2017

Lycée Bogodogo and Ecole le Petit Monde, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Lycée International Ferney-Voltaire, Ferney-Voltaire, France

Organized in partnership with UNICEF, this dialogue was held among students from three schools being one located in France and two in Burkina Faso. For this dialogue, the students of Ferney-Voltaire conceptualized videos presenting solutions to fight climate change and challenged the students on three topics: recycling, transports, and adopting a vegetarian diet. On the other hand, students from Le Petit Monde prepared a slam recital to evoke the challenges of climate change in poetry.

I would like to do the recycling challenge because I would like to see more garbage in garbage cans rather than in streets” – Abigael, 10 yrs, Burkina Faso.

This dialogue allows up to open our minds” – Clara, 16 yrs, France.

View a photo gallery on Flickr

Collège Anatole France, Tours, France, and Collège d’Abomey-Calavi and Collège la Plénitude, Cotonou, Benin

The students exchanged ideas and experiences on what climate change meant to them. The students exchanged questions and ideas concerning the impacts of climate change on their countries and what can be done to mitigate its effect.

Climate change affects the entire planet, if we act here at home, there will also be impacts on you, if tomorrow the world will no longer know about climate change, it will be thanks to the children of today” – Milan, 14 years old.

View a photo gallery on Flickr

Lycée International de Ferney-Voltaire, Ferney-Voltaire, France, and Sheder Refugee Camp, Sheder, Ethiopia

Students from both schools prepared materials, such as drawings, photos and videos which they used as a basis for their discussions. Moreover, the students of environmental clubs in the refugee camp mobilized their friends to bring change and improve the school and camp environmental conditions. Some of the activities carried out by the club included: environmental awareness-raising campaigns, planting trees, weekly camp clean-up, water-saving, piloting street trees in all administrative zones in the camp, and recycling.

This dialogue was organized in partnership with UNHCR, UNESCO and the Ethiopian government Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA).

2016

Trinity College Nabbingo, Kampala, Uganda and Lycée International de Ferney-Voltaire, Ferney-Voltaire, France

The students from both schools had brainstorming sessions designed in a way to allow the students to reflect on their own personal experiences.  They prepared several materials which include photo-stories, interviews, and two videos:

  • Draw my life video which is a story about a girl, Julie who lives in Ferney-Voltaire. Julie shares how climate change is affecting her life.
  • Video featuring interviews about climate change with the general public.

Some photos from the event are available in the photo gallery.

Youth Climate Dialogue Central America 

Under the framework of the project ‘Broadening education, training and raising awareness on Climate Change of the Integration System of Central-America (SICA)’,  this dialogue session was organized to identify, analyze and document the concerns and ideas to face the challenges of climate change for young people in Central America. It gathered 46 students from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panamá and the Dominican Republic between the ages of 15 and 25. A short video produced by the students is available here and the photo gallery can be accessed here.

2015

Liceo cantonale di Lugano 1, Lugano, Switzerland and Gayaza High School, Kampala, Uganda

The interactive video conference focused on students’ perceptions and experiences on climate change. The students from Lugano shared pictures and statistics on the effects of global warming on the Swiss Alps and highlighting the increasing impacts on endemic flora and fauna as well as the melting glaciers. The Ugandan students discussed the effects of climate change on water, food security and health.  Both groups presented possible ways to adapt to these climate change effects.

As an activity, each student also wrote down something they love (e.g. penguins, mountains, food, rainbows), which could be affected by climate change.To have a brief overview of the dialogue, please find a short video here.

A photo gallery from the event is available here.

Gymnase de Burier, La Tour de Peilz, Switzerland and Centre Scolaire Privé Elim, Niamey, Niger

This was the first time that the dialogue was held in French. The students were in the age group 16-20.  The dialogue focused on how youth perceive climate change, how it affects their lives, and what actions they consider the most essential. The event was accompanied by a three-day photo exhibition organized by “La Fondation pour le development durable des regions de Montagne” (FDDM), which illustrated the causes and consequences of climate change by the melting glaciers.

As part of their preparation for the dialogue, some of the students from the Centre Scolaire Privé Elim in Niamey (Niger) went to take photos outside of their school. Some photos are available in the photo gallery.

Kantonsschule am Burggraben, St. Gallen, Switzerland and Lilongwe Girls Secondary School, Lilongwe, Malawi

During this first Youth Climate Dialogue, the Lilongwe Girls Secondary School prepared interviews and photo-statements about how climate change is affecting them, while the St. Gallen students from Switzerland prepared pictures and videos including a weather forecast for 2050 showing what might happen to Switzerland’s snow and glaciers if nothing changes.

To have a brief overview of the dialogue, please watch a short video here. A photo gallery from the event is also available here.