Contact: Kimberly Gutzler
kimberly@nationalchildrenscampaign.org
202-476-9141
Supporting Emotional Wellbeing for Youth in the Climate Crisis: Free Online Conference Launches on the Eve of the 50th Anniversary Earth Day
San Francisco, CA – April 21, 2020 – One of the hidden challenges of the climate crisis is coming to light in the pause created by the pandemic: Young people are suffering from intense levels of anxiety in relation to climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic hit the pause button for the world; we’re getting a second to think about how we feel and what we should do about the future. CLIMATE OF EMOTIONS, an online conference of international climate leaders, youth activists and psychologists, tackles Climate Grief in a time of COVID-19. Live-streaming on YouTube, this free conference recognizes the power of emotions to help adults and youth take climate action steps.
Registration for CLIMATE OF EMOTIONS is free at www.6seconds.org/climate . The online conference will culminate in the development of new learning resources to support children’s emotional health, called GREEN 13. This resource kit is part of a multi-year initiative working in partnership with UNICEF World Children’s Day and will be distributed to millions of children in over 200 countries and territories.
The Climate of Emotions Online Conference
April 21, 2020
7:30-11:30 PST
Registration: www.6seconds.org/climate
Conference speakers include:
• Jamie Margolin, student and founder and Co-Executive Director of a national youth movement for climate justice called “Zero Hour”, which is putting on student mobilizations to call for an end to business as usual on climate change.
• Elizabeth Wanjiru Wathuti, Kenyan Youth Environmentalist, Wangari Maathai Scholarship Awardee, Founder Green Generation Initiative and award-winning writer.
• Katharine Hayhoe, Political Science Endowed Professor in Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University, she hosts the PBS digital series Global Weirding, and has been named a United Nations Champion of the Earth
• Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, 28-year-old Founder at Climate Resilient; Climate Adaptation Specialist at UN Environment; Adviser to the Youth Climate Network of Panama; member of the inaugural class of Obama Foundation Scholars ‘19.
• Brit Wray, who’s TED talk, “How climate change affects your mental health” has over 2 million views.
• Jonah Gottlieb, student and the co-founder and executive director of the National Children’s Campaign and a climate change activist with This is Zero Hour and Schools for Climate Action.
• Mariam Nusrat, Founder of the social venture GRID – Gaming Revolution for Inspiring/International Development, and an Education specialist at the World Bank.
• Christabel Reed, co-founder of Advaya, the London-based system change initiative for radical regeneration and joyful revolution and EarthSpace media, as well as EcoResolution, with Cara Delevingne, to empower people all over the world.
• Wanjira Mathai, Chair of the Wangari Maathai Foundation (WMF) advancing the legacy of her mother, Wangari Maathai, who was the first African woman, and the first environmentalist, to be recognized with the Nobel Peace Laureate (2004).
Key topics of THE CLIMATE OF EMOTIONS free online conference include:
Recognizing Climate Grief: Children and young adults are experiencing mental health challenging at an alarming rate, and one of their top-reported reasons for distress is the future of the Earth. The conference will grapple with the complexities of “Climate Grief” and “Climate Anxiety,” not as “bad feelings,” but as an important message.
Earth Care IS Health Care: As the Pope described last week, in the light of COVID19, the connection between environmental health and human health is increasingly clear. The conference will consider how the global response to the pandemic is a case study of what we should be doing to prepare for a more resilient future.
EQ Toolkit for Climate Leadership: Young people are at the forefront of climate activism. While many people are motivated by their clarity and passion, there is a significant emotional cost. How can adults learn to better support young people — and how can young people better support their own and their peers’ wellbeing?
The free online conference is produced by the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Network, the global nonprofit dedicated to ALL people growing skills with emotions. For more information see www.6seconds.org. The Climate of Emotions is created in partnership with:
1. The Khalifa Ihler Institute for Peaceful & Thriving Communities.
2. Climate Resilient, supporting young environmental leaders with skills for a resilient future.
3. The National Children’s Campaign, empowering young leaders.
4. Global Co Lab Network, a network of teens working for a better future.
5. CharityBomb, amplifying emotional intelligence for mental health.
The conference is unique in this collaboration of people from numerous countries, organizations, of different ages, collaborating for youth, sustainability, and emotional health.
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The National Children’s Campaign is a national nonprofit organization that serves to amplify the voices of America’s 74 million children and youth and make sure that our nation’s political leaders prioritize the issues that matter to those who are too young to vote. The National Children’s Campaign focuses on health, education, climate and environment, child welfare, gun violence, child immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, and youth civic engagement.
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