Second Academy took place in Burkina Faso

Early on Saturday morning children from different school were gathered to at Vision Plus very exicited  to see the start of the event. Altogether 145 children from 5 schools attended the Academy at Vison Plus School in Bobo Dioulasso. The academy was made possible thanks to the commitment of the Plant-for-the-Planet Foundation. The event was free-of-charge for all the attending children, who were aged 7-16. The Academy was made possible by the team of local organisers. Special thanks go to Plant-for-the-Planet Coordinator Adelya and also to Mr Coulibaly, headmaster at the host school. Not to be forgotten are the many helpers and supporters, without whom the implementation of the Academy, venue, technology, transport event and much more would not have been possible.

After a brief welcome and an introductory game in the school yard, the full attention of the children turned to the presentation "Now we save children the world!", which was given by previously appointed Climate Justice Ambassador: Zeid following differents interventions of Abdoul Rahim and Zorome.The presentation covered the topics CO2, global warming, photosynthesis, the climate crisis, Plant-for-the-Planet and global justice. These topics were presented in a way suitable for children of the same age with examples that can make them understand the cimate crisis. In the subsequent question and answer session, the children had the opportunity to eliminate any ambiguities they may still have had.

After a short break with light refreshments, the children were divided into four small groups to learn about global distribution and justice in the World Game.The children distributed playing figures, candy and balloons on the world maps laid out on the floor as symbols of the world’s population, wealth and CO2 emissions respectively. The children didn’t need to be told twice to distribute the balloons and sweets among the playing figures. Eventually, the CO2 emissions and wealth were distributed fairly – everyone has equal rights.

Then the children formed four public speaking groups and prepared and presented short passages from the opening presentation that they had seen at the start of the day. They gave each other tips on how to improve their presentations in the future and prepared their future plans. After that the children had a break for lunch and were able to relax a little and discuss the topics covered so far with each other. After a short break it was back to the programme. While a small group prepared to give the final presentation for the attending parents and other guests, the rest started the "World Café" module. The children worked on the question "How do we motivate friends and classmates through loacal media?". Everyone had the opportunity to write down their ideas in groups. The ideas and solutions were presented in a clear manner: "At the end students agreed to organize something for a radio programme and talk about climate change this year."

After a long, eventful and enjoyable day, all 145 participants received their certificates from Mr Kamara, Founder of Vision Plus Schools and his spouse, which recognised them as a Climate Justice Ambassadors.  An interesting day had come to an end. Apart from the experience and newly found knowledge, all new Ambassadors took with them a copy of Tree-by-Tree, and of course the Plant-for-the-Planet T-shirt they collected at the start of the day. Parents, friends, organizers and guests were very impressed by the performance of the children.

You can find more photos in our flickr album.

Do you want to participate in a Plant-for-the-Planet Academy? Click here to find out the upcoming dates.