Game Changers for a Liveable Planet: A Youth Empowerment Seminar

Environmental Law Association of South Africa’s Western Cape Regional Event 2024

Game Changers for a Liveable Planet: A Youth Empowerment Seminar

Introduction

On Saturday, 12 October 2024 the Environmental Law Association of South Africa (“ELA”) hosted learners and educators from high schools in Cape Town to participate in its Western Cape Regional Event “Game Changers for a Liveable Planet: A Youth Empowerment Seminar”. This inspiring full-day, in-person seminar was held at Wilfred and Jules Kramer Law School, Middle Campus, UCT between 8am – 5pm.

The full programme is available here.

Background to the event

The ELA is a non-profit organisation with national reach. We act in the public interest and contribute to the development and reform of law which impacts on the right to an environment not harmful to health or well-being, as enshrined in section 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. The ELA works with students, representatives of NGOs, public interest law firms, and others advocating for environmental and social justice in South Africa. As part of its mission, the ELA and its partners engage with students to build a wider conception of what kinds of jobs are available after studies, and promote an interest in careers that promote justifiable social and economic development within the country. In her role as Western Cape Representative of the ELA, Kirstin Meiring led the planning and organisation of the event, supported by Melandri Steenkamp, fellow ELA Western Cape Representative, and Melanie Murcott, Chairperson of the ELA.

Our youth empowerment seminar entitled “Game Changers for a Liveable Planet” was aimed at high school learners (grades 9-12) in the Western Cape province and their educators, and it sought to connect them to a network of environmental practitioners who are making a tangible difference in the fields of environmental law and science. Environmental practitioners from various disciplines presented on their role in their law firm or organisation and showcased a project that they are working on in the public interest – emphasising the impact of their work in creating a more sustainable planet. This knowledge transfer session gave learners and their educators a better grasp about current and future environmental challenges, enabled them to understand what work is being done in practice to solve these environmental challenges, and showcased the kinds of jobs and study opportunities that this expanding profession offers to the learners after they matriculate. The event was targeted at learners and educators interested in the environmental sector and environmental conservation initiatives.

Providing an opportunity for grade 9 – 12 learners to build their professional networks was critical as they are currently in the important stages of choosing their subjects for their senior years of high school, applying to universities and beginning their tertiary studies. An event of this nature had the potential of leaving a significant and positive impression about the kinds of careers available in the environmental sector, and possibly motivating learners to pursue work opportunities after they matriculate related, among other things, to species and ecosystem conservation, agriculture, geospatial science, climate change mitigation and adaptation, environmental governance, human or animal rights, the just energy transition, the wildlife economy, tourism and more. Giving these learners an opportunity to get insight into the fields of law and science that interest them may enable them to make informed decisions about their preferred career trajectory.

Stakeholders

The event was supported and attended by environmental practitioners from organizations and law firms, including the following:

South African National Biodiversity Institute;
Philippi Horticultural Area Food and Farming Campaign;
ICLEI Africa;
WWF-SA;
Iimbovane Outreach Project (Stellenbosch University);
Animal Law Reform South Africa;
International Union for Conservation of Nature, Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC);
Protect the West Coast;
Legal Resources Centre;
Natural Justice;
Centre for Environmental Rights; and
Western Cape: Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (Climate Change Directorate).
The event was also supported by Standard Bank, Table Mountain Fund, UCT Law Faculty, UCT Institute of Marine & Environmental Law and UCT Law Students’ Council.

Grades 9 – 12 learners and educators from several schools in Cape Town, Western Cape participated in the youth empowerment seminar:

Steenberg High School
Plumstead High School
Cape Academy of Maths, Science and Technology (Runner up of the High School Quiz Challenge)
Norman Henshilwood High School
Sibelius High School (Winners of the High School Quiz Challenge)
Centre of Science and Technology
South Peninsula High School (Global Classroom students).

Global Classroom is an extra-curricular activity at South Peninsula High. The Global Classroom learners that attended the ELA Youth Seminar were also selected to represent South Africa at the annual Global Classroom Conference which is being held in June 2025 as hosted by the Centro de Formacion Somorrostro High School in Bilboa, Basque Country, Spain. The Global Classroom Conference will be attended by schools from Bilboa, Spain; Shetland Islands, UK; New Jersey, USA; Ange, Sweden; Diepoltz, Germany; Canberra, Australia; Zlin, Czech Republic and Cape Town, South Africa.

