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Climate Change

Learners present youth protocol

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:23

Lulu Xingwana

18 high school learners have crafted and presented the South African Durban Youth and Children’s Protocol in an effort to make their voices heard during the 17th Conference of Parties (COP 17) underway in Durban.

The protocol follows an intensive year-long programme as well as a simulated youth climate negotiation that took place on the opening day of COP 17.

The negotiation and the ensuing protocol forms part of Youth@SAIIA’s Environmental Sustainability Project.

The learners formally handed over the protocol to the Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Minister Lulu Xingwana, during an official UNFCCC side event.

In accepting the protocol, Minister Xingwana commended the group on the seriousness of their work and encouraged them to build on these efforts by being the generation that finds solutions to the challenges of climate change.

About the Youth Climate Negotiations

On Monday, 28 November 2011, the group held a simulated Youth Climate Negotiation on the opening day of COP 17. Each learner was required to immerse her/himself into the role of a stakeholder and raise the issues affecting a particular sector. This included taking on the role of a commercial farmer, a representative of the fossil fuel industry, a member of the African Union, or a representative of the forestry industry. The idea was to put forward the positions of these sectors (as they would be in the “real world”) and find genuine solutions to the effects of climate change. The negotiation process was aimed at providing learners with a context of various climate change concerns and helped them to understand the complexity of the issues.

About the Youth@ SAIIA Environmental Sustainability Project

Sasol is proud to be supporting the Youth@ SAIIA Environmental Sustainability Project managed by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). Regarded as the leading think tank in Sub Saharan Africa on global issues, SAIIA has developed a strategic outreach for youth to engage and add their voice to the climate change debate.

After a yearlong programme, Youth@ SAIIA supported over learners 300 learners from Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal, with representation from 34 high schools. In addition, 74 learners from six universities served as mentors to help the learners gather their research and refine their presentations.

Youth@SAIIA believe that it is important for young people to understand that environmental issues go beyond littering or not turning off lights. Air and water pollution, deforestation, and food security are global concerns and many of these issues often affect people more directly in the developing world.

Together, both SAIIA and Sasol aim to shape a generation who will become critical thinkers, acquire sharp negotiation skills, develop public speaking and debating skills, while creating an understanding of different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.