Green Beginnings: Empowering young minds for a sustainable future 

For those who couldn’t make it to Glimmer’s inaugural event, “Glimmer: Social Media’s Green Upgrade“, we have been sharing a series of excerpts from the inspiring youth panellist discussion.

Over the last few weeks, we have had the opportunity to hear from young change makers, passionate about working towards a brighter, more sustainable world. This week, we cap off our series with a word from the youngest and one of the most impassioned of our panellists, Nicole Yaneza-Bagatsing.

Nicole is a dedicated educator and organiser who is passionate about fostering youth leadership and empowerment. With a focus on early childhood, she works tirelessly to instill these values through engaging classroom activities and community initiatives. Nicole is also committed to sustainability and is actively working to integrate eco-friendly practices into the school system. Her dedication to empowering the next generation and promoting a more sustainable future is truly inspiring.

Here is some of what she had to say:

Glimmer: Hi Nicole, I’m interested in hearing about what you feel are the critical issues young people are facing.

Nicole: So, for context, I work with the early childhood education group, working with an education service for young people that’s currently meeting one of the most progressive climate targets for birth to six years old, so that’s about childcare age.  One of the most pressing issues is waste, particularly single-use plastics, non-biodegradable wipes, and gloves. Imagine the amount of waste generated by caring for 16 babies and toddlers. This is a significant problem within the childcare system.

Another major concern is climate anxiety. Many children today are growing up with access to technology and news, becoming aware of the climate crisis. The Greta Thunberg movement and climate protests have highlighted this issue, impacting the mental health of the younger generation.

Glimmer: So, what do you think can be done, especially to present opportunities for younger generations?

Nicole: In the early childhood space, there’s already a focus on sustainability within the learning framework. The union provides sustainability training, but educators are often burnt out and may not prioritise it. However, sustainability should be integrated into the system.

We need to involve young people in co-designing solutions. This can be as simple as creating a climate leader group or having a compost bin or worm farm at the kindergarten. From a policy perspective, we can start by eliminating non-biodegradable plastics and single-use items in the school canteen.

Glimmer: Thanks, they are really great thoughts. And what role do you think technology, particularly social media, has in regard to sustainable progress?

Nicole: As a Gen Z millennial, I believe social media has immense potential for sustainability. It can be used for content creation, cross-collaboration, education, and news consumption with a sustainable focus.

Coming from a Gen Z millennial perspective—the generation that’s always online—you give us a new social media platform and we will milk it to the bone. 

So, I would say, in terms of social media, the possibilities are endless—content creation with a sustainability focus, cross-collaboration, educating ourselves, learning, consuming sustainability-related news. 

A sustainable social media platform like Glimmer enables us to connect with the rest of the world and work with a lot of the people that are within that community to branch out to bigger things.

Thanks for your helpful insights Nicole!

Join the Glimmer Community!

Are you ready to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle and connect with a supportive community? Download the Glimmer app today and join the movement!

Read more Glimmer articles here.