The Cape Town team will present at this international conference and highlight their findings of local research on climate change matters in their country. After the event, ELA received feedback from South Peninsula High School educators that the ELA youth empowerment seminar on 12 October 2024 provided South Peninsula High’s Global Classroom learners with an extremely useful background to climate change law, policy and practice within a South African context which will enable these learners to prepare for their conference in 2025.

The ELA invited 3 learners (between grades 9 – 12) and 1 educator from each school to participate in this event. The learners and educator nominated by the school principals displayed a passion for environmental affairs, demonstrated interest in subjects of relevance (e.g. Natural Sciences, Life Sciences, Geography, Marine Sciences, Agricultural Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering, Computer Applications Technology, Travel and Tourism, Business Studies, Economics), or expressed interest in creating a better world using the law.

During the event the learners and educators were curious and enthusiastically engaged in the seminar discussions. It was inspiring to see that the youth are keen to improve the world they live in. In the interest of reaching as many learners as possible, the accompanying teachers took the information from the seminar back to the school so that other learners can benefit from the seminar discussions too.

Competitions and fun activities

The ELA hosted fun activities during the day for the participants, including a bingo challenge, selfie challenge and high-school quiz competition. Competition prizes were kindly sponsored by the South African National Biodiversity Institute, Standard Bank, Table Mountain Fund and the University of Cape Town.

Speaker insights

The seminar started with a very warm welcome from Dr Melanie Murcott, the ELA Chairperson, and both learners and guest speakers were left with a sentiment that set the tone for the rest of the day: “Together we can find solutions – and the youth are important agents for finding solutions and effecting change”.

Philippi Horticultural Food and Farming Campaign: Nazeer Sonday (Agriculture and Food Security)

The presentation by Nazeer Sonday provided the learners with an opportunity to learn first-hand about the connection between food systems and the climate crisis.

His presentation gave great insight on the Philippi Horticultural Area (“PHA”) and explained its importance in the surrounding communities in terms of food security and job creation. In addition, the learners were told about the unique aquifer that feeds into the PHA, making it the highest producing area in the Cape Flats, providing 30% of the city’s vegetables that are mostly sold through informal community markets to those who are most vulnerable to food insecurity.

Nazeer also shared with learners the concern that the role of the PHA in promoting food security, water security and combating climate change is not fully appreciated by government institutions who frequently choose to prioritise development projects that threaten the PHA and the surrounding communities. Nazeer also introduced learners to the concept of agricology and how it can be utilized to improve food systems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, repair soil quality, and produce more nutrient-rich food for entire communities. Importantly, learners were left feeling empowered by Nazeer’s tips for radical and revolutionary solutions that everyone can adopt. These tips include starting a compost pile, supporting local farmers, becoming a local farmer, planting for biodiversity, or protecting the land where our food comes from.

Western Cape Provincial Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning: Dèna Jansen and Shaylene Faro (Gender Mainstreaming and Climate Change)

Dèna and Shaylene introduced themselves as interns in the Groen Sebenza Programme which develops the skills and potential of young people in the biodiversity sector. The presentation shed great light on the work that governance institutions are undertaking to ensure community resilience, a just transition, and responsiveness to the climate change crisis. Importantly, learners were alerted to the ways in which the climate crisis exacerbates gender inequalities and gender-based violence.

Dèna and Shaylene also explained how solutions to the climate crisis can contribute to gender justice by stressing the importance of localized thinking and public participation. It was also made clear that the voice of the youth is vital in finding solutions and developing policy that speaks to their concerns – the learners were encouraged to come to public meetings to help Dèna and Shaylene lobby for change within government.

The learners were also made aware of various career paths that they could pursue in following their passion for the environment and sustainable futures. These included roles in renewable energy, green tourism, water management and agritech. Learners were encouraged to pursue opportunities that allows them to make an impact while also contributing to a livable planet for all.

Stellenbosch University: Natalie van der Heuvel (Youth-Based Initiatives)

Natalie is part of the Iimbovane Outreach Project and she works to engage with school children and educators on using biodiversity as a teaching tool. Natalie explained to the learners how her work gives young people exciting opportunities to participate in real biodiversity research. It was amazing to hear how many school-going children, through the Iimbovane Outreach Project, are able to gain exposure to university-level research and skills. Natalie shared how she started her

own journey in the biodiversity sector, starting as a learner at Cape Academy, much like some of the learners who attended the presentation. Natalie also spread awareness of how both educators and learners can become involved in the project to grow their interest and knowledge in biodiversity and natural systems. Learners were very excited about the opportunity to have Natalie work with their schools and some great networking occurred after this presentation.

