In honour of World Children’s Day, the Biodiversity Working Group looks into the role children can play to protect biodiversity and influence those around them.
Many thanks to our partner Plum Magazine
The UN’s World Children’s Day is an important day to not only highlight the need to protect children’s rights across the world, but call attention to the need of raising awareness with children on various issues worldwide. As per the UN’s website, November 20th is both the day when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). November 20th is also the day the UN states “kids will reimagine a better world” – so what has GCE done to help?
Over the past few months, the Urbanisation and Nature Pole of the Biodiversity Working Group has been asking for entries to their Europe-wide drawing contest. Children across Europe were asked to send in their drawings of extinct species from across the world, curated by ThoughtCo, to help the Biodiversity Working Group “virtually rebuild” biodiversity lost around the world.
Research suggests that children who are educated on climate change and its local impacts end up gaining a sense of ownership, resulting in problem-solving in their communities becoming not only a fun task, but also highly influential. Children also have the potential to build climate concern across generations, with studies showing parents growing higher levels of climate change concern when their children express their own concerns. In other words, not only do children begin to have power in their communities, they are also the gateway to inspiring those around them.
We believe drawings are the best way for children from all over Europe to convey their thoughts and exchange on the crucial topic of extinction by avoiding the language issue. Drawings are a way for children to participate in raising awareness about issues that concern all of us, with their own means of expression.
Through these drawings, the main goal is to give children the chance to actually act on their vision. They have understood the importance of “virtually rebuilding” biodiversity in their own local area and also spread the message across their communities.
Despite many wonderful entries, our winners can be seen below!
Antoine’s drawing of a puma
Hugo’s drawing of a Dodo
Each of our winners will receive a copy of Plum Magazine. Dominique Cronier is the creator of the ecological magazine “Plum”. She is currently raising a crowdfunding campaign to publish the 4th edition of the magazine. Plum aims at bringing children closer to nature and reconnects them to the environment. You can check out her website and her instagram.
Written by Anna Turitsyna and Leila Meffre
Competition hosted by Tatiana Bahous, Charlie Brocard, Leila Meffre, Anna Turitsyna – Urbanisation and Nature Pole, Biodiversity Working Group
