Glasgow’s green pupils are fighting climate change

10 December 2009

Eco-conscious pupils from Govan High School today told International Development Minister Mike Foster how they’ve worked together on joint climate change projects with their partner school in Malawi, including helping the school raise money to install solar roof panels. The new panels will help the Malawi school to operate more environmentally and save money at the same time.

As world leaders meet in Copenhagen to agree how to tackle climate change, the students showed how they are helping to make a difference and look at renewable forms of energy through their partnership with Milonde Community Day School in Malawi . They then quizzed the Minister to find out more about what the government is doing to help developing countries adapt to the effects of climate change, and what can be achieved at the Copenhagen summit.

Mike Foster said:

“In the week that the Copenhagen summit takes place, it is great to see that the pupils of Govan High School are taking powerful action to help the environment. The money that they have raised for solar panels in Malawi is a great example of how schools in developed and developing countries can work together to make a difference.
 
“It is clear that the pupils in both Govan and Malawi have benefited a great deal from sharing their ideas and information and I am sure that they will continue to make a positive contribution to the world around them at both a local and global level.”

As part of the Global School Partnerships Programme funded by UKaid from the Department for International Development, pupils at Govan High School have been able to meet pupils from Malawi and welcome them to Glasgow in return. 

The schools have worked together on a wide range of global citizenship projects, in particular to increase understanding of HIV and AIDS. Pupils in Govan High School have been trained by Christian Aid as peer educators and have carried out workshops for fellow pupils to raise awareness of the disease and its impact.

The pupils at Govan High also showed Mike Foster their Global Image Gallery – a collection of photographs that they have taken in Malawi and Glasgow. As part of the project, the students use art to highlight differences between their two countries in relation to important themes important to their local communities such as water and transport. The Global Image Gallery is open to members of the local community and parents to view to help people get a better understanding of global citizenship.

Pupils at Govan High said:

“We want to do as much as we can to help our friends in Malawi to tackle the effects of climate change and we’ve really enjoyed all the activities we’ve done over the past few years to build better links with them, especially the art project where we learned so much about what they are doing to tackle climate change.
 
“It was really great for us to have the chance to ask the Minister what the Government is doing to help communities in the developing world, and we’ll definitely tell our friends in Malawi about the visit today.”