Approximately 140 youth from across Ontario will attend a Youth Workshop on Local Climate Action to learn from journalists, professors, and officials with an interest in seeing effective climate action at the local level.

The three-day workshop will begin Sunday, March 8. It has been organized by the Windsor Law Centre for Cities as part of its Cities and Climate Action Forum, to provide youth with the tools necessary for working towards meaningful climate action in their own communities. Activities will include hands-on work, discussions, presentations, tours, and films.

The forum is partnering with the Windsor International Film Festival on two film showings during the event: This Changes Everything, including a question-and-answer period with UWindsor professor Nick Hector, who worked on the film, and the Canadian premiere of 2040.

Keynote speakers will include:

• Dianne Saxe, former Environmental Commissioner of Ontario;
• David Miller, C40 Cities Global Advocacy Director and former Mayor of the City of Toronto;
• Edward Eli George (Waasekom), a water-walker from Saugeen First Nation; and
• Mike de Souza, environment investigative reporter with Global News.

Other workshop leaders include Gil Penalosa, founder of 880 Cities; Beth Ann Cook, a community advocate in Walpole Island First Nation; and UWindsor alumnus and Toronto Star urban affairs columnist Shawn Micallef.

“We know that municipal-level climate action is key to countries reaching their emissions reduction commitments, and we know that this generation of youth is more active on climate than any previous one,” says workshop co-organizer and Windsor Law professor Anneke Smit. “These three days will allow high school students to learn from experts and each other, to gain skills for engaging with municipal-level governance, and to build networks and gain mentors to support their efforts.”

The workshop will conclude with a round-table discussion about career and education pathways focussed on climate change, featuring UWindsor faculty members who research and teach in related areas, including Patricia Galvão-Ferreira (law), Edwin Tam (engineering), Chris Houser (science), Vincent Manzerolle and Nick Hector (creative arts), Kendall Soucie (psychology), and Jane McArthur (sociology).

The free workshop will take place at the SoCA Armouries and the Capitol Theatre with funding from the Government of Canada’s Climate Action Fund, UWindsor’s Research Stimulus Fund, Windsor Law, SoCA, FAHSS, Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital, Erie Shores Healthcare, and more.

A few spaces are still available at https://events.attend.com/f/1383791500. For more information, visit the Centre for Cities website.