12 students and 2 staff from across the OX14 Learning Partnership enjoyed a fascinating trip to the Oxfordshire Schools Climate Conference held in Oxford Town Hall and hosted by MCS and the Oxfordshire Schools Sustainability Network.
The event was aimed at mirroring the COP29 event currently taking place in Baku in Azerbaijan and welcomed representatives from 17 schools from across the county who themselves represented different country delegations. The OX14 students worked in cross school groups presenting for the UK, Chile and Brazil delegations.
After a welcome talk by climate scientist and activist Matthew Shribman (CliMatt) along with the MCS COP president who gave a Road to Baku summary, students had the nerve wracking job of planning and presenting a 1 minute speech in front of everyone in the beautiful surroundings of the council chambers. They then split into sub committees discussing topics including climate impact and mitigation on cities, energy, forest and food and oceans.
Over lunch there were further opportunities to discuss climate amendments although these discussions were interrupted by lobbyists from the oil and fertiliser industries and protests from indigenous groups.
Committees then had to decide on final proposals before summarising in the plenary sessions in front of the entire conference. At the end we live streamed into COP in Baku before heading back at the end of a fascinating day.
This event embodied the values of the OX14 Learning Partnerships where students were undoubtedly challenged to step outside their comfort zone with a large group of young people they did not know. They supported one another to work towards a common goal and finally they were inspired to participate in such a great local event and by the way so many talented young people from across the county came together to discuss and collaborate on such a crucial topic.
A big thanks to MCS and the Oxfordshire Schools Sustainability Network for hosting the event in the amazing surroundings of the Oxford Town Hall
