Unite for Climate

Mon, 03/21/2011 - 12:11

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Launched in August 2009 at the International Children & Youth Conference in Daejeon, Republic of Korea, Unite for Climate is a global initiative involving children and young people around the world uniting online to address climate change. The United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF), together with UN agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), youth activists, academia, and the private sector have joined together to enable youth networks, children, young people, and experts to collaborate on climate change using open-source technology.

Communication Strategies

Collaborators in Unite for Climate have been increasingly broadening the global scope of youth engagement through information and communication technology (ICT) innovations. Through networking opportunities and social tools offered on the Unite for Climate site, young citizens can connect, share knowledge, learn, and engage in the issue of climate change. Most of the tools are designed for low-bandwidth areas, hopefully allowing more children and young people to join Unite for Climate. Amongst other partners, YouTube and FlipCam have been supporting the Youth Climate Debates that will also be launched in Republic of Korea as part of Unite for Climate.

Specifically, on the interactive, multimedia project website, youth learn about climate change, join a community and explore ways in which other young people are responding to climate change, and sign on to connect with peers taking action through youth-powered campaigns around the world. One section, for example, highlights articles, videos, sounds, and pictures produced by young people around the world on climate change: "See their contributions and share your experiences".

The initiative has an in-person element to youth participation in environmental advocacy as well. Children and youth from some 110 countries discussed the challenges of climate change at the TUNZA International Children and Youth Conference (referenced above). An action plan will be produced and a statement delivered to world leaders urging them to sign a proactive agreement at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen (COP15) in December 2009.

Along these lines, Unite for Climate is supporting youth engagement in major global events, including: the UN General Assembly, Climate Week NYC [New York City (New York, United States)], the Global Action Day organised by 350.org in October 2009, and UNICEF's Children's Climate Forum in Copenhagen in November 2009. This support comes in the form of, among other things, concrete suggestions for spreading the word as elucidated on the Unite for Climate website: encourage friends and family to participate in Climate Week NYC events; tweet about Climate Week NYC and tag with #climateweeknyc; post Climate Week NYC events on Facebook; and/or "print the Climate Week NYC poster and hang in local businesses or other public spaces (the window of your apartment works great!)".

In addition, in September 2009, Unite for Climate began connecting at least 150 schools around the globe as part of the Connecting Classrooms project. This effort is fostering dialogue on climate change between schoolchildren and is supported by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and the Mediterranean Center for Sustainable Development (among other partners).

For further information and updates, visit: