African climate change activists are using poetry and music to pile pressure on climate change funding and adaption to the world leaders at COP28 in Dubai.
While negotiators are held up in meetings at the United Nations climate summit, activists are entertaining crowds, educating them simultaneously.
Phelister Amondi Awuor, a representative of a Catholic Youth Network for Environmental Sustainability in Africa, said art is simple and easy for people at the grassroots in Africa to understand.
“I use art to express myself in areas I feel discriminated against and in areas people above in terms of power might shut me,” said Awuor who campaigns using all forms of art from poetry and theatre, graffiti to murals.
“But if I use my art to express what I feel, many people will understand me and they will see me. Art is easily understood by many people as it does not use jargon. It is a powerful means of advocacy on issues around climate change.”
Some of the activists' demands to world leaders and negotiators include an end to the use of fossil fuels, tripling renewable energy, adaption funding and scrapping of carbon markets.
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Awuor, a Kenyan who has been performing spoken word poetry since she was young, said art gives a sense of identity.
“It is our culture, roots. My art expresses what I stand for and what I want,” she said.
Jesse David, a sustainable musician from Kenya, said he is hopeful that he will make an impact at COP28 through art.
“There are different ways of advocacy. I use my creativity for change. I raise awareness among young people. It is a universal language,” David, who is also an engineering student said.
“Music is something that even if our leaders can not realise how critical the issue of global warming is, they can listen to the music and get the perspective of the youths.”
*This story was produced with support from MESHA and IDRC Eastern and Southern Africa office.