British Council Climate Champions Active at COP 17

Film festival, exhibitions, research, educational outreach and webinars staged to amplify the voice of youth and demonstrate the role of cultural relations in Durban

 

27 November 2011 – Twenty-one British Council Climate Champions from 14 countries around the world have arrived in Durban, South Africa for the COP 17 UN climate summit, where they will showcase their innovative projects to address climate change, represent the voice of youth in international negotiations, hone their leadership skills and promote the use of cultural relations to foster the trust and understanding required for concerted global action on climate change.

 

Selected to attend the COP on the basis of their exemplary projects and proven leadership skills, the Climate Champions in Durban include a professor in urban economics and UNDP expert advisor from Uruguay, an eco-entrepreneur from Japan who is commercialising a sleek hand-cranked power generator, and a Greek-German filmmaker who at COP 17 will hold the global premiere of her documentary about the impact of climate change on the Arctic.

 

Seven of the Champions are attending COP 17 as part of their country delegations, notably those of Brazil, India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, and all the Champions are highly accomplished members of Climate Generation and E-idea, British Council programmes that comprises a network of 120,000 people in 60 countries who devise creative grassroots projects to promote sustainability and solutions to climate change in fields such as business, education, the media, government and the arts.

 

Martin Davidson, the Chief Executive of the British Council said, “Climate change is a significant concern for the tens of millions of people we work with globally and it disproportionately affects young people. Our proven track record in working with youth in over 100 countries makes us ideally positioned to use our cultural relations expertise in the arts, English and education and society to empower young people who are committed to addressing climate change.”

BC Climate Champions COP17 Blog
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