Add your voice to Youth Month campaign for nature

South Africa’s youth have a history of advocating for a better world through diverse initiatives.

In the spirit of Youth Month, which is celebrated in June every year, WWF has asked a group of celebrity youth role models to share their messages based on the timeless quote: “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”

Young people across South Africa will be asked to add their Voice for the Planet during the campaign which highlights why, now more than ever, we need to focus on the importance of a healthy natural environment for human wellbeing.

The supporting celebrities who will be adding their voice to the call for a New Deal for Nature and People via short video messages include award-winning actor John Kani; hip-hop artist Proverb; influencers Maps Maponyane and Fezile Mkhize; and media personalities Zoë Brown, Kia Johnson and Claire Mawisa.

The backdrop to this campaign is that nature is declining at a rate unprecedented in human history and the planet is warming fast, putting its future at risk, in particular the youth.

ALSO READ: KwaZulu-Natal town is national winner in WWF’s One Planet City Challenge

Nature is important because it provides employment and is a major contributor to the GDP of the economy, is a source of food, water, health and the clean air needed to breathe. A healthy natural environment is critical for a sustainable future for South Africa and the rest of Africa. Investing in nature is investing in the youth and generations to come.

And in spite of the challenges, people can act now to prevent irreversible damage. WWF is advocating that world leaders must come together to reverse further nature loss and secure the future of humanity. In order to avert a global environmental crisis, an African crisis, a South African crisis, everyone needs to act now.

Anyone who signs up to add their Voice for the Planet during this campaign also stands in line to win a special WWF winter hamper to the value of R2400, including a sought-after Black Leopard jacket, ideal for those chilly morning exercise sessions, an Eco coffee mug, Uzwelo bag and buff.

Pedzi Gozo (Executive Manager: Strategic Communications, WWF):
“Nature provides us with essential services on which we depend. It is also a source of inspiration and hope and we know more now more than ever that when we are confronted with challenges, hope and inspiration have to propel us forward”.

Zoe Brown (media personality):
“When it comes to our planet we cannot think of it as something someone else will be taking care of. Nope. That’s not how it works. That’s not the way we are going to preserve nature for future generations.”

Proverb (hip hop artist):
“Nature gives us everything we need to survive – water, food, energy. That’s why we need a new deal for people and nature now.”

Claire Mawisa (media personality):
“For us to allow our children to do all the amazing things that we dream for them, and for them to reach their ultimate potential, they need to inherit a world, a planet that is healthy, an environment that will support their wildest dreams. It is time for us to put our youth and to put nature first.”

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