On April 22, 2024, ten students from our school actively participated in the States General of the Environment for Youth, one of the two important moments of "The World of the Future through the Eyes of Piedmont's Youth," the Planet Week flagship event held at the Environment Park in Turin, Italy, on the occasion of the G7 Climate, Energy and Environment.
The initiative, carried out by the Piedmont Region and Earth Day Italy, involved involving 100 young people from Piedmont between the ages of 18 and 30 who, in collaboration with MASE and MIM and the Regional School Office, developed a document with analyses, recommendations and concrete proposals on what the world of the future should look like.
The young people, students, university students and members of voluntary associations on the theme of the environment, were divided into five thematic tables, each dedicated to a major theme of sustainable development and care for the planet and, assisted by a tutor, collected food for thought and concrete actions in a report that, at the end of the session, was presented to the other tables, thus creating a final debate where a real call to action rightly emerged.
Also present among these young people were our students, who actively participated in discussions on technological innovation, biodiversity protection, education for sustainable consumption and the importance of applied scientific research.
A truly unique opportunity to reflect, make commitments and address their demands to institutions or society, thus becoming agents of change.
In fact, the work of our students contributed to the drafting of a final document that calls for policies that are more consistent with sustainability goals, more education on the life cycle of products, and innovative solutions for sustainable actions. Proposals, these, that were preliminarily discussed during the Festival of Education for Sustainability, the other major event held during the morning, and attended by 450 students of all levels of secondary schools in the Piedmont Region. Session, that one, included a "self-defense course on climate denialism," emphasizing the importance of countering fake news and strengthening the global scientific agreement on climate change.
Participating in this event was not only a learning opportunity but also a platform for young people's voices to be heard in global climate discussions. It was a learning experience that strengthened our students' awareness of the importance of their voice and engagement in the global environmental debate.
From words to deeds: special feature of the synthesis document, in fact, is that it was presented to Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, who was present in the afternoon at Environment Park for a speech during the #OnePeopleOnePlanet TV marathon, broadcast on RaiPlay and Vatican News. Some of our students also had the opportunity to participate in this media moment, finding themselves seated with the minister, with Francesco Corvaro, special envoy for climate change of the Italian government, and with some representatives of regional and Turin institutions.
But that's not all: the document will be delivered directly to the leaders of the Italian government during the G7 Climate, Energy and Environment meeting scheduled for April 28-30 in Venaria Reale.
We can only congratulate our students for their commitment and passion: They represent hope for a more sustainable future and are a shining example of the potential of today's youth to make a difference in the world.