Dear World Leaders—A response to children’s letters about climate change
A book for children edited by Aled Jones; Illustrations by Tabitha Wall, Ridley Green, Maria Luísa, Summer Wilson, Isobel Johnson, Abigail Challis, Tess Duffin, Abi Winter, Samantha Stroud
Anglia Ruskin University | July 2021
Summary
In 2020 a hundred children wrote letters to World Leaders, sharing their experiences about how climate change has affected their lives and their hopes for the progress which needs to be made in the next ten years. Letters came from the UK, India, USA, Australia, Russia, Hungary, Nigeria, Mexico, and Brazil. This book uses excerpts from these letters to explain what climate change is, the impacts of climate change and explores ten subject areas exemplarily highlighting progress that has been made over the last 10 years and ideas for things that could be done over the next decade to prevent further damage to the planet.
This is a book which is set out to help children learn about climate change and support them in understanding some of the solutions to the many problems the world is facing. The authors of the book hope that by amplifying the voices of their generation they will feel heard and that not only are their ideas and opinions valued but necessary to creating a better future.
The cross-institutional project was led by Prof Aled Jones at the Global Sustainability Institute at Anglia Ruskin University. The book includes lesson plans and activities for children to help them think about the world with climate change, how they can be active in responding to its challenges and what might happen over the next ten years.
A digital copy of the book is available for download in pdf (3MB). Print distribution is managed via the Amazon platform. | Citation: Jones A 2021: Dear World Leaders. Cambridge: Anglia Ruskin University. https://doi.org/10.25411/aru.14540628.v2
Background / Letters
For its 10th anniversary in March 2021 the team at GSI invited a number of children from all over the world to write a letter to a Prime Minister or World Leader of their choice, sharing their thoughts about climate change and planetary survival over the next ten years. They wanted to hear from children about their hopes and visions for what they want the world, and their community, to be like in ten years time. What changes do they want to see that they hope World Leaders could support. Our book is a response to them. The letters can be accessed in pdf via the GSI figshare page.
