The City of Johannesburg will sponsor the COP17 Climate Train follow-up event that will take place at Uncle Tom's Community Centre in Soweto on August 22nd, 2012.

Organisers of the Climate Train project, which is an initiative of the environmental agency Indalo Yethu, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), the British Council and the German Embassy, and supported by Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), have called on the community of Orlando West to bring their "tekkies" in order to participate in this fun-filled event.

Speaking about the City's involvement, Alba Letts, Acting Director of Arts, Culture and Heritage says,  "Joburg’s 2040 strategy has a strong focus on supporting environmental issues and this COP 17 follow-up event ensures that the COP 17 agenda is supported. We all have a responsibility towards ensuring our environment is sustained and the city is placing great emphasis on this. It is for this reason that we have come on board as a supporting partner."

The project seeks to engage with the public in environmental dialogue workshops. A  Climate Change Exhibition will also be held, displaying stunning pictures taken by young people from 75 socially disadvantaged communities who took part in the Climate Train, most of them unemployed between the ages of 18 to 25.

The best pictures, selected through online voting, were displayed at the COP17 Conference where the winner was presented with a prize for succinctly capturing COP17's message: 'We can save tomorrow. Today'.

To close off the event, the organisers have arranged a football training session on environmental awareness.

Other COP17 follow up events will take place in Pretoria and Louis Trichardt. The events are intended to give the Climate Train initiative sustainability, especially among the often-neglected South African communities - by giving them a voice under the banner of ‘Mobilisation, Dialogue & Climate Justice’.

The Uncle Tom’s programme for August 22 is as follows:
09:00-11:00 COP17 Follow-up Workshop
11:00-12:00 Launch of the Climate Change Exhibition
12:00-14:00 YDF Toolkit on Environmental Awareness through Football – Training session
11:00-15:00 Framework programme
What: COP17 Follow-up Event
When: Wednesday, 22 August 2012, 8:30 for 9:00-15:00
Where: Uncle Tom Community Centre 82288 Maseko Street (right next to the Hector Pieterson Museum) Orlando West, Soweto

Ample parking is available, but if you want to make a difference: Take the BRT System!

ENDS

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