The British Council is convening a delegation of accomplished eco-entrepreneurs, scientists and community leaders from its global network at the COP 18 UN climate summit in Doha, Qatar, so that they can showcase their successful green enterprises and initiatives, represent the voice of youth in the deliberations and connect with peers, social influencers and decision-makers to generate a new global vision for sustainable development and action on climate change.
These delegates will visit schools and universities in Qatar through a joint programme sponsored by HSBC to raise the awareness among Qatari students of climate change, the Kyoto Protocol, COP 18 and the steps young people around the world are taking to promote sustainability and address climate change in their communities. Moreover, these delegates will prepare their own presentations and each segment will take between 20-30 minutes (a total of two hours).
INFORM young Qataris about:
- Climate Change, the UNFCCC and COP and associated processes and treaties;
- The role Qatar has as a signatory to the framework to reducing GHG emissions and assisting those most vulnerable to the effects of Climate Change;
- The responsibilities Qatar has as host and signatory to the UNFCCC (e.g., demonstrating to the world a commitment to help tackle the issue by providing leadership etc.…).
INSPIRE young Qataris to take action by leading by example:
- Green Ambassadors will discuss their projects from conception to implementation, including the successes they have had in making change happen.
IGNITE the passion of young Qataris to take action by:
- Facilitating a forum for the students to discuss what climate change means to them, what they and Qatar can do and importantly how they can move forward with implementing their ideas. The Champions own experiences will be of great value during this discussion period.
Young Qatari Nationals (12 – 23 years.) who are preparing to engage with society as adults and/or pursue their studies and can be encouraged to think about global issues and the contributions they might make to the search for solutions etc.…
The British Council Cop18 delegates will each be able to talk about:
- the science of climate change and Cop18 from their point of view.
- Climate change, as it affects their own country
- the activities and enterprises they have developed to address climate change in their own countries
The delegates represent countries that are projected to face a range of climate change-related risks.
They will be happy to make their own presentations to classes or more formal presentations to a wider group and will be able to initiate and take part in workshop discussions and debates on climate change driven by such questions as ‘What are the facts?’, ‘What are countries doing to address climate change?’ and ‘What is the UN doing at COP18?’
Some individuals have specialist knowledge and skills and may be able to offer particular topics if they are present.
This programme is expected to be delivered from Sunday 2 - Wednesday 5 December 2012 by up to two British Council Delegates per visit. However, there is a possibility of media presence and a photo-shoot may take place.
Please contact Mohammad Al Khasib, Project Co-ordinator, for more information.
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