Environment Workgroup: Going Green Through the Arts

Hello Changemakers!

This week’s Environment Workgroup blog is from the MRM Arts Organisation that a group of global changemakers have been involved with in Zimbabwe. It’s a project that aims to convey topical and critical messages to the youth of Zimbabwe using art. Hope you enjoy!

MRM Arts Organisation has a concept that it launched in 2009 that is termed ‘Going green through the arts ‘. The idea of this concept is to use various art forms to voice out on the issues of Global warming, climate change and the conservation of nature. It has been noted that climate change is a global phenomenon that is affecting  people world wide therefore it is of paramount importance that young people are enlightened on how they can play their part in reducing the harmful effects of climate change and how they can conserve nature and not contribute to global warming. MRM Arts Organisation has realised that Art is an effective tool of transferring knowledge and that there is vast untapped talent that can be discovered and groomed to voice out these issues. With this in mind, MRM Arts Organisation has decided to take on a project that will involve a lot of young people and will reach out to even more young people and the whole population at large hence the idea of a schools outreach programme.  The idea of involving young people is a way in which MRM Arts Organisation can also promote the already existing art talent that is there amongst young people who have not made it big in the arts industry.

The project went into full swing late first term due to a lack of financial resources but So far the “Going Green through the arts has been perfomed at a high school in Bulawayo i.e Eveline High School. MRM Arts Organisation held a two hour long workshopin the High School. MRM Arts Organisation had an expert facilitator in the environment field and its artists that it already has under its wing to make the workshop a success. At the workshop the facilitator taught  on what environmental degradation is, how it is caused, its effects and what young people can do to aid in the slowing down of this process. Possible ideas and solutions were gathered from the students. After this there was a training workshop where different artists facilitated, Teaching children about the art form that they do and how they can use it to voice out on the issues of climate change to the rest of the world.

In the long run the project aims to reach out to all members of the population in Bulawayo and across the country who may not be realising that the little harmful things they do do to the environment may be very detrimental.

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