Legal Resources Centre: Kimal Harvey (Strategic Litigation & the Extractive Industry)

Kimal introduced learners to strategic litigation pursued by the Legal Resources Centre and how customary and cultural rights are interconnected with environmental rights. Kimal’s presentation emphasized how strategic litigation tries to contribute to both legal and structural change and frames law as a tool to push society towards greater social justice and progress. The presentation also invited learners to engage with section 24 of the Constitution, stressing the link between sustainable development, protection of the environment and wellbeing, alongside customary and cultural rights. Learners were reminded that in protecting the environment, we must also protect the people and communities that live in it – where there is major disruption to natural ecology, there will also be major disruption to long held practices, traditions and livelihoods.

Learners were also given insight into various groundbreaking cases that the LRC has worked on to promote and protect the rights of vulnerable communities across South Africa, from small-scale fishers in Klein Vishoek, to the uMgungundlovu community challenging big mining corporations. The presentation also empowered learners to think about how custom and culture can also be used to find solutions to problems of environmental exploitation.

Centre for Environmental Rights: Danjelle Midgley, Dimakatso Sefatsa and Concelia Digoro (Strategic Litigation & the Extractive Industry)

The presentation from the Centre for Environmental Rights opened with a newspaper headline about youth-driven litigation for climate justice –stressing from the outset the huge impact that the youth can have in shaping responses to the climate crisis. The presenters explained the youth-led legal challenge to the government’s plans for new coal-fired power stations and how this litigation contributes to the bigger fight against air pollution, global warming, and the destruction of the natural environment.

It was also stressed that we should think critically about particular kinds of development and how human and environmental rights are implicated. For example, the CER highlighted how plans to introduce more coal-fired power stations may violate section 24 of the Constitution by harming the well-being of both present and future generations. Learners engaged with this idea by sharing their view that, because they will bear the brunt of the decisions made today in the form of floods, drought and other extreme conditions, they must speak up and play an active role in the kind of decisions being challenged in the #CancelCoal case.

Learners were also exposed to the work the CER did in protecting the Mabola Protected Environment from mining development which posed a threat to the vital water systems in the protected area, on which large swathes of the country depend. Questions from the audience prompted a meaningful reflection on what it means to be ‘developed’ and why it is necessary to always think critically about who benefits and who suffers from decisions resulting in, for example, a new mine or coal-fired power station.

ICLEI Africa: Bongiwe Simka (Sustainable Urban Development)

Bongiwe’s presentation exposed learners to the work done by ICLEI Africa, a global NGO that supports local governments to achieve sustainable development. Learners were invited to think about challenges facing urban environments such as growing migration into cities, resource management, as well as managing the health and well-being of both people and the environment. Bongiwe introduced learners to the concept of ‘nature-based development’ and how climate change affects livelihoods, health, and our overall ability to realise human rights. A key strategy in responding to these challenges is to use biodiversity as a tool to ensure greater food security, heat management, water security, tourism, health, and income generation. The city environment, its form and its biodiversity, are urban natural assets and can be leveraged to push for greater sustainability without marginalizing vulnerable people.

Bongiwe also highlighted to the learners that many different stakeholders all have a part to play and used her own career to invite the audience to think of their own futures in sustainable urban development. Learners were also given inspirational advice for planning their careers.

Independent Consultant: Brenda Martin (Climate Change and Social Justice)

Brenda’s presentation on achieving a just transition started in an unexpected and very meaningful way: learners were asked to think about their own identities and to identify themes or qualities that make them unique. She related how her own childhood experience of exploring natural landscapes in defiance of discriminatory Apartheid laws revealed a certain set of characteristics, passions, and beliefs that would later assist her in curating her career path into policy-work for a socially just future. The learners also shared their own stories with one learner expressing how her innate sense of determination drives her towards her goals. Another learner described his passion for advocating for the exploited and vulnerable and shared his ambition to pursue a career that allows him to hold government accountable.

Brenda encouraged the young people to stay closely connected to their values and passions in combatting the climate crisis. Learners were exposed to Brenda’s work in policy analysis and development and how she works to hold the government to account. The presentation stressed the importance of keeping informed about rules, policy, legislation and regulations in order to effectively challenge the government and hold them to their word. Brenda also stressed the importance of partnership – when we partner with others, we can work more effectively for change.

Environmental Law Association of South Africa’s Western Cape Regional Event 2024