Earth Day, 22 April 2019. As part of the #1point5toStayAlive Campaign that supports Caribbean and other vulnerable countries in the fight against climate change, Panos Caribbean has produced a new theme song, with lyrics by Saint Lucian poet and dramatist Kendel Hippolyte and music by musician and humanitarian Taj Weekes, who coordinated the production on behalf of Panos Caribbean.
The song features the voices of Linda “Chocolate” Berthier, Bushman, Kenyatta Hill, Kendel Hippolyte, Zara McFarlane, Sidney Mills, Jafe Faulino, Razia Said, Aaron Silk and Taj Weekes. It is distributed by Jatta/VP Records, and is available online on YouTube and SoundCloud.
Coinciding with the release of the song, Kendel Hippolyte has launched an appeal to artists and other concerned citizens to make their voices heard in the fight against climate change. In Hippolyte’s words, “we cannot look at our children, and their children, and tell them we did nothing”.
The Paris Agreement signed at the 2015 climate change conference called on all countries “to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase … to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial average”. Global warming is on track to break the 1.5°C mark as early as 2040, and an increase of the average global temperature above 1.5°C will have disastrous impacts on the Caribbean and other vulnerable regions of the world.
Music video:
Kendel Hippolyte’s call to artists:
Download: Lyrics PDF / Lyrics Word
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Voices for Climate Change Education 2019 Campaign
Jamaica
Calendar of Activities
January – September 2019
Event | Location | Date |
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Hotel Four Seasons, Kingston | 20 january 2019 |
Climate Change Communication Workshops |
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Lionel Town/Rocky Point, Clarendon |
Rocky Point Community Centre |
27 Feb 2019 |
![]() Workshop 2: Climate Change Messaging Junction/Ridge Red Bank, St. Elizabeth |
Junction Guest House, Junction |
14 March 2019 |
![]() Workshop 3: Creative Expression – Songwriting White River/Ocho Rios, St. Ann |
Pineapple Court Hotel, Ocho Rios | 29 March 2019 |
![]() Workshop 4: Creative Expression - Performance Kingston |
Altamont Court Hotel, Kingston | 11 April 2019 |
Concerts, Short Story Competition & Read Across Jamaica Day |
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Bustamante High School; Salt Savannah Primary; Watsonton Primary; Red Bank Primary; Exchange All Age School | 1 April – 31 May 2019 |
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Bustamante High School, Lionel Town | 17 April 2019 |
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Watsonton Primary School, Lionel Town & Salt Savannah Primary, Rocky Settlement |
7 May 2019 |
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Exchange All Age School, White River |
7 May 2019 |
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Red Bank Primary School, Ridge Red Bank | 7 May 2019 |
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Exchange All Age School, White River | 10 May 2019 |
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Red Bank Primary School | 21 May 2019 |
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All Schools | June 2019 |
Lionel Town/Rocky Point, Clarendon |
Paisley Park, Lionel Town |
8 June 2019 World Environment Day (June 5) & Disaster Preparedness Month |
Ridge Red Bank, St Elizabeth | Ridge Red Bank Community Centre |
13 July 2019 |
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Reggae Park Content Garden Sports Complex, White River |
3 August 2019 2 August 2019 |
Appearances by Voices for Climate Change Education Ambassadors | ||
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Rose Hall, Montego Bay, St. James | 2 April 2019 |
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Salt River, Clarendon | 14 April 2019 |
MORE TBD | TBD | TBD |
DOWNLOAD: PDF CALENDAR
KINGSTON, JAMAICA - Panos Caribbean, through its internationally recognized Voices for Climate Change Education initiative, has launched an eight-month climate change community awareness campaign focusing on four communities across Jamaica: Rocky Point and Lionel Town in Clarendon, Ridge Red Bank in St Elizabeth and White River in St Ann.
Over the next few months, Panos will work with each community to support and highlight local efforts to promote climate smart practices by mobilizing local and national artistic talent to do outreach activities to raise awareness of the issues. Artists from the communities will join national singers and performers in a multi-part workshop designed to help them understand climate change and craft effective climate change messages. The workshops will take the artists to each of the participating communities so they can see first-hand the climate change impacts that are being confronted and how the communities are responding. The artists will then perform in six school and community concerts that will take place between April and August 2019.
Campaign activities will also encourage school students to use their creativity to craft climate change adaptation messages. Students in the four communities will be challenged to produce 60-second video messages with prizes given for the best productions. The campaign includes a short story competition for students and a reading initiative that will introduce young readers to literature on climate change while encouraging them to read.
The Voices for Climate Change Education 2019 campaign is being implemented as part of the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s (PIOJ’s) Improving Climate Data and Information Management Project (ICDIMP) under Jamaica’s Special Programme for Climate Resilience (SPCR).