“Why argue about who or what needs to change first? Why not take a leading role?” – Greta Thunberg
With this spirit in mind, over 100 people, including 60 school pupils, came together at Neuadd Y Gwendraeth, Drefach, last month for a day of training, networking, and action planning. This event was part of the Walk the Global Walk project that Carmarthenshire County Council’s Education Department has been working on since 2018. The project is funded by the European Commission and involves 12 different nations with Carmarthenshire representing Wales. The aim is to encourage young people to take action in support of the Sustainable Development Goals with this year’s focus being on SDG 13: Climate Action.
All but one of the county’s secondary schools are now taking part in Walk the Global Walk together with two primary schools, Johnstown and Brynsierfel. Following a teacher training workshop, and teaching and learning on the climate emergency in each school using the specially designed project resource pack, each has selected 5 Global Goalkeepers to be ambassadors for the project and lead action in their schools and local communities. So, the aim of this event was to train up these young people for this important role, inspire and motivate them, as well as bring them together with councillors, council officers, and representatives of different organisations who can support them.
Combining the training element with the added dimension of a ‘marketplace’ with information stands and hands on activities proved very successful. These included the Council’s Waste Minimisation and Transport departments, as well as Fairtrade Llanelli, Sustrans, Ynni Da, Man a man a mwnci, Dolen Cymru Lesotho, Size of Wales, National Botanic Garden of Wales, and Keep Wales Tidy. Ynni Da’s cycle-powered disco was especially popular with the young people present!
Polly Seton, project coordinator for Carmarthenshire, opened the day with an introduction to Walk the Global Walk, emphasising the importance of the role to be played by the Global Goalkeepers. Each school present was given a resource booklet to help inspire them and plan their activities. The young people’s response was very positive, and they valued the opportunity to make a difference and have their voices heard. “I enjoyed the passionate environment and being able to work with students like me” stated one of the Global Goalkeepers.
Next on the agenda was the Reverend Matthew Hill who invited all present to consider joining the ‘Eco Lent’ initiative which encourages participants to give up something over Lent that will make a difference in mitigating climate change. Councillor Aled Vaughan Owen then gave an excellent presentation on the Local Authority’s Net Zero Carbon plan while Biodiversity officers, Isobel Macho and Rosie Carmichael, inspired schools with practical ideas for developing their school grounds.
What most impressed participants was the input from two young climate activists, Sam and Magda from Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, who are already playing their part in urging policy makers to accelerate climate action. Hearing them speak so confidently on this critical issue inspired many in the room. “What impressed me most was listening to the young people and hearing how passionately they care about their environment “remarked one councillor, a sentiment echoed by many others.
The Global Goalkeepers are central to driving the initiative so being able to communicate and share their ideas and plans effectively will be crucial to their success. The ‘Walk the Global Walk Digital Campaign Competition 2020’ was therefore launched at the event by Sharon Flint and Mandy Ballet of Dolen Cymru Lesotho, the other Welsh partner in the project. Schools were given ideas and tools for creating exciting digital ways of ‘getting their message out there’. The lucky winners of this competition will represent Wales at the project’s International Summer School in Italy in July 2020.
During the afternoon, Participation Officer, Sarah Powell led a session giving those present the opportunity to have their say on plans for the Big Global Walk through Carmarthen town on Friday, June 5th, 2020, World Environment Day. This will bring over 500 pupils to Carmarthen to share and celebrate their work and highlight the urgent need for climate action. Similar “walks” will be happening simultaneously in the other European countries involved in the project.
Cllr Cefin Campbell, Executive Board Member responsible for tackling climate change, gave the vote of thanks at the end of the training and networking event and looked forward to further collaborations with schools and local communities.
Feedback on the event was very positive with 100% of participants declaring they were highly or very satisfied with the day. Here are just a few of the accolades:
“I liked listening to other ideas from the council, other Global Goalkeepers and the wonderful people on the stalls”
“It was good being able to reflect on our actions and being able to make a change”
(Year 9 pupils)
“I enjoyed all the different speakers and the stall of various organisations. A fantastic day, I have 5 very enthusiastic students who can’t wait to plan their actions”
(Teacher at Ysgol Brynsierfel)
Many thanks to everyone who participated in the event and helped make the day so successful.
Written By: Polly Steton
