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Empowering young people through climate change competitions | Thetsane High School in Maseru hosts a climate change fair
Posted by Khanyi Khuzwayo 
on
12 December 2024, 08:50
SAST
A stated aim of FutureLife-Now! is that it develops healthy and empowered young people who can lead responses to 21st century challenges, including those related to climate change. A good example of this in practice is the “climate change fair” that FutureLife-Now! hosted at Thetsane High School.
Thetsane, in the Maseru District, has participated in the FutureLife-Now! Programme since Phase 1, benefitting from its many initiatives. Now, in Phase 2 it serves as a hub of support to the “new” schools that have joined the programme. In this support role, the school invited five other FutureLife-Now! high schools in the district— Abia, Lesia, Masowe, Puthiatsana and St Catherine—to come together for a fair aimed at promoting youth empowerment. By enhancing their knowledge and capacity to address the risks of climate change, and by promoting youth-led climate-focused activities, the youth were galvanised to mitigate the effects of climate change on their vulnerable school communities. In the course of the day, schools competed against each other in the following categories: debates, an essay competition, quizzes and poetry, all as part of expanding their knowledge of climate change.
The debate posed the thought-provoking motion, “This house believes that the current government policies are sufficient to address the urgency of climate change,” with opposing teams and the audience arguing their points vociferously. It was an enjoyable way for learners to interact, and to share their divergent thoughts in a fun setting. The essay competition asked learners to discuss, “How can societies adapt to the impacts of climate change?”
Although Thetsane and Abia High Schools dominated the prizes for the debate and essay writing, all participating learners received certificates to acknowledge their efforts, whilst the winners of the quiz and poetry sections received stationery packs.
The fair was a resounding success, with 1 821 learners attending and 23 teachers from the six schools helping to facilitate.
Mateboho Samosamo, a teacher at Thetsane, expressed her gratitude to FutureLife-Now! for supporting the initiative. Teachers and learners, she said, appreciated the event as an opportunity for learners to display critical analysis and to develop research skills. She added that certain teachers were suggesting that this become an annual event, with some even believing it might assist students in their exams. Furthermore, Ms Samosamo believes that such event might even challenge teachers who think their role is simply to “pour knowledge and skills into learners”! Twenty-first century education should, she believes, give learners the opportunity to exercise the skills they learn in the classroom. This empowers them as agents of change, problem-solvers who can confront the challenges they face—including climate change—head-on.
Rantsane Kuleile, the FutureLife-Now! country manager for Lesotho, lauded the efforts of Thetsane High and the other FutureLife-Now! schools in Maseru, and hoped this might be replicated across all FutureLife-Now! schools, for the good of the country and the region.
Teachers are now slowly becoming aware that if we give young people skills and opportunities, we will eventually achieve a generation of young people who can address the 21st century challenges they face.
