Title: Message in a Bottle: Island Youth, COP26 and Children’s Rights to a Healthy Ocean
When: 29th October 2021, 10-11am
Where: COY16, Strathclyde University Student Union (Room TBC)
This joint event, hosted by Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance and the One Ocean Hub, focuses on the voices of young people in climate change discussions. In particular, coastal and island youth are considered within the context of COP26 and rights to a healthy ocean. Join us for an interactive session involving panel discussions, short film screenings, and group reflections. This event welcomes both in-person and online attendees.
COP26 should be a legacy for all of Scotland, not just the central belt. Furthermore, island schoolchildren from Scotland and around the world have important messages for COP26. ‘Climate Change Message in a Bottle’ is a project co-founded by Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance and Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Arts Centre, and kindly funded by the Scottish Government, which aims to bring island youth closer to COP26 in Glasgow. Following a workshop on climate science, clean energy and COP26, island schoolchildren have written messages to world leaders urging them to take action on the climate emergency. At this event, attendees will be introduced to the project and the significance of island perspectives on climate change. An excerpt of the project’s film, produced by UistFilm, will be premiered, showcasing the messages sent from island schoolchildren around the world. After the film screening, attendees are invited to discuss and reflect on the messages sent by island schoolchildren to COP26, with the option of sending responses to the children’s messages. SCELG are grateful for the collaborative partnerships which have made ‘Climate Change Message in a Bottle’ possible, including with Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Arts Centre, UistFilm, Island Innovation, Youth Scotland, and the Scottish Government.
Following the Climate Change Message in a Bottle discussion, our panellists will reflect on the relevance of children’s and young people’s human rights for the protection of the ocean and for climate change adaptation and mitigation. In particular, the event will provide an opportunity to feed into the development of a new UN General Comment on children’s human right to a healthy environment, with a focus on climate change, and the UN Joint Commitment to the Rights of the Child to a Healthy Environment. The event will also include a reflection on the importance of knowledge on deep-sea ecosystems in ocean and climate literacy and education programmes and the screening of Diep Respek, this short film is an ode to the deep sea and aims to more deeply connect South African trawl fishermen with the mysterious worlds below. These special parts of the ocean comprise a wide diversity of organisms that provide habitats for young fish and eggs, and other creatures, and are fundamental not only to the sustainability of our fisheries, but also to support carbon and climate cycle.
Registration: Check back for registration and complete program details.
This event will be in a hybrid format, but there will be limited space for in person attendance. The event is free to attend.
This event is organized by the Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance and the One Ocean Hub, hosted by COY16.