Youth and Environment: A Call for Action

By Jonathan N

There are different avenue where the youths today can actively engaged in environmental activities. Today, awareness, and active participation in environmental issues is prime for organizations, companies, and the government. Public and private Participation in environmental action has been mainly through Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR). For some companies, it has been an income generative avenue through trading in environmental commodities or green products, thus automatically being engaged in various environmental supportive actions.  As concerns about the environment peaks with the alarming facts on Climate Change and Global Warming, organization are forced to look back at their footprints and choose to rectify through innovative environmental friendly decision. The wave of environmental consciousness is silently sinking into the private and public sector. The part remains for individual citizens to act independently in support of various Calls-For-Environmental-Actions.

Youths in Kenya hold a high ideological and innovative aspect of contributing to environmental action. Nevertheless, the majority of school/university going youths understand that environmental action is gaining popularity but have no clue on how they can get in on the action. The social media is playing a huge role in information sharing thus every youth has an idea of what is trending on the environmental issue. The challenge is getting hands-on real time environmental action and actually doing something about it. Some organization have their hands-on environmental CSR action, some in funding environmental initiatives, and others in ensuring their companies, operation processes,  surrounding and output products are eco friendly. For the individual citizen away from a monthly paycheck or in university or even one looking for a job, they avenue to participate in environmental action is far off their reach.

According Green plus Kenya, the newly launched Participatory Environmental Action platform seeks to involve the individual citizens/youths/women groups in various environmental actions. This platform seeks to contribute toward a common national goal of ensuring a well-managed and sustainable environment for all.

One of its current action plan is the “Do Something” contest; An African Dance-Song Competition, to sing for nature. The entertainment-based awareness and sensitization challenge, targets youths (universities students), registered under environmental clubs to come out and Do Something for Nature. This call for action’s main object is to sensitization youths and the nation at large on the need to care for Mother Nature and do something for the environment.  For example plant a tree, educate children about nature, reduce pollution and campaign against polluters, advocacy for better environment policies, recycle waste, or use alternative energy. The ultimate point here is, “Do Something, for the environment around you first”

About ‘Do Something’ Contest

“Do Something”(DS) is an inter-university competition initiated by Green Plus Kenya. It is geared toward creating awareness and promoting general public participation in environmental issue in communities around Kenya. “Do Something” is a project where university students in various environmental clubs get to compose a Dance-Song for Nature with an African Rhythm, and present it on an environmental gala function.  The selected participating University Clubs get to show case their environmental Dance-Song and the best top 3 clubs awarded with an eco-trip, solar powered laptops among other cash prize awards. The fun-filled, entertaining and environmentally educative competition seeks to enable participation of youths in various environmental actions, advocacy, sensitization and awareness creation campaigns for our natural environment, through Singing for Nature

Its Objectives are; first, to create awareness and sensitization among the youths towards environmental consciousness. Secondly, to enable active participation of youths in environmental action through singing for nature and thirdly, to influence a social-environmental change through youths in schools/universities

For more information about the DS contest (Click Here)