IFM-SEI

Tool "Letters from the Past"

Language: English

Project Featuring This Tool: All Together Against Climate Change

Time	90 minutes
Approximate number of participants	6-15
Age	10-15
Date published	3 Feb 2012, 13:54

Objectives

To realise that many people are already suffering from the consequences of climate change
To raise awareness that the poorest are hit the hardest by climate change
To discuss how climate refugees can be supported

Materials

Letters (appendix) copied onto different coloured paper and cut into 5–10 puzzle pieces
Paper and pens

Setting

Hide all the puzzle pieces in different places in your workshop space, except one piece per letter that you give to each group at the beginning of the activity.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Split into three smaller groups and assign a colour to each group. Explain that they live in different western countries in the world in the year 2050. In their house, they suddenly find a piece of a letter that looks very old. Give them each the first piece of their letter. It is a letter from the past! They will now want to find the other pieces of their letters that are all hidden somewhere in the seminar space.
2. When they have found all the pieces of their letters in the colour of their group, come together in the big group.
3. Read the letters together.
4. Explain that the characters are invented, but that some islanders in the Maldives have really had to leave their homes, and droughts in Africa really cause thousands of people to flee. The village in Alaska hasn’t moved yet, but they have already built their new houses and will move in 2012.
5. Explain that you are lucky, because in 2050 a simple time machine has just been invented and it reaches back to 2012 (it cannot go further back). So they can go back to this year and try to help the refugees in their story. Explain that simply reducing carbon emissions will not help these refugees anymore. They have to get support to adapt to climate change. In the stories, they can already find many hints on what kind of support the refugees would need.
6. Explain that the groups should now think about what actions might help ‘their’ refugee and how can they ensure that these actions will be taken. They should then write a letter back to their refugee, telling them about their plans.
7. Come back together and read out the new letters.

Debriefing

What did you think of the letters? How did they make you feel?
What were the ideas to help the refugees? Which do you think are realistic?
What are the obstacles to this support?

Tips

If you want to work on this topic with a younger age group, you can use ‘Climate Refugees’ on page 34.

** Environmental/ climate refugees**
The Red Cross estimates that there are more environmental refugees (including those fleeing from natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcano outbreaks) than political refugees fleeing from conflict and war. There were 36 million environmental refugees in 2009. In 2050 there might be more than 50 million people who have to migrate because of desertification, lack of water, salination of irrigated lands (because the sea level is rising) and the loss of biodiversity. Estimates go up until 250 million climate refugees in 2050 if the greenhouse effect continues at the same rate as in the last years.

Attached files

• Letters from the Past (253.54kB)