The Genesis
July 2024
3min read
Climate Interfaith was born from a dual concern shared amongst 20 Climate Youth Development Programme (CYDP) 2024 participants: 1) Climate Change and 2) Social Polarisation.
Inspiring participants from CYDP 2024 on 22 July 2024
Climate Youth Development Programme (CYDP) 2024 was held from 22 July 2024 to 26 July 2024 and the 5-day programme for 40 selected youth participants was co-organised by:
- Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE)
- National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS)
- National Youth Council (NYC)
- Sustainable Living Lab (SL2)
The programme strengthened the Government’s partnership with youth in advancing climate action in Singapore! It provided 2 invaluable resources:
- Dialogues with directors of ministries, industry leaders and start-up founders on topics surrounding Mitigation, Adaptation, Green Transition, Sustainable Finance, Waste Management, Ground-up Initiatives, and International Negotiations
- The Climate Youth Community (CYC) of students and professionals!
After the last closing dinner of the 5-days intense programme, 20 participants from CYDP got together to form Climate Interfaith in August 2024 and held our first meeting in September 2024! Climate Interfaith was born from a dual concern shared amongst the 20 CYDP 2024 participants:
- Climate Change
- Social Polarisation
At present, climate change and social polarisation are the world's top risks in our decade. Based in Singapore, we are the world’s most religious diverse nation vulnerable to the climate crisis. These 2 wicked challenges are critical for us to tackle and solve but there is no community in Singapore that is committed in tackling both of these 2 issues head on.
1st Climate Interfaith Meeting on 9 September 2024
2nd Climate Interfaith Meeting on 25 October 2024
We identified 2 gaps that Climate Interfaith can close:
- Climate action from faith communities is lacking due to competing priorities and resource constraints for non-profits in Singapore. There is great potential for significant climate action with faith communities having accessible and deep networks, traditions and leadership to bring about behavior change for climate action.
- Social cohesion events in Singapore are limited in outreach and impact due to public apathy and inhibitions to act due to cultural sensitivities. Climate action can be the means for diverse communities to strengthen social cohesion as it remains as one of the top concerns and interests for youths to take action on.
By providing a platform for interfaith collaborations on climate action, Climate Interfaith leverages both climate and faith networks to empower faith communities be more sustainable and cohesive in Singapore, towards a world where people and planet thrive in peace!
