WHAT WILL the weather forecast be in Cannes in 2050? That was the question addressed in a Debussy Theatre session with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and The Weather Company.
The session focussed on the UNDP’s Weather Kids campaign which aims to raise awareness of climate change through the eyes of children. Speaking after the event, Boaz Paldi UNDP chief creative officer said the initiative had resonated positively across media and that meant it was a message being heard by both sides in an extremely polarised world.
“The idea that climate change is a generational issue needs to be talked about more. It needs to be front and centre. We need to be thinking about future generations on this planet,” he said.
Ten-year-old Deon Gjoni, who took an active part in the UNDP campaign in Albania, said people of his age did not know enough about climate change. “It was one of my main talking points in the session, that everyone needs to be educated about this. Kids especially because they are going to feel this the most. They need to be educated on it. How they can stop it, what we can do,” he said.
Derek Van Dam, CNN weather anchor and meteorologist, said he was cautiously optimistic. “We’ve got the tools in the toolbox to solve the crisis and it’s just a matter of uniting behind it, reaching across the aisle, having the influential minds, the brands, the people, the campaigns like Weather Kids, to help change the direction of the needle,” he said.
Randi Stipes, chief marketing officer, The Weather Company, said they jumped at the chance to collaborate with UNDP. “It’s our responsibility to use our voice, to use the trust that we’ve garnered, to help people understand how they can take action,” she said.
“I think a lot of people feel helpless when it comes to our changing climate, but the one thing that we can all unite around is that we need to do better for the next generation.”