50 new Climate Justice Ambassadors after a 3rd Academy was celebrated in Kouétinfla!

On Saturday 26th of May, 50 students from different schools of Kouétinfla attended the 3rd Plant-for-the-Planet Academy celebrated in the city, which was qualified as a historical event. 

After a warm welcome, the children paid attention to the presentation given by Anin Méné Fernand. In his speech he developed topics such as: the different sources of CO2, the global warming crises, the aims and the project of Plant-for-the- Planet, and the desertification and climate crisis.

After his brilliant presentation some participants had the opportunity to express their opinions and raise some questions. All the questions of the attendees were successfully answered.After the "Question & Answer" session, the children were divided into three small groups and learned about global distribution and justice.

They learned about the unbalanced wealth distribution by placing figures, candy and balloons representing the world’s population, wealth and CO2 respectively on the world maps that were laid out on the floor. Ideally, everyone had equal rights and the CO2 emissions and wealth were distributed fairly.

After the workshop, the children and guests moved to the schoolyard to get the Planting Party started.

However, before starting the planting,  the forester gave a haldful of tips to the attendees, especially regarding pluviometry and the importance of the soil’s quality for a good planting. Right after, with shovels and machetes the children planted their own trees with the help of the adults. In total 50 new trees were planted in just over 60 minutes.

After having completed such an admirable act, the kids were very happy and excited.

The next part of the Academy was the Word Café. During the activity the children were divided in working teams and they discussed their point of view in the following questions: How can we organize a planting party? How can we motivate the adults to take part in it? How can we ensure that the media will report such an important event? Each group thought about it and wrote down answers to each question.

The activity finalized with each group exposing their ideas and outcomes from the discussion to the attending families, friends and especial guests, this way they put the public speaking skills into practice and spread the word of what they learned during the day.

To conclude the eventful and enjoyable day, all the children received personalized certificates that recognized them as Climate Justice Ambassadors.

We would like to thank all the assistants and everyone that made possible the celebration of this academy. Many thanks to the local school board who provided food and fresh water supply for everyone, to the local management committee for setting up the material at 7 o’clock as well as to the parents and teachers who accompanied the participants. Also to the foresters who took care of helping out during the planting party. Especial thanks to the program coordinator Zokou Herve for his courage and determination to carry out this academy.

Click here for more pictures! And if you would like to become a Climate Justice Ambassador you can apply by clicking at the following link.