International climate leaders, youth activists and psychologists are banding together to address Climate Grief during the coronavirus pandemic. One of the many things put on pause for the pandemic is the climate crisis and the fight for action against it, leaving young people anxious and wary for a future they feel they have no control over. CLIMATE OF EMOTIONS is a free online conference offering multiple resources to help support youth emotional health.
The online conference will culminate in the development of new learning resources to support children’s emotional health — GREEN 13. The resources are part of a multi-year initiative in partnership with UNICEF World Children’s Day and to be distributed to millions of children’s in over 200 countries and territories.
CLIMATE OF EMOTIONS will stream free on YouTube Tuesday 4/21 7:30AM to 11:30AM PST.
CLIMATE OF EMOTIONS Speakers
- Jamie Margolin, student and founder and Co-Executive Director of a national youth movement for climate justice called “Zero Hour”, which is putting on student mobilizations to call for an end to business as usual on climate change.
- Elizabeth Wanjiru Wathuti, Kenyan Youth Environmentalist, Wangari Maathai Scholarship Awardee, Founder Green Generation Initiative and award-winning writer.
- Katharine Hayhoe, Political Science Endowed Professor in Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University, she hosts the PBS digital series Global Weirding, and has been named a United Nations Champion of the Earth
- Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, 28-year-old Founder at Climate Resilient; Climate Adaptation Specialist at UN Environment; Adviser to the Youth Climate Network of Panama; member of the inaugural class of Obama Foundation Scholars ‘19.
- Brit Wray, who’s TED talk, “How climate change affects your mental health” has over 2 million views.
- Jonah Gottlieb, student and the co-founder and executive director of the National Children’s Campaign and a climate change activist with This is Zero Hour and Schools for Climate Action.
- Mariam Nusrat, Founder of the social venture GRID – Gaming Revolution for Inspiring/International Development, and an Education specialist at the World Bank.
- Christabel Reed, co-founder of Advaya, the London-based system change initiative for radical regeneration and joyful revolution and EarthSpace media, as well as EcoResolution, with Cara Delevingne, to empower people all over the world.
- Wanjira Mathai, Chair of the Wangari Maathai Foundation (WMF) advancing the legacy of her mother, Wangari Maathai, who was the first African woman, and the first environmentalist, to be recognized with the Nobel Peace Laureate (2004).
CLIMATE OF EMOTIONS’ Key Topics
Recognizing Climate Grief: Children and young adults are experiencing mental health challenges at an alarming rate, and one of their top-reported reasons for distress is the future of the Earth. The conference will grapple with the complexities of “Climate Grief” and “Climate Anxiety,” not as “bad feelings,” but as an important message.
Earth Care IS Health Care: As the Pope described last week, in the light of COVID19, the connection between environmental health and human health is increasingly clear. The conference will consider how the global response to the pandemic is a case study of what we should be doing to prepare for a more resilient future.
EQ Toolkit for Climate Leadership: Young people are at the forefront of climate activism. While many people are motivated by their clarity and passion, there is a significant emotional cost. How can adults learn to better support young people — and how can young people better support their own and their peers’ wellbeing?
CLIMATE OF EMOTIONS will be live-streamed on YouTube for free. To see the full schedule and register for free, visit: https://www.6seconds.org/climate/ .