Climate change is one of the major issues that the world is facing, mostly affecting people who live in rural communities and threatening the environment for future generations. This has increasingly sparked a fire in the youth to individually and collectively take action to protect the environment against the impacts of climate change.
Young people are not only victims of climate change, they are also valuable contributors to climate action, with the power to influence change of behavior on both their peers and the older generation. They are agents of change who are always willing to put in the effort and use their skills to accelerate climate action to fight for their future and the future of generations to come.
The Rural Action for Climate Resilience (RACR) project has Youth Citizen Journalists that are responsible for amplifying rural voices to respond to the climate crisis and build resilience in rural communities in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, and Northern Cape.
Amber Julius, one of the Youth Citizen Journalists in the RACR project says; “The involvement of youth and faith leaders in combating climate change is extremely important, they carry a lot of weight about what the future will look like, and they have the ability to bring about great change. With the progression of climate-related popular education material provided in the RACR project, the youth is more informed, and through training and workshops, they are able to go back into their communities and educate others on what is climate change, the effects of climate change and also how to deal with those challenges”.
Kabelo Moratwe from Northern Cape (Youth Citizen Journalist within the RACR project) adds; “The role of young people, faith communities, and Community-based organisations involved in the RACR project is to educate rural communities about climate change in a simplified and relatable way, educate people about how to involve local government in climate change related issues, advocate for climate action and raise awareness on how climate change impacts their daily lives”.
Young people are already seeing the devastating impacts of climate change in their communities and are determined to raise awareness about this issue with anyone who might be lacking the knowledge, including their social circles. RACR Citizen Journalists have realised their power to change mindsets, influence, and help build resilience in rural communities through their journalistic skills, creativity, and knowledge gained from the RACR project.
Read the Citizen Journalist articles here.