Global ambassador and Co-founder of The Ebaidebheki Initiative, Miss Ebaide Omiunu has commenced a programme aimed at creating awareness on climate change related issues among teenagers and children.
Her group has inaugurated the first Climate Change Teen Hub in Abuja.
Speking at the Hub’s inauguration, Omiunu noted that young children have the capacity to drive conversation around climate change.
She noted that catching them young would help mitigate the overwhelming consequences of impending disasters the earth would experience due to human actions.
According to her, “What really struck me first of all was my first attendance at COPS three years ago. I did a virtual attendance of COP26 that held in Glasgow, Scotland and when I tuned on to the youth club, I saw very young children doing amazing things.
“Two years ago I was also privilege to be at Egypt COP 27 and I also had interactions with young people. So beyond pavilions and learning and networking, I go to the Youth side, and I see young children doing amazing things talking and driving conversation.
“Last year in Dubai COP 28, I was also privileged to be there as well and I did a lot of networking. When you see the young children, most of them are from the West doing amazing things and being exposed at that level.
“I just thought to myself, why don’t we have the same thing here? It must not be me talking about the conversations Why don’t we have young children already been resourceful, having what it takes, being passionate and advocates of saving our planet? why don’t we have them in Nigeria? why don’t we have them doing something already? and how do we do that?
“I have a responsibility to bring them on board, catch them young, resource them, meet them equipped with the right knowledge, right exposure and represent platform. I’m actually here to ensure that development doesn’t start with alone but everybody.
“The people you see here today are the young children who have indicated interest. Now how do we take it to the grassroots? That is why we’re having this. We have young children like them, taking the message to young children like themselves.
“Trust me at their age, this generation are far apart from us. How do we drive conversations? How do we get interested. A nine year old or 10 year would be more inclined to speak with someone who is a 10 year old talking to him about climate change. He’ll be inspired hearing a fellow like him talking about climate change.
“The charge today is beyond the knowing beyond them dedicating and pledging to saving environments they have to take this message.
“This club being inaugurated, we are going to meet once a month and that’s l it’s gonna be very sustainable, the idea is to share information, share resources, we will give them a platform, inspire them.
“They will tak this message beyond here and so we’ll have initiatives, projects that will take us to the grassroots where we’ll have children here, delivering lectures, driving conversations, inspiring, been innovative.
“So the idea is not just for them, but for generations, yet unborn and also for their peers. What we’ll do here today is take this message to their communities, to their schools, spreading more information about climate change.
“Like I said before, it is not an elitist. The people here are just people that saw it, and very interested. I know some people here who are not elitist as you have described, and I know what they do beyond here.
“They’re doing amazing work already. There are two young ladies here today who are doing amazing work already, taking project on solar already.
Our initiative is very open.
“We have social media handles, websites, numbers and so on. We are very accessible as much as possible. Anyone who is willing part of us should bring their children. The portal is still open and people who are interested to be part of the project are welcome.”