This weekend, Connect4Climate was proud to help kick off Planet Week: an exciting week of events aimed at engaging civil society in the G7 themes of Climate Action, Circular Economy, Renewable Energy, and Water that will continue through April 28! This initiative will lead into and accompany the G7 Ministerial Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment, which will be hosted by Italy in Turin from April 28-30, 2024.
We are amplifying conversations in Turin with an onsite Planet Week Digital Media Zone (DMZ), film screenings, the X-Ray Fashion VR experience, and other engagements, using the power of young voices and the arts to impress upon policy leaders the need for urgent climate action. Students on the ground with us in Italy are providing a youth perspective on all of these events, including via podcast episodes from the Digital Media Zone!
The DMZ is an interactive media hub from which C4C is engaging a global audience in vital conversations around the core themes of Planet Week and the G7. Connect4Climate is filming short dynamic interviews and other content every day for dissemination across our own digital platforms and partners’ – social media channels, websites, and more! Running daily from 10:00am to 1:00pm, our DMZ offers 30-minute interview slots. Several interviews have already been uploaded to our dedicated YouTube playlist, and we have many more on the way! Other components of the DMZ include a space for recording podcast episodes and the Connect4Climate Explorer Chatbot, an interactive touch screen providing information and engagement opportunities.
The launch of Planet Week on April 20 brought a whirlwind of workshops, enlightening talks, and an unforgettable concert organized by Giornata della Terra, AWorld, and Club Silencio. This 15-hour celebration of climate action, environmental protection, and social inclusion was a "party for the Earth" we won't soon forget!
Speaking of celebrations, be sure to join us April 22 as we celebrate Earth Day at Environment Park, and don't miss the 16-hour live broadcast titled #OnePeopleOnePlanet! In Turin, two significant events supported by the Piedmont Region will foster intergenerational and intercultural dialogue. The first, "General States of the Environment for Young People," will kick off at 8:30 am. Young university and high school students from Rome and Turin, along with peers from the G7 countries, will participate in thematic discussions to develop a document for presentation to the seven Environment Ministers at the G7 summit. The second event, "Peace and Environment," starting at 2:30 pm, will focus on intercultural and interreligious dialogue. Leaders from various religious and cultural backgrounds will come together to emphasize sustainable development as the key to building enduring peace.
Then, be sure to join us from April 23-28 for X-Ray Fashion – Upcycled, the latest version of the award-winning virtual reality (VR) documentary shedding light on the dark realities of garment production in the fast-fashion industry. Accessible daily from 10 am to 6 pm, the experience will be individual and will last approximately 20-25 minutes. This is a vital opportunity to look past the glamorous catwalks of the big fashion weeks and explore the overheated sweatshops and dye-polluted water supplies that the industry has long kept under wraps. With new upgrades, the experience is now more interactive, more mobile, and more environmentally friendly than ever before!
Are you passionate about youth empowerment? Within Planet Week, Connect4Climate, together with the Politecnico di Torino and the Italian Network of Universities for Sustainable Development (RUS), is organizing a dynamic half-day event that will foster dialogue and collaboration between private-sector leaders and young climate entrepreneurs/innovators. This session, set for the afternoon of April 23, will connect young climate champions with industry experts, facilitate a dynamic exchange of ideas for a sustainable future, develop novel solutions, and create green job opportunities.
Connect4Climate will be in Turin all week, populating our social media channels – X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube – with ample exciting content from these and more Planet Week events in Italy. Stay tuned to follow this magical week as it unfolds!
Photography by Kaia Rose, Connect4Climate.
