The pan-European campaign #ClimateofChange calls for action to all High Schools, Universities and Youth Associations in Portugal to raise awareness and mobilize young people for the climate emergency.
THE CONTEXT
We now know that natural disasters cause almost 14 million displaced people a year. As the climate crisis deepens, so do the environmental displaced. Some projections indicate that by 2050 the number of environmental displaced will exceed 143 million. In fact, the relationship between natural phenomena and forced displacement of populations is overwhelming, with the number of displaced for climatic reasons exceeding the number of displaced by persecution or armed conflict.
It is precisely the thematic interconnection between these challenges and the development process, as well as our role as development actors, that the #ClimateOfChange Campaign will focus on.
OUR PROPOSAL
NATIONAL DEBATES #ClimateOfChange
We will organise National Debates: tournaments between Secondary Schools, Universities and Youth Associations, in Portugal and in the European Union, aimed at young people aged 16-35.
We want to support the process of raising awareness among young people about their role and responsibilities in relation to the causes of human-induced climate change and its consequences in terms of forced displacement and irregular migration.
The Debates will be dynamised in the Pro and Contras style, in which two teams argue on the basis of adequate research and documentation, for or against a given topic. The debate methodology will contribute to making schools and the educational community protagonists of the National Debates on the main issues of global citizenship. In this sense, it is an exercise in participation, democracy and citizenship.
The winners of the National Debates will have the opportunity to go to Brussels to participate in the pan-European debates, where they will be able to come out winners and visit a country in the Global South*, so that they can witness the effects of climate action on the most vulnerable populations.
See the participation guidance document for more detailed information.
THE PAN-EUROPEAN CAMPAIGN #ClimateOfChange
The ambitious goal of the pan-European campaign #ClimateOfChange is not only to improve the knowledge and awareness of young European citizens on the most pressing issues of Education for Development and Global Citizenship, but also to engage them and promote sustainable lifestyle patterns and a shift towards a sustainable human economic model within our global borders.
CALL FOR ACTION
We recognize that for all Schools, Universities and Youth Associations, this is a challenging period. We believe that together, we will be able to organise these debates, share new forms of collaborative work, strengthen knowledge about global citizenship, share other world views, develop transversal skills, among other added value.
All High Schools, Universities and Youth Associations in Portugal that want to be part of this movement should contact us to express their interest or to clarify any doubts.
See the participation guideline document.
Expressions of interest should be sent by email to aicastanheira@imvf.org and/or msilva@imvf.org by the end of July 2020.
* THE GLOBAL SOUTH
The Global South is today a term used to describe the set of non-industrialized countries, which share institutional and economic weaknesses. With the acceleration of the globalization process, many of the characteristics that were specific to the countries of the North or the South, expressions coined in the 1970s, are present today in most countries, hence the name Global South.
Photos by: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe, 25th August 2011, Malkadiida, Ethiopia | Photo by MD Duran at Unsplash | Photo by Perry Grone at Unsplash