Ecospacegy launched to empower youths as climate action advocates

Climate advocate Suphane Dash-Alleyne launched the climate education social media campaign Ecospacegy, which will empower youths in the fight against the climate crisis.

Ecospacegy will provide environmental education through information-based content in areas such as climate change, solid waste management, renewable energy, and natural disasters in Guyana.

Founder Suphane Dash-Alleyne also hosts the Ecospace radio programme focused on advocating climate crisis awareness, focusing on areas such as wildlife conservation, and coastal protection, among others.

The Ecospacegy Project was made possible through the Climate change makers initiative, organised by UNICEF in collaboration with the Rights of the Child Commission.

The Climate Change Makers Strengthening Youth Participation in Climate Action Forum brought together climate advocates ages 12 to 24 across Guyana in 2021. Dash-Alleyne was awarded GYD$140,000, which she is now using to launch Ecospacegy.

Dash-Alleyne said, “When climate action is actually funded and is actually led by youths, it can really make a great change, and that is a change Guyana needs to see as we are quite vulnerable to the impacts of all the environmental issues that come with the phenomena of climate change and he different issues we also face due to our own actions in Guyana such as the solid waste management.”

Ecospacegy is an environmentally centred social media campaign aimed at educating Guyanese youth about environmental issues, highlighting national actions to mitigate climate change and adapt to the various impacts while showcasing the youth organisations in Guyana who have dedicated their lives and work towards environmental activism and advocacy.

While highlighting the risks and challenges Guyana will face due to climate change, the platform will also raise awareness on different things that can mitigate these, such as utilising renewable energy.

The campaign also targeted the spread of misinformation on the topic. UNICEF Deputy Representative for Guyana and Suriname Irfan Akhtar said, “UNICEF research shows that every child is facing at least one type of climate or environmental threat or hazard, everywhere, including Guyana. This could be in the form of, you know, floods, droughts… and also pollution. In Guyana, we also experience the impacts of climate change in the form of heatwaves.”