Change the Subject: How studying climate change can create a greener, fairer future

Change the Subject: How studying climate change can create a greener, fairer future.

In November 2021, world leaders are meeting at COP26 — an important climate change conference — to discuss how to address the climate crisis.

Young women like you already know that educating girls is one of the most powerful strategies to fight climate change — and mandating climate education for every student is key to tackling the root causes of this crisis.

We see you calling on leaders to incorporate girls’ education and climate curriculum into their plans — and Malala Fund wants to make sure they hear your demands. That’s why we’re launching Change the Subject: How studying climate change can create a greener, fairer future, a campaign to amplify your voices and perspectives so leaders prioritise climate education for girls at COP26.

In the months leading up to the conference, we’re publishing original pieces on how climate change has affected your education, what you're learning (or not learning!) about the climate crisis in school and what actions you want to see leaders take at COP26.

And it starts with today’s Assembly! In this newsletter, 13-year-old Indian student Gargi Bhavsar discusses how the climate crisis is impacting students’ mental health — and why schools need to address it (this article is also available in Marathi). Young women from El Salvador, India, Pakistan, South Africa and more share what they wish their schools had taught them about climate change. 19-year-old Scottish student Emily Blackmore explains why climate education is important to her as a trainee teacher. And our editorial intern Eileen Huang outlines six things you need to know about the ways climate change affects girls’ education.

If you’d like to be featured in Change the Subject next, use this form to let us know how you’d like to contribute (the form is also available in Arabic, Bangla, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Urdu). We’re open to stories, essays, photos, videos, illustrations, poems or anything else we haven’t thought of yet! We’ll reach out to you in the coming weeks if your pitch is selected.

A greener, fairer future starts with getting all girls in school and ensuring every student learns the skills and values to address the climate crisis. But to change the world, we need to change the subject first — and that starts with you sharing your ideas on how you want to learn.