Experts have urged the government put separate lessons on climate content in textbooks to build awareness among children.
They have also opined that it is necessary to make children aware of how they can deal with climate change to build a better world.
They also called for urgent effective steps against climate and inequality at an event “Generation Hope” organized by Save the Children in collaboration with Breaking the Silence (BTS) on Thursday.
At the event, a number of children and youth participated, echoing the design and execution of this campaign -- which is centered around bringing forth child and youth voices on climate change.
UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change Ian Fry, virtually joined the event as a special guest.
He said: “Last year, I visited Bangladesh and listened to many stories and assertions of children and youth groups, and they had many strong messages for me. We must invest in children, we must invest in their rights, health, nutrition, education, and protection from violence and poverty. We must listen to them and take action.”
Afsan Mahmud Soikat, a 12-year-old, said: “We have to take initiatives from our respective places to solve climate problems. We need to take care of national and international climate plans properly. We want elderly people to take immediate actions.”
Another participant said: “We believe economic inequality disproportionately affects women and girls and they need more support to overcome this.”
The participant also said: “We want adults to listen to and act on scientists' advice about climate change.”
Generation Hope is a global flagship campaign of Save the Children which envisions a world that cares for children and their planet by fixing the broken system and accelerating action to address the connected crises of economic inequality and the climate emergency.
The campaign aims to tackle economic inequality by ensuring fair funding to prioritize children's rights and well-being.
It also focuses on limiting catastrophic climate change and ensuring that children's rights are at the heart of the world's response.
Save the Children Bangladesh's Country Director Onno van Manen, Deputy Country Director
Dr Shamim Jahan, Tasmima Hossain, editor, of The Daily Ittefaq and chairperson of the Executive Committee of BTS, Iftekhar Mahmud, special correspondent, Prothom Alo, were also present, among others.
