- Why is the COP28 conference in Dubai so important for everyone to understand?
- How is The Stone Soup Leadership Institute involved at COP28?
- Why is Climate Education Urgent?
At COP28 in Dubai decisions are being made that will affect all of our lives and our collective future. “It’s crucial that everyone tunes in and understands what is happening right now!” declares Mitzi Jonelle Tan, climate activist from The Philippines, one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world.
Over 100,000 people have converged – world leaders, business executives, sustainability champions and climate activists — to steer us away from the climate crisis and toward a more just, sustainable, and equitable planet. It’s poignant to Mitzi and the other Global South youth delegates who are literally fighting for their lives and their communities that they are gathered at one of the world’s largest producers of oil, which fuels the climate crisis.
At COP, over 1,000 youth delegates are taking every opportunity to demand that these leaders commit to the urgent transition from fossil fuels. These brave young leaders are relentless in making their voices heard by speaking at high profile events with world leaders and decision-makers; interviewed by journalists and TV reporters from around the world; holding well-organized press conferences like #Education4Earth, creating colorful signs and sharing their powerful messages at protests in COP28’s Blue Zone.
“We’ve made a lot of noise so that we would be invited into these decision-making rooms,” says 21-year-old high profile climate activist, Xiye Bastida, a member of the Mexican indigenous Otomi-Toltec nation. “We need to come together as humanity in this moment and push as hard as we can to get the Equitable Fossil Fuel Phase Out to be the landmark decision at this #COP28.”
The Stone Soup Leadership Institute at COP28
On December 6, The Institute welcomed youth delegates with Ministers Education and Environment for a VIP Dialogue on Climate Education.K.C. Shreya, Nepal, Adenike Oladosu Nigeria, Kevin Patel Los Angeles, and Illai Kenney, Washington D.C. among 100 youth from 38 countries featured in Stone Soup for a Sustainable World: Life-Changing Stories of Young Heroes and the Stone Soup Climate Education Curriculum.
Hosted at the Climate Live Global Pavilion, the standing-room only event was abuzz with energy — engaged in meaningful dialogue. While youth delegates celebrated the victory of the Loss & Damage Fund announced on Day 1 – they stressed the importance of investing in climate education is paramount to curbing the crisis and reducing future cleanup costs. The solutions-oriented VIP Dialogue opened with the video COP28 Youth Delegates Demands: Climate Education and spotlighted their climate education initiatives – from Nicki Becker’s youth summer camps in Argentina to Mitzi’s training programs with Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP). OneUpAction! founder Kevin J Patel, Youth Climate Council for Los Angeles County, said “Climate education equips us with profound knowledge to understand our planet’s challenges and empowers us to create effective, sustainable, and just solutions. It’s our most potent tool for transformative change.”
Sudan’s Minister of Environment Zeinab Mohammdein shared moving stories and photos of how they are educating people young and old to deal with the escalating climate shocks and economic crisis in one of the most vulnerable countries. Representing the Pakistan’s Minister of Climate Change Kamran Ali said, “In Pakistan, we see glaciers melting in front of our eyes. Entire villages have been swept away. The good news is, we are protecting indigenous knowledge about glacier grafting to restore glaciers.” Representing the Zimbabwe’s Minister of Environment Nozinhle Evelyn Gumede said, “In Zimbabwe, we have many university students graduating with a Masters of Climate Change. We are mainstreaming climate education in all corporate sectors of business.”
Why is Climate Education Urgent?
It has been 8 years since the Paris Agreement when world leaders from 175 countries pledged to include climate education focused on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG). How are our leaders doing?
● 66% of teachers lack expertise or training in climate education.
● 51% face a dearth of climate education resources.
Stone Soup Climate Education Curriculum
Watch this video to see how teachers in the U.S. and Europe are using the Stone Soup Climate Education Curriculum to educate their students about the challenges we face and how they can become part of the solution. This dynamic, solutions-oriented Curriculum features 100 individual customized lesson plans that help guide students toward green jobs to help preserve, protect and rebuild the planet. It aligns with U.N.SDG; NGIS (Next Gen STEM Standards), state standards.
To be able to bring climate education to the world, we announced the global launch of the Stone Soup Climate Education Curriculum featuring these remarkable who stand as a beacon of inspiration for young people around the world.
With the global audience at our VIP dialogue, we opened nominations for the 2024 Global Cronkite Awards for Climate Education, honoring exceptional leadership and innovation in climate education.
Awards will be presented on Earth Day April, 2024. Awards will be presented on Earth Day April, 2024. For more information and to nominate: CronkiteAwards2024@stonesoupleadership.org.
“Walter Cronkite was “the most trusted man in America,” said Marianne Larned, the Institute’s founding director. “As an ardent environmentalist, he helped launch the first Earth Day in 1971. He felt strongly that the lack of an educated constituency was threatening America’s democracy. He thought that if people were uneducated about the issues, they wouldn’t be prepared to vote. As the Institute’s honorary chairman, he believed these stories could educate people about the issues of our time—and teach them by example how we too could have the courage to take a stand, even against all odds.”
CTA: Read the full article at EducationWire
About the Stone Soup Leadership Institute
The Stone Soup Leadership Institute is a 501c3 educational non-profit organization founded in 1997. Our mission is to develop educational tools, teacher trainings and initiatives that prepare our young people to work together to build a better world. For over 25 years, The Institute has boldly pioneered a disruptive education initiative to empower the next generation with the tools they need – from climate education to sustainable career pathways — for the transition to a sustainable economy. Recognized as a global leader in sustainable workforce development, the Institute has collaborated with business, government, education and community leaders to develop strategic initiatives, public-private partnerships and build sustainable communities. The Institute’s Case Studies spotlights how the Stone Soup Model – with our educational tools and trainings and the principles of Design Thinking, Systems Change, and Healthy Communities – serve as a roadmap: when we all work together, we can build a more sustainable world.