DUBAI: Schools and organizations in 152 countries have committed to participating in CNN’s Call to Earth Day, a day of action dedicated to conservation, environmentalism, and sustainability, on Nov. 10.
In the Middle East region, more than 20 schools and organizations from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and elsewhere have pledged to participate in the activities of the day.
CNN correspondents will bring live reports from locations around the world covering stories of conservation, environmentalism, and sustainability. Some of the topics that will be covered are air pollution in India, coral reef preservation in the UAE, redwood planting in California, the UK’s carbon-neutral football team Forest Green Rovers and ghost nets in Hong Kong.
“Connect the World with Becky Anderson” will air a 45-minute debate filmed at the Expo 2020 site in Dubai. The debate will center on climate crisis and biodiversity, touching on topics such as food security, urban planning and how the new generation can engage in the fight against climate change. The program will involve young people from the UAE and the wider region, including school children from Brighton College Dubai and the American School of Dubai.
An exclusive discussion with filmmaker, explorer, and Rolex ambassador James Cameron, will be at 11 a.m. GST, talking about oceans, climate change, and exploration.
A live blog will capture the events of the day in real time, alongside feature articles and op-eds from leaders in conservation. Following the day itself, CNN will host a digital interactive page where people can share their activities, pledges, events and other contributions, alongside the channel’s Call to Earth Day content.
“The response we’ve received from our audience for Call to Earth Day has been phenomenal, and CNN’s teams are gathering some outstanding content and reporting that we’ll showcase, too,” said Ellana Lee, SVP & Managing Editor, CNN Asia Pacific.
The day’s events include activities such as litter-picks on beaches, planting events, rainforest excursions and animal welfare and habitat protection events, including the release of some animals back into the wild.
There will also be some art events such as a project to turn school classrooms into different habitats in the US, recycled fashion shows and dress-up days in the US and across Asia-Pacific, and a theatre production in India.
Eco-murals and art will be shown, including thousands of posters painted by schoolchildren. One school in Nigeria has created a water irrigation system from plastic bottles, while a group in Lebanon has held a workshop to show children how to turn plastic waste into creative planters.
Some of the regional activities include litter-picks on beaches in the UAE and Lebanon; the establishment of a kitchen garden, eco-garden and bee and pollinator-friendly garden in Dubai; and the release of an Egyptian Vulture in Lebanon.
“These issues can sometimes feel vast and overwhelming, but what we hope to demonstrate on Wednesday is that there are solutions. This is about celebrating a planet worth protecting and the people creating a more sustainable future, driving awareness and inspiring action,” Lee added.
Anyone wishing to participate in CNN’s Call to Earth Day needs to pledge to do something positive to protect the environment on Nov. 10. Participants can also share their contributions and promote their events on social media using the hashtag #CalltoEarth.
