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The Creativity of Youth is Changing Mindsets on Climate Change
Climate change and biodiversity crises are a global concern. Despite the daunting environmental challenges, young people today are not intimidated by them. Instead, they are moving with the times and using their creativity and modern technologies to tackle these problems. The wisdom of the saying “The future of the world belongs to the youth of the world” is becoming increasingly palpable across the African continent, which has the largest youthful population of any continent.
The EarthExp App
In 2022, three young women from Nigeria, Angel Chukwudi-Denis, Fortune Mmesomachukwu Somuadina and Favour Chinecherem Chibuike, developed an app called EarthExp. The app aims to create awareness about the devastating effects of climate change, combined with a call for environmental care and sustainability. Angel Chukwudi-Denis described the incentive to develop the app as seeing the effects of climate change on the people around her.
Flooding, as a result of improper waste disposal, has become a perennial challenge in Kogi, Nigeria, affecting 27 states and displacing more than 1 million people. Furthermore, plastic waste has contributed to severe floods in Nigeria, which have affected 1.9 million people, destroyed 82,000 houses, displaced 210,000 people, and devastated crops and livestock. Moreover, Nigeria has the highest rate of deforestation at 3.5% annually. These discoveries led to the decision to develop EarthExp.
Behavioural Change is the Key to Lasting Impact
The app combines environmental trends with social networking and games to create a persuasive approach towards behavioural change. The 3D game and digital-interface educate users on how the ecosystem is affected as the city using wise financial decisions to grow plants that capture carbon, conserve water, and calculate the climate impacts of commonplace items. Users get rewarded for their positive actions in the app with in-app currency.
Favour Chibuike explained that the app is to use a persuasive strategy to create an end-to-end behavioural change. This strategy stimulates actionable and positive feedback towards climate change. The app also has a feature that encourages users to plant three trees for every tree they cut down, imbuing them with a sense of responsibility for their environment.
Inspiring Solutions for the Future
The EarthExp app is not just educating young people on climate change issues, but also creating investment opportunities for them to innovate and solve the climate change challenges. Also, Eco Elixirs is an independent initiative that is looking for financial support or sponsors to enable it to be available in an app store and accessible to a wider audience.
Young people across Africa, such as climate change activist Chisom Asoegwu, are advocating for a better future for their communities by creating community-based solutions for environmental issues. This generation is already experiencing the devastating impacts of climate change and waste in their communities but remains determined to act to bring about a new future. They have recognised that attitudinal transformation is fundamental, and they are using their imagination and modern technologies to put people and the planet before profit and growth.
Conclusion
The creativity of youth is changing mindsets on climate change, as they recognise that we have only one planet and must take care of it. This initiative sets an excellent example for future generations to follow, urging them to be part of the change they want to see. Changing attitudes on issues as critical as climate change is key to creating the resilience and communities necessary for meeting the challenges of the future.
<< photo by Matheus Bertelli >>