EMPOWERING CHILDREN TO ADVOCATE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS THROUGH MEDIA

By: Susan Nzomo

At Loyola Centre for Media and Communications, we empower children to explore the crucial relationship between media and the environment, to help them uncover how storytelling through media can ignite change and amplify their voices for environmental rights.

The mentorship sessions offered by LCMC to these children highlight the importance of selecting impactful media channels and examine globally recognized campaigns like Greta Thunberg's 'Fridays for Future,' World wild Fire (WWF) Earth Hour, and Kenya's national Tree Growing Fund initiated by former President Uhuru Kenyatta. These examples are very crucial to illustrate how collective action and strategic media use can push environmental issues to the forefront of public discourse.

This hands-on approach aligns with the UN General Comment No. 26 (UNGC-26) on children’s rights and the environment, which emphasizes the right of children to participate in environmental decision-making processes. In the ‘Rooting for Children Ecological Rights’ project, children learn to create videos, posters, and advocacy letters, children are equipped to exercise their rights, to advocate for those rights to policy makers and sharing their lived experiences and solutions for environmental sustainability.

Moreover, these sessions are meant to resonate with Pope Francis’ vision of Synodality, which calls for listening to all voices, especially those often unheard. Empowering children to lead media campaigns embodies this spirit of shared responsibility and collective action.

By nurturing young media advocates, we not only safeguard the planet's future but also affirm the role of children as vital contributors to the global environmental movement.

Let’s continue to support their creativity and passion as they pave the way for a greener, more just world!

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