The fourth Zambian Children's Climate Conference (ZCCC4) kicked off on

Monday. The conference which is on until Thursday has a total of 100 delegates

 from five of the 10 provinces. The delegates aged 18 and below where joined

by the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Honourable Charles

Lungu who was the guest of honour.

 

It was a great sign of support in the fight against Climate Change and more

importantly, it highlighted government's stance on the need for Child engagement

 in major issues.

'Climate change is a pertinent issue for Zambia, and unless we

 do something now, our future generations will be in even greater peril than we

 are today. Let us do something," Lungu said.

 

The conference which was first held in April 2010 seeks to raise awareness on

not only Climate Change but also HIV and AIDS. It falls under the Unite4Climate

 programme and has trained over 500 child climate ambassadors to date from the

 ten provinces. Delegates for this fourth edition being held at the Barn Motel hail

from Lusaka, Luapula, Muchinga, Northern and Eastern province.

 

Also present at the opening ceremony was the UNICEF Country Representative,

 Dr. Iyorlumun Uhaa, who saw the Unite4Climate programme as a way of

attaining the Millenium Development Goal on Environmental Sustainability. "We

will endeavour to instil in the children gathered here today with core values that

will enable them to grow into responsible citizens who will remain a strong voice

in caring for our environment," he said.

 

The Country Representative noted Climate Justice and Children's Rights as the

pillar for the programme. He identified tools that will amplify the voices of the

climate ambassadors. "This year, we are establishing workstations in about 20

schools where climate ambassadors are enrolled. These facilities will include

internet, flip cams, audio recorders and laptops to enable children do research

and produce stories for print and electronic media," he added.

 

13 year old Mulenga Lukwesa, a delegate from Mazabuka provided a truly

inspiring moment when she presented two trees to Hon. Charles Lungu and

urged everyone to reflect on what we have done to planet earth. "We have

changed our climate, we are responsible for this, we have to mend that which we

 have broken. We have to do the right thing and fix our environment. We have to

 sensitize the people to stop breaking our Environment," the grade 10 pupil from

 

 Mazabuka Girls High School said.

 

The conference had its fair share of flair as Barefeet, a local theatre group

mesmerised the audience with a series of performances on the environment. The

performance had a mixture of dance, music and drama, and it went a long way

into lightening up the atmosphere as well as putting a smile on the children's faces.

 

The zeal exhibited by the children clearly illustrates the potent power that is

needed to confront the challenges we are facing. Indeed, we all need to reflect!