News
ASPnet global student forum empowers young environmental journalists to take action
In this immersive virtual gathering, participants engaged in interactive workshops led by environmental experts and journalists. The aim was to empower students to become adept young reporters for the environment and fostering a culture of global collaborative action.
“From today’s meeting, I learned a lot that our role in the environment is very important, and it really made me aware to care more about the environment,” shared a student from Indonesia. Another student from Bahrain expressed, “The biggest problem in several countries is food waste, and today I am very happy because I can add insight into my writing thanks to directly exchanging with experts.”
Post-forum, these inspired students are delving into investigating issues related to litter, waste, and pollution. Their mission? To craft impactful articles, captivating photo stories, and compelling videos aimed at raising awareness. This initiative is not just an exercise; it's a prelude to competing in the prestigious Young Reporters for the Environment competition.
Halah Noor, a student from Bahrain, remarked, “The Young Reporters for the Environment competition is a fantastic programme. It offers us young people a real chance to make our voices heard and to feel that our voices matter.”
Finding solutions to address litter and waste
This initiative is part of a partnership project with the Foundation for Environmental Education. Since 2022, over 6,800 ASPnet students across Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America have been actively investigating and researching solutions to address litter and waste. Collaborating with their teachers, they've initiated impactful campaigns and raised awareness on issues like plastic, electronic, or food waste reaching more than 55,000 individuals in their schools, homes, communities and countries.
“Each year, the world generates over 2 billion tons of waste. Litter and waste clog our oceans, fill our streets, and clutter huge areas of the planet. They cause great damage to our natural environment, wildlife, and people’s health and well-being,” emphasized Lee Wray-Davis of the Foundation for Environmental Education. “The Litter Less Campaign has the objective to engage students, teachers, and their communities in reducing litter and waste and to take positive actions for the environment.”
Results from a Year-1 impact assessment with students reveal compelling outcomes. Those actively participating in the Campaign not only gained new insights into pollution types and their environmental impacts, along with various waste management strategies, but also cultivated opinion leadership and active citizenship skills, instilling a dedication to address waste issues and promote resource conservation. The Campaign acts as a gateway to hands-on learning for sustainable development, providing students and teachers a platform to explore issues related to litter and waste and connections between individual behavior, community dynamics, and global trends, such as climate change and marine pollution.
In addition to impacts at the individual and community levels, the Campaign has been making waves at the highest policy levels. In the Kingdom of Bahrain, the project is gaining visibility, with one school's campaign on food waste becoming part of the national curriculum. Another school's drive resulted in the collection of over 1.6 tons of e-waste, sparking private sector engagement in awareness campaigns on e-waste as a “forgotten fortune.”
