Students Speak Out about Climate Change

Illustrating their passion for addressing the climate change issue on a global scale, 30 lower, middle and high school students from around the world have been named winners of the Students Speak! Countdown to Copenhagen Contest, and will hand-deliver their submissions to world leaders attending the Copenhagen Climate Conference later this month.

The Students Speak! Contest, hosted by ePals, Inc. in partnership with Conservation International's "Team Earth" campaign,  was designed to provide world leaders, scientists and other influential dignitaries a representation of what students think about climate change. Students worldwide were asked to address these leaders in the form of a song, poem, speech, presentation or video, and encouraged students to answer questions such as:

• What would you say to world leaders about climate change?
• What actions would you ask them to take?
• What would you want them to know about what students think?
• What matters to you about climate change, forests, energy, and global cooperation?

Ten winning entries were chosen in each age group category (ages 5-10, 11-13 and 14-18).  Of these 30 winning entries, 15 were chosen as overall winning submissions.  Each entry was evaluated for thoughtful selection of issues, overall effectiveness of delivery, quality of content, creativity, technical quality, and adherence to the content's format guidelines.

In one example from Illinois, Anna, Anthony, Caroline, Carolyn and Elyse created their "Meet the Fossil Fuel Family" video, in which the students, ages 5-10, describe anti-green behaviors and how to remedy them:

"We are so impressed by the caliber of work submitted by students around the world to the Students Speak! Contest," said Elizabeth Fish, director of community for ePals, Inc.  "All of the winning entries were reflective and empowering, and we know the world leaders visiting Denmark this week will consider these suggestions and questions carefully."

Outside of the contest, students can get involved by joining "Team Earth," getting their classrooms on the map, reviewing resources about important environmental issues, and uploading user-generated content to highlight ideas about how they will help save the rainforest.  To date, students from more than 115 countries have signed on to be a member of "Team Earth."

"This tremendous outpour of support by students around the world to initiate better sustainability efforts has been wonderful to watch," said Julie Blackwell, senior director for Team Earth.  "The decisions our world leaders make today will affect this student population in the future, and student participation in 'Team Earth' shows that students around the world not only understand these issues, but are passionate about finding the right answers soon."