WYCJ awarded the PACEY Plus Youth Award
World’s Youth for Climate Justice has been awarded the PACEY Plus Youth Award in the category ‘Beyond Europe’ during the Intergenerational Forum on Peace, the climate, nuclear disarmament and the pandemic on January 19 2021.
The forum was intended for youth, experts and policy makers to discuss ‘actions and effective policies for peace, disarmament, the climate and public health especially in times of pandemic.’The campaign of the WYCJ to take the issue of the climate crisis to the International Court of Justice to seek an advisory opinion on the intergenerational responsibility of states in protecting the rights of its citizens. Our co-finalist were the project Keep it in the Ground for Peace from Malawi, a project of ‘Youth for Environment and Sustainable Development’ (collaboration between students from Germany and Malawi), and Nagasaki Youth Delegation, a project of PCU Nagasaki Council for Nuclear Weapons Abolition. It was a great pleasure and honour to be able to present our initiative and share the stage with such inspiring co-finalists. We wish them and their projects much success and good luck on the way.
In the European Youth Project - category, the project by the Platform for Peace and Humanity from Slovakia, Towards the Enforcement of the Right to Peace was awarded the winner and 5000 Euros to kickstart their project. We wish them the best of luck and success with their work. We admire your strength and determination to stand up for peace in Europe and beyond. We look forward to seeing your initiative grow and flourish.
The current imminent and direct threats that the climate crisis now poses is undoubtedly a threat to global security and peace everywhere. In many regards, a deteriorating climate poses the largest existential threat to humanity. The ripple effects this could give rise to issues and flashpoints across all sectors of society throughout the world as people begin migrating, food, water and other natural essentials become scarce, and as the economy begins to adapt to this new reality. In the face of all this, there is an urgent and serious need to address the crisis at all levels and we see our campaign to receive an advisory opinion from the world’s highest court as being an imperative first step on the path to genuine and meaningful climate action.
Winning this award provides WY4CJ with much needed funding for further capacity building and training purposes. We would like to thank you supporters and participants in the Intergenerational Dialogue. Our sincere thanks also go out to our partners; the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, The Iam Climate Justice Movement, the Carribean Youth Environment Network, and the University of West Indies and to all the passionate members of the WYCJ across the various fronts. We accept the responsibility that comes with winning this award and are deeply honoured by the trust put in us. With more determination and optimism than ever before, we commit ourselves whole-heartedly to the challenge(s) ahead of us. As the WYCJ, we want human rights to be at the center when addressing the climate crisis.
