Preface: November 20, 2023 to November 24, 2023, the 2nd Global Youth Climate Week was successfully held. As one of the joint initiators of Global Youth Climate Week, Green Light Year has invited guests from different fields who actively promote climate action to share their experience of climate action online during the Global Youth Climate Week. The series of events were conducted through a combination of online and offline methods. In addition to online presentations, interviews, and dialogues, Climate Fresk was also conducted offline.
During the five-day Global Youth Climate Week, more than ten guests, from primary and secondary school students to college students, from professors to industry experts, not only shared their unique insights and action experiences on sustainable development with the audience, but also put forward practical and effective suggestions for youth’s future development. The Global Youth Climate Week·Green Light-Year’s Action responded to 5 Sustainable Development Goals, and carried out totally 10 online or offline activities, including 9 online live sharing. In each online live sharing, nearly 100 people were online simultaneously. All 9 online live sharing received over 5,000 online views and over 80,000 likes. At the same time, a Climate Fresk workshop was held offline, with totally 10 people participated offline. Through this interactive game, participants gained a deeper understanding of climate change.
2nd Global Youth Climate Week, Day 1
November 20, 2023
Sharing Theme: Dialogue with the Father of “Liquid Tree” – How to Handle the Challenge of Climate Change in an Interdisciplinary Way
The goal of the project is to utilize biological systems to bring benefits to people and meet their needs in design and function and reduce air pollution. Meanwhile, Professor Ivan also shared the reasons and ideas behind the creation of “Liquid Tree”, as well as the challenges and solutions encountered during the process of creating “Liquid Tree”. Till September 2021, the system has been operating in Florida for two years. Then, Professor Ivan will build more equipment with the help of donations from local banks. At present, he is still conducting research on this project and hopes to further innovate.
2nd Global Youth Climate Week, Day 2
November 21, 2023
Sharing Theme: Research on Green Refrigeration in order to Reduce Carbon Emission
Sharing Content: A series of climate issues caused by greenhouse gas emission have prompted three students, Su Yuru, Gu Zhenyu, and Xin Yichen, to have the idea of cooling the Earth by studying green refrigeration and non-fluorinated refrigeration methods. They proposed four initiatives related to green refrigeration through six stages: literature review, questionnaire survey, field research, equipment analysis, experimental research, and model design. In addition, based on the analysis of the working principles of different refrigeration equipment, the team further analyzed the effects and influencing factors of different refrigeration methods. Finally, team members shared three green cooling and heating models they had designed. In this process, all three team members gained valuable experience and insights, and will continue to deeply participate in sustainable development activities.
Sharing Theme: Saving Abandoned Bicycles on Campus
Sharing Content: Due to the large number of abandoned bicycles on campus, under the guidance of Dr. Ellen Touchstone, the Sustainable Future Talent (SFT) club, collaborated with other organizations, carried out an activity on saving abandoned bicycles. In the process, the SFT club divided abandoned bicycles into three categories and adopted different treatment measures. In the end, not only did they successfully donate 30 bicycles to children with autism and recycle over 180 bicycles, but they also further promoted this activity outside the campus. The activity has brought unique experiences and achievements to the participating teachers and students. In addition, the activity spread the concept of sustainable development and created public value and care for children with autism.
Sharing Content: The Sustainable Future Talent (SFT) club of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), based on the “15 actions in 15 days” activity and taking into account the unique characteristics of XJTLU, has expanded the activity to “15 ways in 15 weeks”. Within 15 weeks, an activity will be held every week focusing on a carbon reduction theme promoted by the United Nations, aimed at encouraging individuals to reduce their carbon footprint through individual actions. The SFT club has launched activities including the “Finish Your Food Plan”, “Beyond Buying”, “Delivery Packaging Renovation Workshop”, “Coffee Residue Candles”, “Planting Your Green Plants”, and “Second Hand Clothing Exchange Market”, etc., attracting over 4000 teachers and students to participate together.
Sharing Theme: Career Development in the Low Carbon Industry for Youth – Dialogue between Youth and Experts in the Green Environmental Protection Industry
Sharing Content: President Xiong Jian first introduced the working goals, service targets, service content, and work achievements of the Shanghai Pudong New Area New Energy Association. Among them, President Xiong emphasized the importance of the new energy industry, especially the formulation of new energy industry standards, to national development, and called on young talents to actively participate in the development of new energy industry. Then, Zhou Jiong, President of Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) Green Industry Development Alliance Association, introduced the planning, industrial development situation, and environmental practices in daily life from the perspective of sustainable development of Suzhou Industrial Park. Then, focusing on carbon neutrality, President Zhou emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary innovation and development for young people at present. Finally, Ms. Ni Huan discussed with two presidents on the career development of young people, expressing their desire to jointly promote the growth of young talents.
