The United Nations Youth Climate Change Challenge is an interactive competition that aims to inspire and educate young people on the key messages of the 2007 Human Development Report – the United Nations’ most comprehensive analysis of current scientific, economic and political thinking about the threat of catastrophic climate change and how to avoid it. To see these key messages Click Here. The contest invites young people aged 15-25 to make 30-150 second videos that relate these key messages to their own lived experience of climate change, their views about it, and/or their concerns about how the older generation have been, or should be, reacting to the challenge of combating it.
Videos to Engage and Inspire the World:
The United Nations is made up of 193 member states – and young people aged 15-25 in each of them are welcome to enter this contest. Even if you do not own a Video Camera, or a computer, you can take part in the contest. Click Here for full details.
Prize:
An all expense trip paid to attend the World Youth Congress 2008 in Quebec City, Quebec.
The 4th World Youth Congress will bring 600 of the world’s most dynamic young activists in the field of sustainable development to Quebec from 120 different countries.
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Looks cool. Too bad it seems so focused on awareness raising – videos – which I know, are really, really important but just no part of a more focused effort.
Thanks for the reply Morgan. Here are the key messages the Human Development Report delivers about Climate Change. The 7 key messages of this report distil the world’s best scientific, economic and political thinking about the impact of the climate change crisis on people and what we need to do about it.
The seven Key Messages are:
1. Climate Change – its effect on People: We’ve had the UN scientists’ report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); we’ve had the report on its economic impact in the Stern Report. This Human Development Report is about people and how we are all affected by climate change.
2. The poor suffer most from Climate Change – and will suffer more: Given that 2.6 billion live in poverty, unable to meet their basic needs, these people are likely to be the first to face the impacts of dangerous climate change and suffer human development reversals. The Report tells that the poor are already suffering, and will suffer more, as a result of climate change. But we will all suffer later. In fact, some rich countries are already seeing the impacts of climate change and are dealing with its consequences. If we do not avoid dangerous climate change, the consequences will be more severe and widespread.
3. Urgency: The Report argues that climate change needs urgent action: today we are living with what we did yesterday; tomorrow we will all live with what we do today. We need to take action now.
4. Climate change – a serious threat to our ability to meet the MDGs: – we depend on our world’s eco- systems for water, for agriculture, for our industries, our livelihoods and many other aspects of our life – climate change poses a serious threat to our ability to meet the eight Millennium Development Goals especially as it is the poor who are already seeing its impacts.
5. Climate change – an immense threat to Human Rights: The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights talks of the inalienable rights of the human family to “freedom, justice and peace”. Climate change is an immense threat to those rights. Yet it is also a reminder that we are a single, interdependent human family sharing a common home on Planet Earth. The UN has a key role in the discussion, and the action, on climate change to protect human rights.
6. Both Mitigation and Adaptation needed: Mitigation means taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid more climate change. It is about transforming the way that countries produce and use energy and changing industry and activities to reduce or eliminate emissions. Adaptation is the way people respond to new or changed conditions in climate, such as more droughts, flooding or severe storms. It means adapting our current and future lifestyles, towns, cities, infrastructure – everything! – to take account of climate change. The report states that both actions need to be taken to fight climate change and the threats it poses to humanity.
7. UN is well-placed to give Leadership: Climate change is exactly the kind of global challenge that the UN was set up to address. The Secretary-General has made it his personal priority to work with Member States to ensure that the United Nations takes effective leadership in the fight against climate change.
To read the full report, please visit http://hdr.undp.org/en/
While submissions may be mostly awareness raising videos there are many topics in the key messages which you can create submissions which will be distributed around the world by the United Nations and at events which will be viewed by policy makers, politicians and those who are making the decisions which will pave the way from the Conference of the Parties 13 in Poznañ to the Conference of the Parties 14 in Copenhagen 2009.
It looks really cool, like I said. I was just struck by the contras between the Campus Climate Challenge in the US as being a local campaign and victory based organizing tool. We definitely need both kinds of activity.
From the website:
“…videos that relate these key messages to their own lived experience of climate change, their views about it, and/or their concerns about how the older generation have been, or should be, reacting to the challenge of combating it.”
I would love to see an extra line in there about their own work for systematic change or campaign for a climate solution. Obviously that can be worked in to this really well. But I wish more large organizations and initiatives would actively encourage young people to organize.
Excellent point Morgan the last revision of the text must not have include the text I had suggested to included, multiple editions and not enough eyes going over them. I will make sure the text is change to also reflect the actions that endless amount of youth are doing.
cheers
Adam
the people should be serious about this climate change it is real problem I believe American should be led the world by do so American always has been leader any challenge this problem is not one country could change but it is global crisis, united nation has role to play and alert intergovernmental to step in and take the course of an actioned we’ve had report about climate change united nation eugenicist’s serious mattes it will effective our land and peoples have right to educate public about danger is going be.The climate change and flooding and other problems on going to Day’s should be pay attention for share responsibility reduce gas mission and other key factor the world should be united for common good.
I will ask united nation to adoption resolution climate change more effectively by asking the countries to attending conference”climate change”