Planting for the Future: Elevating the Voices of Young People to Protect the Future of Our Environment

From Paris to New York City, children and young people are walking out of class and marching in their city to step up action on climate change. Like everywhere else in the world, in Kosovo climate change has increased uncertainty about our future and underlined the need for urgent action to avoid irreversible impacts. As the pace and extent of climate impacts intensify over time, one thing has become certain: young people represent a powerful asset to boost current engagement for climate action and Kosovo is no exception.

Eltiona, 11 is one of the pupils of the 'Mihal Grameno' School, who participated in the United Nation Kosovo Team event organized on October 21, to raise awareness on the importance of climate education among future generations and promote clean air and the protection of the environment. “The older generation did not treat climate change as a matter of justice” she says “We are the ones who can save our future”.

The event, supported by the Italian Embassy in Pristina, included an interactive art exhibition on the topic of youth empowerment for climate action, which featured art by the students of the 'Mihal Grameno' school. “Our students are not only victims of climate change. They are agents of change, innovators, creative minds” said Miradije, the art teacher of the 'Mihal Grameno' School who coordinated the preparations of the art exhibition.

Empowering youth to take action against climate change is the first, but powerful, step to provide them with the information that they need to advocate for their rights. The art exhibition was preceded by a climate workshop delivered by UN-HABITAT, to explore the channels and impacts of climate change in Kosovo, including protection of the environment, pollution and urban planning. Drawing on UN-HABITAT experience in delivering trainings on issues of green energy, climate action and environmental protection, including among young generations, the workshop allowed students to interact and test their knowledge on the key causes, impacts and remedies against climate change. 

“In my class we are aware that the climate crisis creates major challenges and risks for our generation” said Alea, 11, who participated in the climate workshop and art exhibition. Alea’s painting powerfully shows the human–environment connection, looking at climate change as a matter of global justice “Through my painting I wanted to show that solving the climate crisis is not just about saving the rainforest or saving whales; it is about saving the most vulnerable people on the planet”.

Whether through education, innovation or technology, young people have a crucial role to scale up ongoing efforts and use their skills to accelerate climate action in Kosovo. Students who participated in the art exhibition were awarded by the Italian Embassy a gift voucher at a local bookstore to ensure continued investment in student education for climate action.

The event included also the donation of 20 tree seedlings by the Italian Embassy to protect and restore the local environment and help nature recover. “Even a simple tree planting exercise can go a long way to step up climate action, livelihoods and sustainability” said the school director Mr Ismet Gashi “The event showed our students that we can help Kosovo’s environment even through simple measures undertaken at individual and grassroots levels”.  In addition to UN-HABITAT, other UN Agencies, including UNICEF and UNDP, supported the organization of the event.  Ms Fadile Dyla, Acting General Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) also attended the initiative. “We have a duty to invest in future generations and create the space to engage them in driving solutions and hear their voices” she said.

The event is part of the Kosovo Climate Action campaign, which is organized by the UN Kosovo Team in partnership with the Italian Embassy and the British Embassy, and will run throughout the month of October. The objective of the campaign is to encourage concrete measures and active engagement by all actors of society to accelerate the transition towards a net-zero economy, including the amplification of joint messages, stories and the voices of people on the ground on climate action.

To learn more about the campaign, use #Kosovoclimateaction in social media!