Lagos State government said it is partnering with the Creative Youth Community Development Initiative – Solution17 for Climate Action, and New York University, Abu Dhabi, to promote climate change awareness and action through artistic expression.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Omobolaji Gaji, made this disclosure on Thursday at a press conference held at Alausa, Ikeja, saying that the project was expected to increase the contribution of youths towards an inclusive and solutions-oriented climate conference.
Gaji disclosed that the project would be done through the project – Art for Climate Change, listing some of the activities lined up to include, Pre-Artnovation 1 & 2- Artists meet Technologists (Ideation and Brainstorming), Google MeetUp and Slack, Private Exhibition in Lagos – Special Viewing, Dialogue Series NYU Abu Dhabi and Live painting marathon, Abu Dhabi and Dialogue Series in Nigeria in Partnership with United Nations /Lagos State University.
Others are: Climate Art Exhibition at the Abu Dhabi and Dubai Expo City – Physical and Virtual (Virtual Reality), Abu Dhabi and Dubai and Post COP28 Exhibition, JK Randle, Onikan, Lagos.
The Permanent Secretary said the Art for Climate Change is a follow-up to the MOU signed between New York University (NYU), Abu Dhabi and COP28 UAE, which aims to enhance the role of higher education institutions in knowledge-sharing, climate action, and youth engagement.
He said the events would lead up to the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, adding that the events would hold periodically till the commencement of the COP28 Conference in November 2023.
According to him, artists from Lagos will during the project collaborate with Tech Innovators, experts in relevant fields, students from NYU, Abu Dhabi and the Universities Climate Network UAE, to co-create innovative solutions to problems around key thematic areas relevant to COP28, which will be depicted in ART.
“Today, Lagos State government and Solution 17 are proud to launch the Art for Climate Change project and kickstart a series of events, including a co-creation innovation hub, live marathon painting events, dialogue series, and exhibitions.
“It is our collective hope that this initiative will foster conversations about the role of art, culture, and citizenship development in addressing global challenges and shaping policies.
“The Art for Climate Change project will be building on a previous partnership of the Lagos State Government with The Vision of the Child (VoTC), through which the renowned Noble Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, mentored thousands of young artists, and poets between the ages 8 and 12 from 2012 to 2019. Notably four (4) of the award-winning VoTC artists will depict the tech-driven climate action solutions on 17 canvases in Lagos and NYU Abu Dhabi to promote COP28.
One of the artists that will be participating in the project, Miss Anjolaoluwa Olanrewaju, said it had been a great opportunity to have worked with numerous organizations which had to do with innovative Co-creation.