Saving the climate
Image: 7th Brussels Youth Climate March with Greta Thunberg - 21 February 2019
Brussels, 4 November 2020
Last week we looked into festivals and the mitigation of climate change with a group of festival leaders coming from all over the world, as well as some cross-sector experts from the gaming industry, research, and youth activist movements. An inspiring 2-days intensive peer learning on this very important topic of our times. One thing that came out of it, amongst many others, is that young people - who will be the most affected by climate change - should be part of the conversation and the leadership around these issues and how to implement transformative change. Could they co-curate our festivals?
The Festival Academy gives the floor to one of these ‘young voices’ in this Long Read. My sons are very engaged with the topic (picture above of my oldest son, Charles, wearing his self-made banner); they are the generation who marched along with Greta Thunberg in Brussels. My youngest son, Louis has been very engaged with the topic; they are the generation who marched along with Greta Thunberg in Brussels. He wrote a blog already some time ago and I told him we could send it out to our community including some 10.000 people - after which he reflected for a moment and then said, "Only 10.000?".
But he decided it’s worth starting his career as a blogger on this platform. So enjoy the read!
More information on the past training can be found here, while we are preparing the next one on Curating Festivals (25-26 November) for which applications are open now!
- Inge Ceustermans
Saving the Climate
Hello followers, friends, viewers and all those who arrived at my blog! I’m Louis Vermeir, 10 years old and I live in Brussels.
I want to tell you something.
I am happy I am alive and I have a speech that could make this possible for you and your children too.
Before I start, I want to tell you to share this with as many people as possible, maybe with the whole world.*
*Just kidding.
Here I go:
Think about your children and theirs. Do you want that our generation with their polluting cars and all bad things for the world, spoils their future? Maybe, then, there is no future anymore…
Time is running and so pollution is as well. While you are reading this, polluting vehicles, planes, boats are moving around the world, so what are you going to do?
Decide:
1. Put your screen away and take action
2. Or read this and take action then.*
* If you continue reading, you can read and discover a lot, so do that!
I want to give you some tips to save the climate.
This is my first point.
On snow days, no school! And no cars are allowed to drive. So… no need for polluting snow cars, AND everyone is allowed to play on the streets in the snow! Think about when you were young, were you sitting inside when it started snowing or did you go and play outside? Well, that’s not the point here.
Point two.
Kids can give ideas to the politicians. Me, being a child, I think I have quite some good ideas and I have a different spirit, a young spirit full of fantasy and other thoughts, and when we are talking about the climate, I can decide about a big part of my life and that is the case for every child on Earth.
Point three.
Be economical about what you buy.
Point four.
Buy what you need for a week, and not more, then we have to produce less.
Point five.
Don’t litter plastic in the water, on the street, in the air or wherever.
Point six.
I’ve seen there is a clock that shows we have 7 years and a bit to save the world so we need to take action with more of us fast!
Point seven.
Wait, there is no point seven… Ah, my points have run out as I’m afraid, because I know that only when I’m 17, I can no longer save the world and the climate will be ruined.
I hope you agree with my points and that you will start thinking differently about the climate and that you will come up with further points we can take on together!
* By the way, what I’ve heard, in Australia planes are flying around just to show the beautiful locations of the country…
And now, action!
- Louis Vermeir
#LettersToTheEarth