Causes: Education, Educational Services, International, International Development

Mission: Earth Child Institute is programmatic hub dedicated to the ‘children and environment’ of our world. This broad scope is based on the premise that any action taken to protect and restore the environment will benefit today’s children and future generations… and that children and young people who recognize the interconnectedness of all things and feel empowered in their own ability to think and act in harmony with the Earth will benefit the environment. A win-win scenario… empowering today for a sustainable tomorrow.
It is a ‘hub’ because we build bridges and bonds between and across sectors, structures, countries, programmes, projects and levels of awareness toward the inclusion and empowerment of today’s children and young people.
Whether you are a Government minister seeking to ensure that the rights, needs and capabilities of children are reflected in your National Adapation Plan for Action (NAPA) to address climate change; a UN agency seeking to support the participation of children in an intergovernmental event or process; a private sector organization seeking a win-win scenario for corporate social responsibility which will improve the lives of children; an NGO wanting to network with other ‘like-minded’ NGOs to share best practices and lessons learned; a classroom teacher or youth facilitator looking for participatory resource materials; or a 12 year old girl or boy looking for ways to get involved… the Earthchild Institute is ready to meet your needs.

All Earthchild programmes and materials are designed with three key goals in mind:

• Individual Empowerment and Personal Accountability
• Community Values and Social Action
• Planetary Stewardship and Clobal Interconnectedness

Our intention is to motivate children, young people and the influential adults in their lives (including policymakers, teachers, youth leaders, parents, medical professionals, etc) to get involved on many different levels of awareness, advocacy and action to address the global challenges of water scarcity, energy security, climate change and environmental degradation. Although global in magnitude, these challenges are largely experienced at community-levels, where children, young people and their families live.

Results: http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=Lvc4VoEJV2Ehttp://www. climate-change. tv/donna-goodman-and-coralie-norris-december-2010?where=cancun-cop16-un-climate-change-conference-2010 Donna Goodman from the Earth Child Institute discusses Article 6 within the negotiations. She notes the few funds allocated to children's issues, and explains that they are here to advocate for improved finance. Coralie Norris, from Haiti, shows how children can help be the solution to the problems.

Target demographics: 2.2 billion children and young people under the age of 18 on Earth today.

Geographic areas served: ECI is now working with partners in Brazil, Nepal, Ghana, Nigeria, Qatar, Togo and the USA

Programs: 2.2 Billion: Power of One Child + One Tree Campaign was launched at COP15 in Copenhagen on 9 December. Funds raised by the campaign are earmarked to support tree planting by children and young people at Power of One Schools in Ethiopia, Benin and Brazil and endowment of the Earth Child Institute Small Grants Programme for Kids which will be introduced at the International Children's Climate Change Conference in Brasilia, Brazil, June 2010.

The campaign and programme for implementation has been endorsed by the United Nations Environment Programme's Plant for the Planet: The Billion Tree Campaign, World YMCA and UNICEF as an effective mechanism to support the world's children as they combat climate change making a significant contribution to the offset of global deforestation.