Environment Day – educating children brings hope

Press release for immediate release.

4th June 2008

World Environment Day – educating children will bring hope for the future

UNICEF and the UN Environment Programme are developing an Environmental Education Resource pack for schools, which will empower children living in some of the world’s poorest communities to take action on climate change.

The pack will teach children how to look after their own environments and reduce the impacts of natural disasters in their communities.

While the accelerating deterioration of the global environment has its most profound effect on children and young people, UNICEF believes that environmentally aware and empowered children and adolescents are potentially the greatest agents of change for the long-term protection and stewardship of the earth.

A 2008 report released by UNICEF, ‘Climate Change and Children’, highlights the need for children’s voices to be heard in local, national and global development processes as a means to realise their potential to shape their own lives. The decisions they make can and will determine the future of our world.

Millions of children around the world are already experiencing first hand the results of climate change through malnutrition, disease, poverty, inequality and conflict.

“The environment is precious, and we should protect it like a mother hen protects its chicks. We should promote awareness to the people, particularly young people, who are tomorrow’s future” said 17 year old Sarah Baikame from Cameroon.

About UNICEF
UNICEF works in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

ENDS

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