Dr. Jane Goodall, Student Leaders, and a Climate Change Metanarrative
By Eliza Klein (MA)
At 8:30 in the morning on March 21, 2015, 500 youth activists at the EF Global Student Leaders Summit sat silently in a conference room outside of San Jose, Costa Rica. After a few minutes of anticipation, renowned conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall graced the stage.
In the hour that followed, Dr. Goodall delivered a beautiful keynote speech, in which she shared her story as a trailblazing woman in science, answered student questions, and encouraged all of us to fight for animals, the planet, and each other.
Photo credit- EFTours on Instagram
Dr. Goodall always speaks beside her stuffed cow and stuffed monkey, Mr H. At almost 81 years old, Jane is still going strong. She travels over 300 days per year to spread her message of hope.
During her keynote, Dr. Jane told us that she feels ashamed on behalf of the human race, given how much of the earth has been destroyed since she was our age. Climate change, poverty, and the rise of agribusiness are pillaging our planet. Jane was very adamant about the fact that my generation has inherited countless problems that we must solve.
However, Dr. Goodall was not entirely cynical about the fate of humanity. In her speech, she told us about a few success stories, including the revitalization of Gombe National Park in Tanzania, and she also provided us with her four main reasons for hope: the indomitable human spirit, the human brain, the resilience of nature, and the determination of youth.
I was particularly moved by Dr. Jane's speech. As a participant in her youth activism program, Roots & Shoots, and a member of her National Youth Leadership Council, I have had the privilege of seeing Jane speak multiple times. However, I find it far more inspiring watching her talk to an audience entirely composed of young people, rather than one comprised of mostly adults. As the rising environmentalists of this generation, we are Jane's legacy.
Following Dr. Goodall's keynote, Summit participants broke into groups to participate in "innovation sessions," where we identified environmental issues in our communities and brainstormed creative solutions using a process called design thinking. Design thinking is a version of the scientific method that involves empathy as one of its key steps.
Photo credit- EFTours on Instagram
During the innovation sessions, groups brainstormed inventive environmental solutions, including turtle rehabilitation centers for invasive species and 3D printers that take plastic water bottles and revamp them into reusable containers.
I was lucky enough to attend a lunch with Dr. Jane after the innovation session ended. Though Jane Goodall is ever-inspiring, my highlight of the lunch was talking to Severn Cullis-Suzuki. Severn garnered international attention when her 1992 speech at the U.N. Earth Summit in Brazil became famous. Though she was 12 at the time, her speech, "The Girl Who Silenced The World for 12 Minutes," has since gone viral. Today, Severn is working on a number of climate justice issues, and is an environmentalist in her community in Canada. She is also on the Earth Charter Commission.
Later in the afternoon, students broke up into groups once again - this time to attend workshops. I had the honor of running a workshop with my fellow Roots & Shoots Youth Leaders, Dana and Hasib. Our session was titled "So You Want To Make A Difference?" and in it, we taught students how to use digital mapping strategies to discover local needs. Through community mapping, young people can explore the nuances of their regions and design effective environmental service projects.
Michelle Boos-Stone's visual representation of day one of the conference
Over dinner, I had the pleasure of sitting next to Joe Levine, a renowned scientist who co-wrote the Pearson Biology textbook. He talked to my young female friends and me about how we need to start following our climate heroes, like Dr. Jane, as soon as possible. He explained how many of the original trailblazing female scientists of his generation - Jane Goodall, Rachel Carson, Eugenie Clark - are looking to the leaders of tomorrow for help. Thus, the world needs us to rise up in their place.
While conversing about climate action with Severn Cullis-Suzuki at lunch, she said that "we need a metanarrative." Hopefully, youth will leave the EF Global Student Leaders Summit ready to work towards establishing that overarching metanarrative, or "big story," that can help mitigate climate change.
About the Global Student Leaders Summit Series
This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post and EF Education First, in recognition of the 2015 EF Global Student Leaders Summit in Costa Rica.
Throughout the next two weeks, you will hear from EF Student Journalism Interns detailing their experiences before, during and after the Summit. The internship offers a way for students traveling to Costa Rica to become even more engaged with their journey and gain real-time, deadline driven writing experience. During the Summit these students will be covering stories as they unfold and sharing their experiences through their writing!
