Written By Pragna Yalavarthy (CO, USA), Erin Hong (CA, USA), Serena Binkowski (VA, USA), Jihyun Ko (MI, USA), and Paige Templeton (CA, USA)
Approximately 16% of the global population consists of youth, yet their voices are often overlooked in terms of addressing critical issues. “As an integral part of our future, youth deserve to be involved in global conversations, and we sought to create a way to empower youth to become active participants in shaping our ever-changing world,” explains Pragna, a Teen Ambassador for the Arts Hub.
This fundamental goal led to a partnership between the Arts Hub and Ms. Tendai Wilkinson, an art teacher at the Uruguayan American School. Together, they developed an Earth Day Webinar for her students focused on teen changemaking and advocacy. Serena, a longtime member of the Arts Hub, describes the initiative as a “way for the Arts Hub to share our passion for using art as a medium for advocacy and igniting global change in youth.” After successfully presenting the webinar in 2024, the team is eager to present it again on April 22nd of this year.
The Arts Hub will also be presenting this webinar at The Global Innovation Field Trip, an event organized by Innovation World on April 18th, to spread their message to a global community. As Erin, a Teen Ambassador for the Arts Hub, shares, “presenting to students on the other side of the world makes me feel really special because I am able to share about the importance of Earth Day!”
The Arts Hub has always been a place that fosters impactful change on all the SDGs through the inspirational power of art. As Jihyun, the Arts Hub Secretary, said, “Arts is a transcendental medium of advocacy. It is both a way to communicate and persuade the public of the necessity of action.” This passion drives the hub’s commitment to empowering youth and creating meaningful change in global communities. Inspired by this mission, the Arts Hub has led several projects that combine art and advocacy. As Arts Hub member Paige reflects, “Joining the Arts Hub has allowed me to engage with a variety of pivotal movements.” Previous initiatives include a documentary that traces the history of women’s rights through the lens of art and a social media campaign that bridges November-themed issues, such as diabetes awareness and Native American heritage, to notable works of art.
In the upcoming webinar, the Arts Hub will begin with a broad overview of Earth Day and the UN SDGs before delving into how youth can create actionable goals to tackle global problems. As the students at the Uruguayan American School previously worked on an SDG-based project where they created puzzle piece artwork about global issues as a part of The Puzzle Art Installation & Collaborative Project, the Arts Hub will have a discussion with the students about the meaning behind their puzzle pieces. The Arts Hub will also incorporate Global Co Lab initiatives into the webinar by showing past Teens Dream video contest winners and their solutions tied to specific SDGs, as well as highlighting the Climate Hub’s #ChangeOurClimateCampaign. Through this webinar, the Arts Hub seeks to show how anyone, regardless of age or location, can make a meaningful impact and inspire others to do the same.
The Global Co Lab Network empowers teens around the world to take action on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through its free virtual programs. Learn more here about how teens take action on SDG #4 (Quality Education), SDG #13 (Climate Action), and SDG #17 (Partnerships for the Goals), and follow the Co Lab’s work on Instagram @GlobalCoLabNetwork.
