As the world stands at the midpoint on its journey towards achieving the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and world leaders convened in NY to discuss the Global actions required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, young people in Addis Ababa were skating, painting and dancing 4 peace and climate action with Ethiopian Girl Skaters (@ethiopian_girl_skaters on instagram), an organisation fostering safe space for girls through skating and community development .
Youth-led and grass-root coordination has never been more crucial in transforming these aspirations into concrete realities. In this collective global endeavor, the active involvement of young people at grass-root climate action level becomes even more pivotal. Partners from Ethiopia Skate joined the Bahamian led Royal Rain Catchers team who are working to understand the changing climate through monitoring precipitation and developing community science skills that are transferrable to new and emerging industries within the blue, green, and orange economies. The Rain Gauge donated by Storm Interceptor Weather Network in The Bahamas will be installed at the Addis Ababa Skatepark to be used as an educational tool and essential data point to better understand global water patterns and how they are changing, bringing two unlikely grass roots communities at the frontline of Climate Change closer together as they unite in the co-creation of climate solutions.
Skate 4 Peace is an action born from the Action4Peace forum convened at the African Union in December 2022 and is part of the Action4Peace 2030 Campaign – a decade long action campaign for sustainable peacebuilding.
Green Thinkers Integrated Community Development Organization (GTICDO) with the support of the Action4Peace Campaign is convening the Untied Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Youth Constituency Ethiopian Local Conference of Youth in October 2023, the week after YME convenes the Regional Conference of Youth in Barbados.
The main objective of the pre-COP28 (Local Conference of Youth LCOY) engagement and climate change campaign being led by GTICDO is to strengthen a national platform for youth leaders, youth organizations, women, and stakeholders to come together, discuss, collaborate and innovate towards addressing the critical challenges posed by climate change. It embodies the growing momentum of youth engagement in climate action and aims to influence policy-making processes to ensure generational equity and a sustainable, resilient future.
The campaign aims to:
- Raise awareness about environmental concerns among young people, with a focus on climate change, renewable energy, and global warming.
- Foster dialogue, knowledge exchange, and collaboration within Ethiopia for tangible projects aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Promote continuity of local youth engagement in global climate change action, especially this time focused on preparation towards COP-28 hosted by U.A.E
- Advocate for youth-led climate change solutions and create entry points for government officials to get involved.
- Empower and amplify young voices at higher policy level to take action on climate change and sustainability.
We would like to express deep gratitude to the team from Fairfield House, Home of H.I.M Emperor Hailie Selassie, Bath, UK, for joining us in solidarity during their visit to Ethiopia.