The Academy took place at 17 May at 8:40am. The children around the venue were waiting keenly for the program to start.
A welcome speech was given by Akolgo Doreen, after which the full attention of the children were turned to the presentation "Now we children save the world!", which was given by an ambassador Kwame, and assisted by a moderator. We had an excellent presentation because it went with a picture demonstration for the children to have a clear vision what we talking about.
We quickly discussed the few questions raised by some the children after the presentation.
Then the children were divided into 6 smaller 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.
After the World Game session few children were taken to do the public speaking module; they were given each of the printed slides to practice a short presentation that they had seen at the start of the day. They moderators guided them on how to improve their presentations in the future.
After everyone had the opportunity to write down their thoughts to each question, the school groups got to work on the solutions. The ideas and solutions are presented in a clear manner: "What we want to do at our school; who is responsible for which task and by when do we want to achieve our goals".
A child was selected from each school group to quickly present the ideas and solutions written down by their respective group and it was lovely to hear their wonderful ideas.
The children were given the opportunity to prepare a short presentation on their own with our slides and taking into consideration all the presentation given them earlier in the day. They did a very good presentation and the impressed their few parents around and teachers.
The planting party was so interactive, as the moderator explained quickly how and when to plant trees, and also showed the children how to care for them to make sure they survive, and thereby absorb as much CO2 as possible. They children were asked to move to the field for the planting session
In total we planted 86 trees. With the assistance of the teachers and Academy moderators present helped the children placed the trees in some few pre-prepared holes which the rest of the holes were prepared alongside under our supervision.
After some hours, eventful, and enjoyable day, an interesting day had come to an end. Apart from the experience and newly found knowledge, all new Climate Justice Ambassadors took with them their Plant-for-the-Planet T-shirt they collected at the start of the day and a copy of Tree-by-Tree, and of course a certificate each at the end of the program with a pack of food. Organizers and guests were very excited by the performance of the children.
The team at Plant-for-the-Planet would like to thank all those involved for this wonderful Academy Day. We acknowledge the support of the parents and teachers of the participating children, because they encouraged the children to attend the program making the Academy a very lovely and successful one of its kind.
Also we want to give thumps up for the team of local organizers. Special thanks go to Plant-for-the-Planet main Programme Coordinator Mr. Mohammed Rabiu Dannakabu, and Academy organizer Akolgo Doreen moderators Mr. Murtala Mohammed, Mr. Abdul Halim Adam and Mr. Jeremiah Danlogo
Finally special thanks to the Head of the school hosting us, teachers and parents of the participating schools and children for making our Academy run smoothly.
For more fotos visit our page at Flickr.
Want to become a Climate Justice Ambassadors? Check out this page for an Academy in your area.