our environment and our lives. The impacts of climate change are often more severely felt in less developed countries, where many people struggle with food, water scarcities and diseases, such as malaria or HIV/AIDS. The exacerbation of these issues can negatively affect the health, development and protection of young people, particularly young women who are especially vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change.

World Environment Day

Taking place on the 5th June 2011, World Environment Day seeks to combat some of these issues, encouraging people around the world to celebrate, raise awareness and take positive steps towards environmental action.

Young people are not only being significantly affected by climate change but can also play a considerable part in solving problems in their communities. As they live, play and work they often gain unique insights into the local environment and ways in which it is changing. In addition, young people are often creative and open-minded in their problem solving. They have the energy, commitment and initiative to take action to reduce the impact of climate change.

With this in mind, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award International Association, along with the other members of the Alliance of Youth CEOs (http://www.intaward.org/about-us/Partnerships/), joined together with UNICEF and other United Nations and Non-governmental (NGO) partners to produce this guide aimed to encourage young people to ‘take action now’ to address the challenges of climate change. From practical projects, to awareness raising workshops, this guide provides peer educators, teachers and youth workers with advice and ideas for empowering and supporting young people to participate in tackling climate change. The resource can be used with any group of young people, both in and out of formal education, and places a special emphasis on the power and potential of young women as catalysts for change because of their increased vulnerability, as well as the differences as to what is expected of young women in many societies.

Using the Award to make a difference

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award International Association has long seen young Award participants use their Award Programme to tackle the issue of climate change and make a difference to their communities. Last year, three of the ten shortlisted stories collected as part of the Peter Cruddas Initiative (http://www.intaward.org/uploads/documents/PCSII%20Brochure.pdf) reported young Award participants using their Award to make a difference to the environment: David Speirs of Australia restored the fortunes of a badly polluted river running through South East Adelaide with a public awareness campaign and by securing funds for conservation work; Ryan Hreljac of Canada raised money to build wells in 16 developing countries providing around 640,000 people with safe drinking water and improved sanitation; and Asad Zaidi of Pakistan educated hundreds of local people of the effect they were having on their environment and encouraged them to take positive action.

Award participants from Singapore have also been busy tackling environmental issues. 1200 Award participants and 140 Gold Award holders recently celebrated World Earth Day on 23 April 2011 with a mass clean up of the East Coast beach and put up an exhibition along the East Coast area on their environmental activities. 30 Gold Award holders have also recently been selected to act as ambassadors for the Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) from 4th-8th July 2011 where they will have the responsibility of looking after up to 300 international ministers, mayors and government officials. Good luck to everyone involved!

Leading by example

India’s Award participants have also been leading by example addressing environmental issues. HSBC India's partnership with The Kemri Conservation Project has given Gold Award participants from HSBC the opportunity to complete their Residential Projects on 'ecological restoration and community outreach'. The recent project saw 18 participants working at a project site near Udaipur, Rajasthan clearing the forest area, digging trenches to set pipelines and planting saplings. Aloysius Chrispin Franklin, a Gold participant, said that the project was 'an amazing time' for him where he got to interact with other 'motivated and passionate volunteers from different locations in India'. In addition, the different tasks gave him 'an entirely new perspective on climate change' and its effects.

If you have an example of a young Award participant using their Award to tackle the issue of climate change in their community we would love to hear their story. Please email their contact details and information about what they have achieved to joanne.harris@intaward.org.

Climate Change Toolkit: Download