Activists focus on climate change

The Ashley Lashley Foundation is to be complimented as the organising group for bringing together a number of young people recently for the Barbados Youth Climate Action Summit and Expo at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

Under the theme “Beyond Talk, More Action” the conference focused on various areas where the youth can bring attention to what is happening in the world with a view to getting people to understand how their behaviours – good and bad – can make a difference to our world.

There was much support for the conference, as Barbados hosted youth from Uganda, India and Mexico while there were young people from other countries online for the many sessions and who conversed with the experts that spoke on various topics.

During the first day of the conference there was a link up with a similar event taking place live in the Bahamas.

The young activists received support from several corporate entities who recognised the sterling work being done by the youth to get action on this most important world issue.

CIBC FirstCaribbean was one of the entities offering support and Director Retail Banking Channels, Michelle Whitelaw, passed through the LESC to visit the summit and see how the activities were taking place.  She visited with Ashley Lashley, the head of the foundation and the driving force behind the summit, who took her on a short tour of the Expo.

Ashley explained that the support from the bank allowed the foundation to pull off and execute the summit with the young people and referred to the march where hundreds of students staged a walk to show their interest in what is happening to the environment.

When they visited the Wall of Ambassadors, she explained to Whitelaw how the ambassadors were chosen and the environmental work they do in their various areas.  Whitelaw also expressed interest in the ‘Colourist’, an exhibit where self-taught artist Alisha Smith displayed her paintings of the various landscapes, which she said showcased her appreciation of and the beauty of the earth. She added that this was her way of playing her role in the preservation of the environment.  (PR)