For more information on EF Education First, click here.
from The Huffington Post | The Full Feed http://ift.tt/1IsNqOQ
via IFTTT
At 8:30 in the morning on March 21, 2015, 500 youth activists at the EF Global Student Leaders Summit sat silently in a conference room outside of San Jose, Costa Rica. After a few minutes of anticipation, renowned conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall graced the stage.
In the hour that followed, Dr. Goodall delivered a beautiful keynote speech, in which she shared her story as a trailblazing woman in science, answered student questions, and encouraged all of us to fight for animals, the planet, and each other.
Photo credit- EFTours on Instagram Dr. Goodall always speaks beside her stuffed cow and stuffed monkey, Mr H. At almost 81 years old, Jane is still going strong. She travels over 300 days per year to spread her message of hope.
During her keynote, Dr. Jane told us that she feels ashamed on behalf of the human race, given how much of the earth has been destroyed since she was our age. Climate change, poverty, and the rise of agribusiness are pillaging our planet. Jane was very adamant about the fact that my generation has inherited countless problems that we must solve.
However, Dr. Goodall was not entirely cynical about the fate of humanity. In her speech, she told us about a few success stories, including the revitalization of Gombe National Park in Tanzania, and she also provided us with her four main reasons for hope: the indomitable human spirit, the human brain, the resilience of nature, and the determination of youth.
I was particularly moved by Dr. Jane's speech. As a participant in her youth activism program, Roots & Shoots, and a member of her National Youth Leadership Council, I have had the privilege of seeing Jane speak multiple times. However, I find it far more inspiring watching her talk to an audience entirely composed of young people, rather than one comprised of mostly adults. As the rising environmentalists of this generation, we are Jane's legacy.
Following Dr. Goodall's keynote, Summit participants broke into groups to participate in "innovation sessions," where we identified environmental issues in our communities and brainstormed creative solutions using a process called design thinking. Design thinking is a version of the scientific method that involves empathy as one of its key steps.
Photo credit- EFTours on Instagram
During the innovation sessions, groups brainstormed inventive environmental solutions, including turtle rehabilitation centers for invasive species and 3D printers that take plastic water bottles and revamp them into reusable containers.
I was lucky enough to attend a lunch with Dr. Jane after the innovation session ended. Though Jane Goodall is ever-inspiring, my highlight of the lunch was talking to Severn Cullis-Suzuki. Severn garnered international attention when her 1992 speech at the U.N. Earth Summit in Brazil became famous. Though she was 12 at the time, her speech, "The Girl Who Silenced The World for 12 Minutes," has since gone viral. Today, Severn is working on a number of climate justice issues, and is an environmentalist in her community in Canada. She is also on the Earth Charter Commission.
Later in the afternoon, students broke up into groups once again - this time to attend workshops. I had the honor of running a workshop with my fellow Roots & Shoots Youth Leaders, Dana and Hasib. Our session was titled "So You Want To Make A Difference?" and in it, we taught students how to use digital mapping strategies to discover local needs. Through community mapping, young people can explore the nuances of their regions and design effective environmental service projects.
Over dinner, I had the pleasure of sitting next to Joe Levine, a renowned scientist who co-wrote the Pearson Biology textbook. He talked to my young female friends and me about how we need to start following our climate heroes, like Dr. Jane, as soon as possible. He explained how many of the original trailblazing female scientists of his generation - Jane Goodall, Rachel Carson, Eugenie Clark - are looking to the leaders of tomorrow for help. Thus, the world needs us to rise up in their place.
While conversing about climate action with Severn Cullis-Suzuki at lunch, she said that "we need a metanarrative." Hopefully, youth will leave the EF Global Student Leaders Summit ready to work towards establishing that overarching metanarrative, or "big story," that can help mitigate climate change.
About the Global Student Leaders Summit Series
This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post and EF Education First, in recognition of the 2015 EF Global Student Leaders Summit in Costa Rica.
Throughout the next two weeks, you will hear from EF Student Journalism Interns detailing their experiences before, during and after the Summit. The internship offers a way for students traveling to Costa Rica to become even more engaged with their journey and gain real-time, deadline driven writing experience. During the Summit these students will be covering stories as they unfold and sharing their experiences through their writing!
For more information on EF Education First, click here.
from The Huffington Post | The Full Feed http://ift.tt/1IsNqOQ
via IFTTT
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