Glasgow recently hosted the United Nations Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as the Conference of the Parties, or COP26. The most important climate activists and world leaders attended the event, where vital discussions and conversations were held regarding the ever-worsening climate crisis.
Over the course of the two weeks, all of the media attention was on COP26, which meant that other events weren’t getting the attention they deserved. One of these events was the United Nations Conference of Youth, or COY16, where young delegates from all across the globe congregated to represent the voice of youth in the climate crisis. A voice which is equally as important, if not more important than those of the world leaders.
“Young people are not only victims of climate change. They are also valuable contributors to climate action. They are agents of change, entrepreneurs and innovators. Whether through education, science or technology, young people are scaling up their efforts and using their skills to accelerate climate action.” This is the statement on the United Nations website, which just goes to show that young voices must be heard and taken seriously, now more than ever.
Johanna Thompson is the Student President of Glasgow Clyde College and Zahra Khan is the Vice President for Diversity and Wellbeing at City of Glasgow College – they both attended COY16 representing Scotland and the Glasgow Colleges Regional Board. Johanna and Zahra feel very strongly about the importance of events like COY16 and the important role of young voices in the fight against climate change.
COY16 provided delegates with the opportunity to share their own knowledge and stories about climate change, as well as educate those who might not have been as aware of the issues that climate change is causing. Thompson explained: “This first thing I actually say in regard to climate change, carbon footprint, COY16, COP26, is that I was probably blissfully ignorant because of my lack of knowledge on climate change, or because of the education that I had.
“I wasn’t very educated leading up to it. But since I’ve stepped into this role [Student President] it’s something that’s flagging up in lots of places, and attending COY16 has absolutely opened my eyes, it was a life changing experience.”
Khan added: “I was kind of climate conscious before COY16, I just did the basics like recycling and other stuff, but after going to COY16, I really stepped up my game. Things have become more habitual for me now like using metal straws and reducing food waste. I perpetuate that onto my friends and in my workplaces, I talk about it a lot more now. Everything at COY was educational, every conversation you had was emotional and impactful.”
Thompson thinks that young voices are of paramount importance when tackling the climate crisis, and that their voice must be heard loud and clear. She said: “The youth are so diverse, and the youth are listened to. It’s the youth that will be running the world and running countries, they are the upcoming generation and if this can be implemented at a young age then it will follow on. The youth are more passionate because this is the world they are growing up in now.”
Khan also believes that the youth must be listened to: “It is down to the youth, it’s their world. Our kids are seeing all of these things happening and speaking about it to their parents. Kids are so intuitive, and the youth are so intuitive. The global youth need to stand up and we all have to play our part.”
City of Glasgow College and Glasgow Clyde College collectively have thousands of students who attend lectures on campus, providing them with an opportunity to educate their students on the climate crisis. Khan said: “I have to give Kudos to Nicholas Garcia [last year’s Student President at City of Glasgow College] who implemented a sustainability assessment for the college. We also do Campus Clean-ups, we’ve put a charge onto non-reusable cups, and we have our own compost where all the food waste goes.”
Thompson added: “At Clyde College, we’ve done the Climate Fresk workshops. But it was actually really interesting hearing what other departments of the college were doing, things like horticulture and recycling things to be reused, but it’s mostly about the right messaging. We’ve also had committee meetings where we’ve been building up a strategic plan for the next three to five years.”
Education has a huge role in the fight against climate change, especially when it comes down to educating children and those in the younger generation. The young people of today have a massive responsibility and must ensure that action is taken against climate change.
The United Nations Climate Action website explains why it’s so important to educate young people: “Education can encourage people to change their attitudes and behavior; it also helps them to make informed decisions. In the classroom, young people can be taught the impact of global warming and learn how to adapt to climate change. Education empowers all people, but especially motivates the young to take action. Knowing the facts helps eliminate the fear of an issue which is frequently colored by doom and gloom in the public arena.”
Zahra thinks that children should start their education on climate change at nursery: “I think as soon as a child is born, they should be made aware of the climate emergency. When you have a child, you need to prepare them for the world and for them to be the best version of themselves that they can possibly be.
“If you’re not teaching your children about the climate emergency, you’re making them ignorant and a part of the problem. We’re going through a climate emergency - we need them to know these things.”
Johanna also believes that educating children from a young age will help them grow to become more climate conscious: “Children should be learning the basics from nursery, like recycling and turning off taps. Each year [climate education] should be implemented or recited to them in some way, with more things added on each year.
“Throughout primary school it should then be embedded in their brains and in their subconscious minds, so it’s programmed in from that point.”
The climate crisis is worsening by the day and real change needs to happen now. As Zahra and Johanna have explained, educating our youth on climate change and making sure their voices are heard loud and clear is a priority, before the clock runs out and it’s too late to reverse this emergency.
Climate Fresk - Educating the Youth
Climate Fresk is a French non-profit organisation that was setup by Cédric Ringenbach in 2018. The goal of the organisation is to “publicise and disseminate the ‘Climate Fresk’ tool, which aims to raise climate science awareness among a maximum number of people around the world.” And “train participants in workshops allowing them to use this tool, thanks to facilitators present at numerous events (festivals, conferences, back-to-school events, fairs, etc).”
Since their launch in December 2018, they have hosted events in over 50 countries in 35 languages, with over 235,000 participants and 10,000 volunteers helping run the workshop.
The Climate Fresk workshop itself consists of a three-hour session (online or in person where accessible) for young people, students and lecturers to gain a better grasp on the IPCC reports and the implications of climate change. The workshops are held by facilitators and host between six to 20 people per session. (There are also junior versions of the workshop, which is a more simplified version for nine to 14-year-olds.)
Climate Fresk had a very prevalent role during the COY16 event, as they played a part of the COY16 Working Group and were an official partner for the conference. During the event, they held their workshops in the morning and afternoon for delegates and volunteers to educate themselves on the climate crisis – and were successful in doing so.
Glasgow’s Colleges have also paired up with Climate Fresk in order to educate their students on climate change. Throughout COP26, the City of Glasgow College welcomed facilitators and volunteers to host the Climate Fresk workshop for students and lecturers at the college. They ran from the 1st to 5th of November, and then again from the 8th to 12th of November.
Michaël Doré, the COP26 co-ordinator for Climate Fresk told the City of Glasgow College: “Our aim is to empower participants to become climate education leaders. With climate education, we can empower millions of people around the world to tackle the climate emergency.
“Climate Fresk is on a journey to enable people around the world understand the very best of climate change science. We are proud to put climate education at the forefront with our partner, City of Glasgow College, hosting our workshop hub.”
Martin Boyle, Executive Director of Glasgow Colleges’ Regional Board, also told the college: “The Glasgow college region is committed to net zero and our Climate Fresk partnership is part of our regional environmental strategy. This is a great chance for our students, as individuals and as part of Glasgow's future workforce, to get involved and become part of a global conversation.”
Other colleges in and around the Glasgow region hosted Climate Fresk workshops for the duration of COP26, allowing thousands of students to access vital learning on the climate crisis.
According to a report by the Campaign Against Climate Change, 68% of pupils want to learn more about the environment and climate change. So, if Climate Fresk, or similar workshops, are made more widely available and brought into school curriculums, there is a much higher chance that young people will want to become more involved in the fight against climate change, and make a real difference.
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