2nd Global Youth Climate Week, Day 3
November 22, 2023
Sharing Theme: Protecting Biological Diversity Based on Ecological Protection, Exploring a Colorful World by Walking Across Wetlands
Sharing Content: As the first Chinese teacher to be invited to attend the Teachers COP hosted by UNESCO, Ms. Chang Yan shared her keynote speech on focusing on ecological protection and protecting biological diversity. Her team has carried out long-term ecological protection and wetland species protection actions in the Yellow River basin, paying special attention to the comprehensive impact of climate change on biological diversity. Through species surveys and other activities, students can get close to wetlands, establish awareness of ecological protection, practice the concept of ecological civilization, and recognize the key role of ecological protection in mitigating climate change.
In the sharing, she mentioned some activities of the “Little Feet” group, including bird watching, water quality monitoring, vegetable cultivation, wetland waste cleaning, etc. Through these activities, children are able to have rich experiences in nature and cultivate their love for the ecological environment. The group also uses ecological games and other methods to help children gain a deeper understanding of ecological knowledge, paying attention to issues such as bird migration, habitat destruction, and climate change, etc.
Sharing Theme: Sharing of Chinese Representatives at the UNESCO Conference – the 2nd International Symposium on Climate Change Education
Sharing Content: Ms. Teng Yishu shared the similarities and differences between climate communication research and climate education research. The similarities include focusing on climate change issues, requiring textbook support, and paying attention to the impact of social media. The differences lie in the fact that climate communication focuses on information dissemination and the transformation of adults, while climate education emphasizes the transferring knowledge to students and the transformation of textbooks and students.
Ms. Ni Huan shared her experience in France as the director of Shanghai Green Light-Year. The conference emphasized green and sustainable development and introduced the characteristics of the farm, including the use of solar energy, passively designed buildings, animal welfare, vegetarian provision, and artificial wetland sewage treatment. She pointed out that sustainable development is widely practiced in France, including conserving promotional materials and using sustainable materials in buildings. UNESCO has been promoting Education for Sustainable Development since 2004, emphasizing interdisciplinary learning and core competency development.
2nd Global Youth Climate Week, Day 4
November 23, 2023
Sharing Theme: How Youth Participate in Environmental Protection Activities Through Technology Platform: Dialogue between Youth and Science and Technology Enterprises’ Representatives
Sharing Content: Ms. Ni Huan, invited host Neil and invited guest William, discussed from multiple perspectives, from education to career development, emphasizing the importance of integrating practical experience with academic education, as well as the necessity of seeking mentors and gaining project experience.
Three experts mainly discussed suggestions for students when preparing for internships at the United Nations or other large organizations, including in class preparation and extracurricular preparation during the university years, emphasizing the importance of social experience. They recommended that students accumulate project experience during their university years and emphasize the value of learning from experienced mentors. In addition, they emphasized the importance of combining academic education with practical experience, as well as the importance of apprenticeship systems and platforms for enhancing student abilities and career development.
Sharing Theme: Insect Plan: Sharing of Representatives at Youth 4 Climate Conference
Sharing Content: Zheng Rongsheng introduced the project background and experience of participating in the project, especially the research on producing environmentally friendly pet food made from insect protein. He shared the production process and ecological value of the product, and emphasized the impact of the project on Sustainable Development Goals and the importance of professional volunteers for the project, and he encouraged everyone to participate in their beloved career with enthusiasm and vision.
Rongsheng shared his interdisciplinary learning experience and emphasized the importance of personal abilities in learning professional knowledge. He also shared the sense of achievement and value he gained as a volunteer, and explained why they chose to volunteer in a non-profit form. He emphasized that their original intention was to promote community development, rather than blindly pursuing commercial interests.
2nd Global Youth Climate Week, Day 5
November 24, 2023
Theme: Climate Fresk
Activity Review: Ms. Xu Yong and Ms. Gong Wenzhu from Green Light-Year took climate change as a starting point to guide participants in the Climate Fresk. During the activity, members arranged their cards according to the causal relationship of climate change and worked together to complete each group of the puzzles. Through this activity, members deeply realized that human beings are very close to climate change. Then, members selected keywords that could represent themselves from the emotional cards and shared their feelings. Finally, members discussed and emphasized that as a member of the Earth, humans have great potential to contribute to global climate change and reduce carbon emissions. Choices made by human beings are crucial for the future development of the Earth. Human beings should take actions from now on and make every choice properly.