Climate Change Awareness Campaign in Zimbabwe
About Wangari Maathai
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Wangarĩ Muta Maathai was a Kenyan social, environmental and a political activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Every 3rd March, Africa Environment Day or Wangari Maathai Day is celebrated. It was established by the Organization of African Unity due to the environmental challenges facing the continent. Africa Environment Day has always been celebrated since 2012 by the African Union in collaboration with Wangari Maathai Day, in order to pay tribute to the late Nobel Laureate's green legacy.
Timeline
editDay-1 Introduction of the campaign - 11th of March 2023
Day-2 Wikipedia article creation and edits - Edit-a-thon: 25 March 2023
Day-3 Awareness Campaign at illegal mine - 29 March 2023
Day-4 Closing ceremony and awareness - 22 April 2023
Activities in Detail
editDay 1 - The participants were very excited to practice starting articles in the on going campaign about How to contribute from Zimbabwe with many expressing gratitude for the opportunity to learn and contribute to spreading environmental awareness in the community. The Expected Guest had a minor accident and couldn't make it to the event. Cinderella Ndlovu a climate activist in Zimbabwe.
Day 2 was an edit-a-thon - The edit-a-thon was a successful event that helped to transform knowledge in the community and make environmental insights more accessible from Zimbabweans perspective. The Participants as new editors had a lot to say but the knowledge on article creation was overwhelming. They however created a few with assistance and the day ended well as some published their work.
Day 3 was an awareness to the illegal miners at Maphisa on Climate changes caused by the Illegal mining. This was an interesting initiative by participants that was fruitful but with the economic situation in Zimbabwe it is not easy for the illegal miners to just leave as they are not aware that they are causing harm. Photos were taken around the place as a way of showcasing the extent of the damage. More initiatives to clean up the dirty environment were done but time factor was not conducive.
Day 4 was a big ceremony concluding both campaigns. Guests present were Memory a climate activist and Moyo from the Zimbabwe Schools of Mines who encouraged participants to continue with these initiatives even after the campaigns as they can change people's mind sets and preserve and love the environment. Participants were gifted with t-shirts and certificates for being new editors in Zimbabwe.
