ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The British Council's International Climate Champions program engages young people around the world as communicators who will help to influence and educate their peers and the general public on the urgency of climate change.

The International Climate Champions initiative is part of a range of activities within the British Council designed to build understanding of and drive action on climate change.

In 2008 the program launched in 13 countries (Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States) and then grew to encompass more than 800 International Climate Champions in 29 countries.

In 2009 there are plans to expand to 60 countries across the globe, recruiting over 1,300 young people who are passionate about and committed to taking action on climate change. These champions are not only leaders in their communities but are also participating in international peer networks, both in person and online, to share ideas, projects and experiences.

Selected champions from each country gathered in London in March 2008 to develop a "Kobe Challenge," a call to action on tackling climate change, that they presented at the G8 Environment Ministers meeting in Kobe, Japan, in May 2008 -- a unique opportunity to raise the concerns of youth to an important international audience.

ABOUT THE U.S. CHAMPIONS

The British Council and the California Air Resources Board sponsored competitions in 2008 and 2009 to identify climate champions from high schools across California. In 2008, fifteen students were selected, and ten additional California high school students were announced on April 27, 2009.

The California Climate Champions are engaged in a range of activities that raise awareness about climate change, including participating in media interviews, building online networks of like-minded peers and launching projects in their schools or communities that not only spread the word but also take steps to mitigate the causes of climate change.

To learn more about the 25 students, visit the California Climate Champions blog or read more about the April 27 announcement ceremony on the steps of the State Capitol building in Sacramento.

UN CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE IN COPENHAGEN

Two California Climate Champions, Adam Raudonis and Kayla Clark, were selected to attend the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen December 7-18, where they joined 200 youth from more than 40 countries as part of the British Council’s International Climate Champions program. In Copenhagen, they interacted with official delegates, voicing the concerns of their generation and showcasing their individual projects for confronting climate change.

As the UK's international cultural relations organization, the British Council is recognized by the UNFCCC as an organization working with youth in the arena of climate change and has a mandate to support successful implementation of Article 6 of the UNFCCC convention on education, training and public awareness.

You can watch climate champion Devin Finzer’s Copenhagen video on Huffington Post.

MORE INFORMATION

Please contact us to learn more about the California Climate Champions program.