On July 15 – World Youth Skills Day – a meeting was held, summarizing the first stage of the “YES! for climate education” campaign. The event, organized by UN Global Compact Network Poland, was at the same time the inauguration of the Roundtable for Climate Education, which aims to start a broad dialogue on the introduction of climate education in Polish schools.
The meeting was attended by representatives of government and local administration, representatives of the UN system, the world of politics and science, teachers, youth organizations and NGOs. Minister of Education and Science Przemyslaw Czarnek and Minister of Climate and Environment Michal Kurtyka confirmed their presence.
According to the UN, climate education is a key component of the global response to the climate crisis. Only education based on up-to-date scientific knowledge builds informed and responsible public attitudes – essential in the face of the climate change challenges facing current and future generations.
The starting point for the discussions at the Roundtable for Climate Education were the factual studies and the demands and voices collected in the UN GC Network Poland report “Climate Education in Poland”, the official premiere of which took place during the event.
The need to introduce climate education into school curricula is supported by youth organizations, experts and civil society alike. The Youth Climate Strike, Polish Ecological Club Mazowiecki District, UN Global Compact Network Poland, WWF Poland, IKEA Retail Poland and Onet, together as partners, launched the social campaign “YES! to climate education” aimed at drawing attention to the role and need for reliable climate education in schools. As part of the campaign, the Partners encouraged people to sign a petition at www.edukacjaklimatyczna.com, so that in this way everyone could express their support for systemic education on climate change and protection. In less than three months, nearly 55,000 people signed it. The petition, along with information on the number of signatures collected, will be handed over to government representatives at the inaugural meeting of the Roundtable for Climate Education. The Institute for the Development of Legal Education and Civil Society also joins the appeal. The event was attended by the Institute’s expert, Tomasz Opar.
The fact that climate policy is important to IREPSO is also evidenced by the Institute’s New Generation Dialogue project. The project is conducting a survey of young people’s expectations of climate policy, justice and youth participation.
We invite you to participate in the survey!
Link to the survey: https://www.1ka.si/a/340882