On Saturday, February 18, I was invited to speak at a pilot Climate Literacy workshop hosted by the Lilitha Foundation at the Nelson Mandela Community Youth Centre in Chatsworth, south of Durban.
The foundation, a Durban-based non-profit, developed the free workshop in partnership with Sensys Training to further the basic understanding of climate change by young people, particularly kids in primary school.
Mercy Duward, learning and development co-ordinator at Sensys Training said that “our current school curriculum only touches the surface of what climate change is, our youth need to know more about what climate change actually is and the devastating effects it will have on our planet in the near future”.
Duward added that “surprisingly, feedback received from the children after the workshop indicated that they would have liked it to be a bit longer! We plan on revising our content as we progress, the feedback received was extremely helpful.”
The workshop was attended by 45 children between the ages of 7 and 12 years old, who all thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The two-hour interactive workshop covered the definition of climate change, the causes and effects of climate change and the things we can do to help mitigate these effects.
Nothile Mkhize, a director at the Lilitha Foundation, said: “This workshop was developed to bring attention to the dire need of more detailed climate education for young people in South Africa.
“We need kids to know that the situation is not great and that it is their future at stake. This will ensure that young people can make better decisions which may even lead to solutions to the climate crisis,” said Mkhize.
Pravin Amar, an energy and sustainability specialist who contributed to the development of the workshop said: “We need to help young people understand the science behind climate change, the impacts of a changing climate and how they can help to slow it down and prepare for it.”
Some may think of climate change as a topic reserved for adults, however, children can understand more than we give them credit for.
More importantly, young people can begin taking action to help mitigate the impacts of climate change and even slowing it down, it is in their best interest to do so.
“Their future depends on the immediate actions we all take. If we do not point our kids in the right direction, who will?” asked Amar.
If you are in Durban and would like to organise a workshop for a local school or youth group, you may contact the Lilitha Foundation via email at [email protected] or Sensys Training at [email protected].
Current Affairs