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French UNESCO Associated Schools commit to climate action, following COP21

Following the COP21 climate summit that took place in Paris last December, UNESCO Associated Schools (ASPnet) in France have continued to actively contribute to fighting climate change with actions in their schools.

On 26 April 2016, Jules Verne School in Brou invited students of eight other ASPnet schools of the region to a 鈥淐lim鈥檃rt鈥 event, using art as a vector for climate change education (CCE). More than 150 students aged 4 to 17 presented their approaches to the audience. 鈥淭his magical moment allowed students to realize that each of them took a step in the right direction and that we can all become agents of change for the place where we live.鈥 said Jean-Marc Septsault, National ESD Referent for the French ASPnet.

The students participated in different art workshops on the themes forests, sustainable cities and biodiversity. Apart from learning about the importance of trees or 鈥渉ow to make a city sustainable鈥, students created art works made from natural resources such as leaves, sand, flowers and vegetables. All art productions were exhibited in the city centre in the market hall, in order to raise the local population鈥檚 awareness on climate change.

This event is just one example for the commitment of French ASPnet schools to climate action. Lyc茅e Marseillevere, from Marseille has been working on its 鈥淟es sentinelles鈥 (The sentinels) project, intended to increase students鈥 awareness on water, energy and biodiversity issues, for the past two years. Van-Gogh college in Bl茅nod-l猫s-Pont-脿-Mousson launched the intiative 鈥溾 which regroups students from 13 countries. The aim of the project is to make students aware of the consequences of global warming through creative activities.