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TFL Fellow Ahmad Al Baghdadi Attends UN Climate Change Conferences in Egypt

TFL proudly announces that Fellow Ahmad Al Baghdadi was selected by TFALL to represent Lebanon in the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) and in the 17th UN Climate Change Conference of Youth (COY17) during the month of November in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

From November 2 through 4, 2022, Ahmad attended COY 17, where thousands of young change-makers from over 140 countries attended and gathered around one main goal: saving the earth.

On the 2nd of November, when COY 17 started, and for a period of three days, Ahmad attended multiple workshops that tackled the topic of climate education, which helped him learn tools and become more equipped for the climate education program he is currently leading with Teach for Lebanon alongside TFL Fellows. Furthermore, Ahmad established multiple connections with different delegates, and they agreed on joint work and resource sharing.

Subsequently, Ahmad attended COP, the world's largest climate change conference, which took place from November 6 to 10, 2022. Ahmad and Teach For All's Head of Climate Education, Mr. Lennart Kuntze, were invited to COP by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), where Ahmad had previously been requested to present his work in July 2022 in the United Arab Emirates, accompanied by Mr. Lennart.

Ahmad was asked to share his knowledge and his work on three panels, two of which were alongside Mr. Lennart. In the first panel, titled "Teaching for the Transition: Launch of the Energy Transition Education Network (IRENA)," Ahmad gave his input as a teacher at Teach For Lebanon and spoke about the launch of a Training of Trainers (TOT) climate education program.

In the second panel, titled "Unleashing the Power of Education for the Future of the Planet (The Future Economy Forum and Sekem by the Climate Governance Commission)", Ahmad and Mr. Lennart described the bottom-up strategy that frequently takes place in the absence of governmental support when it comes to climate education, as well as the responsibilities that teachers play in educating students about climate change. Mr. Lennart emphasized the necessity of viewing climate education as an approach rather than an activity, whereas Ahmad emphasized the need of equipping educators to be climate-ready.

In the third panel, titled "UNESCO Youth Demand Quality Climate Education," Ahmad discussed how his climate change context relates to the youth report published by UNESCO, in which more than 17,000 youth demanded quality climate education in classrooms. He gave a brief overview of his work in Lebanon and underlined the significance of educating teachers about climate change in order to empower children to become tomorrow's leaders and to identify climate change solutions.

As he concluded his remarks, Ahmad encouraged everyone in the audience to approach a teacher in their community and inquire about their willingness to teach about climate change in the classrooms. If the teacher's response was "not ready," ask yourself, "What can I do about it?" he said.