Since March 2021, Belovodsk Lyceum “Leader” has been holding regular classes with students of grades 9 to 11 for the environmental project “Climate Change and Us”.
In these classes, working in groups, students emphasized that climate change is a global challenge, which means that to overcome it, the whole world must work together. We noticed that in order for people in power to hear and understand us, we need to be able to use our voice. If we are good speakers and can tell interesting stories, we can make our leaders better understand who we are and what changes we need.
Thanks to the Internet, we have the opportunity to tell our story to people from other cities, districts, regions and even around the world. Perhaps without our history, they would never know what kind of people live in our community, how they live and what problems they face due to climate change. People living in regions with cold climates may think that global warming is good – because the hot weather is not so bad for them. But if they are aware of the damage that drought and too hot weather can do in other countries, they will be able to better understand and empathize.
When we empathize with others, it is easier for us to work together and achieve great things. That’s why it’s so important to know how to tell stories – to inspire empathy.
The history of every citizen is important.
The students worked on three questions to which they had to find answers.
- What was one of the important and significant experiences that influenced who they became? Within 10-15 minutes, the students had the opportunity to respond to them.
- Have you had experience monitoring climate change? How has this affected your community? Is the weather different from when you were a child?
- To build a better future, we must first imagine ourselves there. What would the world look like for you? What are your dreams for a sustainable world, where communities are strong and peaceful, where we can not only continue our traditions, but also innovate? What might the dream community look like to you (which is strong before climate change)? What role can you play to make this dream come true?
At the end of the allotted time, those interested had the opportunity to talk about what they would like to share. The students told their unexpected life stories. The audience was very moved by the story of a boy-immigrant from the city of Luhansk. Some students shared experiences that influenced their worldview. Each student had his own story, which has a great impact on personal vision of the world. The answers were varied: from their own experience of participating in various environmental projects to the stories of their loved ones and friends. In this way, the project participants learned more about each other, and we hope that in the future it will help them get closer to overcoming global problems.
Here is a photo of our team of students:
Food for Thought Mondo 