The Ocean and Climate Youth Ambassadors visit Granada, Spain

On May 27, Peace Boat’s Ocean and Climate Youth Ambassadors arrived at the Port of Motril onboard the 101st Global Voyage. The group travelled to Granada to take part in an event "IV Encuentro Voluntariado Comunidad Universitaria y Asociaciones Solidarias" that took place in the Sala Triunfo of the Hospital Real at the University of Granada.

During the event, the programme and Peace Boat’s activities were introduced by the programme coordinator, Chema Sarri, and Elsei Tellei, the youth representative from Palau, spoke about the experience of the group onboard while introducing the concept of Talanoa (a Pacific concept of constructive dialogue through storytelling) to the audience. During the meeting with university students and representatives of different NGOs from Granada, the ambassadors talked about the situation of their countries related to SDG 13 and SDG 14 in small groups. “It was very powerful to connect personally with youth on the other side of the world from the Pacific about problems that are facing us individually, regionally, and globally”, said Elsei after the event.

One of the local organizers, Javier Cicode, Deputy-Director of the Center for Development Cooperation Initiatives, was very impressed by the group's experiences. "They are all very young, but they have a great knowledge of the situation in their countries and very impressive biographies for their ages. It has been a pleasure to hear their stories and learn from them”, he said.

After their participation in the event at the University of Granada, the youth ambassadors went to the Colegio Oficial de Doctores y Licenciados for a meeting with the president of the Asociación Española de Educación Ambiental (AEEA), Federico Velázquez de Castro González who explained to them about how climate change is affecting the south of Spain. The meeting was also attended by Ander Pérez, representative of Fridays for Future Granada, who shared his experience as an activist in the Spanish city. “Indeed, it was an inspiration hearing about the actions of the local youth in Granada and how youth in the developed world are concerned and willing to take action on this climate change mission”, said the youth ambassador from Sant Lucia, Jevanic Henry.

The programme concluded with a visit to Federico García Lorca Park, where guided by Velázquez de Castro González they took carried out some workshop exercises to understand the importance of a connection with nature in the struggle against climate change. After their day of activities in Granada, the youth returned to the port of Motril where they boarded the ship again to continue their journey to Tangier, Morocco.