Young people have brilliant ideas and solutions and they are actively working towards combating climate change. However, it is still very hard for young people to source and secure funds says Purity Musatila
In theory, education is a basic human right for everyone in the world. However, this is not the case for many young people in disadvantaged communities. Today, the big question that young people are asking is, “Why?” ‘Why is education not accessible to all, despite the measures taken?’ ‘What are you and I doing to bridge this gap?’ ‘What do we need our stakeholders to do to mitigate this?’
As a young person coming from sub-Saharan Africa (Zambia), I was honoured to join several other young people from across the world in the BIG IDEA RELAY! This was an interesting initiative by Restless Development and a collective of young voices on education and climate change. We asked questions and discussed possible outcomes and the call to action.
Climate change education is critical to ensuring that young people are aware and conscious of their surroundings and environment. However, how do we ensure that other young people from rural areas, marginalized and displaced populations, minorities, and indigenous communities receive the education, resources, and aid necessary to safeguard their environments?
Including Climate Change in the curriculum.
We need an education curriculum that includes climate change as a subject from elementary school to secondary school and higher learning institutions. This will teach and train young people from an early age to protect their environments and challenge them to solve climate change problems beginning in their schools and communities.
Stakeholders, civil societies, NGOs, and policymakers need to seriously fund education across the globe. Educational aids, learning materials, and resources should be made accessible to every pupil and student in any community they belong to. If we are going to create a better world, we need every child to learn freely, participate, and contribute to building sustainable solutions to mitigate climate change.
Funding young, Climate initiatives.
Climate change organizations led by young people should be adopted and funded to implement their objectives in communities. Young people have brilliant ideas and solutions and they are actively working towards combating climate change. However, it is hard for young people to source and secure these funds.
We need an open, easy and transparent way for the young to secure funds to take on their initiatives and implement them as it is through these that we are shaping and fighting climate change.
We cannot take climate change out of our education curriculum. And our world is becoming less and less habitable by the second. What we need is to join hands with young people, stakeholders, researchers, educators, environmentalists, and everyone else to work together and protect our world.
We, as young people, are the future, and this is our world; this is our home.
Feature Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash
