World Scouting and the UN Environment Program renew commitment to climate action and education

World Scouting and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) are marking 20 years of collaboration by renewing their long-standing partnership to engage young people in climate action and education in response to the climate crisis facing the planet.

The partnership will see both organizations work together to support young people in developing the skills to become environmental leaders who promote sustainability and drive meaningful progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

A priority for the partnership will be mobilizing youth and national Scout organizations in educational programs, activities and community action through the Tide Turners Plastic Challenge. This initiative aims to encourage young people to tackle plastic pollution by raising awareness, promoting community involvement and advocating for policy changes. The Tide Turners Plastic Challenge was developed as part of UNEP’s #BeatPlasticPollution campaign with support and funding from the UK Government’s Department of Environment Food and Global Environment Facility.

“Partnering with youth educational movements such as World Scouting is critical for UNEP to meaningfully engage youth in addressing the triple planetary crises, as it brings together the energy, creativity and diverse perspectives of young people to deliver holistic and sustainable solutions for the future of our planet,” said Bruno Maggy G. Pozzi, Deputy Director of the Ecosystems Division, UNEP.

Nearly 90 percent of the 174 National Scout Organizations around the world currently offer educational programs focused on the environment to mobilize millions of young people to take action on climate-related issues in local communities. Fifty-one national Scout organizations have implemented the Tide Turners Plastic Challenge. They have engaged more than 800,000 young people in more than 50 countries, including those promoting this in partnership with World Scouting’s Earth Tribe educational initiative.

“We encourage our Scouts to take part in environmental conservation and one way to do this is through the Tide Turners Plastic Challenge,” said Isaac Makinya, Youth Program Assistant at the Kenya Scouts Association. “We have started building the capacity of Scout leaders so they can engage young people at the grassroots.”

The partnership will also support local Scout-led projects tackling plastic pollution and environmental stewardship, and provide digital badges and awards to Scouts who successfully complete the Tide Turners Plastic Challenge to celebrate their achievements as environmental leaders.

“I was shocked by the amount of discarded plastic littering the campus paths, so together with 22 of my colleagues we set up a stand on the university grounds for a two-day plastic pollution awareness campaign,” said Cathy Nyake, Rover Scout and student at the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon. “We also visited lecture halls to share with fellow students the negative impact of single-use plastic on the environment. I asked the teachers for permission to share information about the Tide Turners Plastic Challenge. As a scout leader, I used my voice to get the message across to thousands of people.”

Previous projects include raising awareness about climate action in Venezuela, where Scouts came together to build a sustainable wall, a green leadership campaign in the Philippines, and local community action in Brazil, where Scouts turned trash into treasure.

In Cameroon, Scouts received permission from the mayor of Bafoussam to collect plastic waste at events and in places such as market places and cemeteries.

“The mayor has also provided us with tricycles to transport waste to recycling centres,” said Nankam Charlie, Scout Commissioner of the West Region, Cameroon. “Local authorities also supported the challenge by placing bins at designated points in and around the city for the public to dispose of plastic waste. At the end of each week, Scouts collected the plastic for reuse or recycling.”

In addition to educational activities, the partnership will promote collaboration at various global and regional scouting events, including Jamborees, JOTA-JOTI and the World Scout Education Congress. These platforms will serve as opportunities to strengthen environmental education, while inspiring action and mobilizing youth to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.

“This partnership represents an important step forward in our collective efforts to mobilize young people as environmental leaders,” said Sam Williams, Global Director for Business Development and Resource Mobilization at World Scouting. “We are facing an unprecedented climate emergency, our planet is overheating. Biodiversity is on the brink, and our oceans are dying. By joining forces with UNEP, we can harness the power of scouting to drive positive, youth-led change and build a more sustainable future for generations to come.”

The partnership is part of World Scouting’s flagship environmental education initiative, Earth Tribe, which was also developed in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund and Solafrica.

Read more about UNEP’s Tide Turners Plastic Challenge. Visit Scouts for SDGs Earth Tribe to take action as part of the Scouts for SDGs initiative.