As the impacts of climate change become increasingly severe, today’s young people have an all-important task. In Barking and Dagenham, the British Red Cross is partnering with Thames Ward Community Project (TWCP) and University College London (UCL) Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis to offer young people an interactive games-based curriculum (Y-Adapt) to help them better understand climate change and learn how to adapt to the changing climate in their community through their own action project.
The programme kicks off with three full days of interactive sessions filled with workshops, games, fun activities, and challenges from Monday 25th July to Wednesday 27th July. The participants will learn about what climate change is, its impacts around the world and how it may affect them and their community. At the end of these three days, they will work together in groups to make action plans to adapt their communities to climate change. They will then have five weeks to deliver their action project, helping to make their communities more climate-resilient. There will be weekly zoom check-ins for the young people to stay in touch with their group and receive any additional support.
Following the July sessions, there will be one final in-person follow-up session on Wednesday 31st August between 15:00-17:00 for the young people to share their projects and celebrate. Each group will share the outcomes of their projects and capture these in ‘adaptation cards’ that will be used to inspire other young people around the world to take their own action.
All in-person sessions will take place locally at Participatory City Foundation, 47 Thames Road, Barking, IG11 0HQ with one session including a site visit to the Ripple Greenway, a 4-minute walk away. All facilitators are DBS checked and cleared and there will be a first aid trained facilitator. A free lunch from local caterers will be provided for all young people participating.
By taking part in the programme pupils will be awarded with a nationally recognised British Red Cross certificate as part of the ‘RED’ volunteering award. They will receive the first level which is ‘R’ and if they would like to volunteer further, they can work towards the next levels in the future.
The sessions are open to young people in Barking and Dagenham aged 13-25.
There are a maximum of 30 spaces and the deadline to sign up is Friday 15th July.
You can register your participation online here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/y-adapt-tickets-362898337697.
For any questions about the programme please contact Ghutai Khuram at ghutaikhuram@redcross.org.uk at 07738808811.