Centre for Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development

 The Centre for Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development, CEESD, successfully held the first of a series of Climate Change Seminar for training colleges themed “Climate Change- the role of Teachers” at Wesley College of Education on Wednesday, May 5, 2010. The purpose for these seminars is to create awareness on climate change issues and also enhance the exchange of experiences and good practices on climate change education among teachers and young people. The seminar was chaired by Anthony Mensah, Director of Waste Management Department of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly.

CEESD embarked on this initiative because we believe teachers play a very important role in our social fabric. Teachers are special because they are highly regarded in societies; they are opinion leaders in most communities where they find themselves and they impart knowledge to students they teach. In Ghana teachers can be found in almost every village and town. In addressing climate change through the sensitization of the populace, teachers especially at the basic level can be a very potent tool in reaching out to the larger population. Teachers equipped with the knowledge in the causes of climate change and mitigating and adaptation measures will in turn impart the acquired knowledge to the children they teach at the basic level, the local people in the villages and towns and among their peers who work in other sectors of the economy. CEESD realises that creating awareness from community to community might be a very daunting task and may not necessarily yield the needed results; however, if trainee teachers in teacher training colleges are exposed to issues of climate change whiles in school, then a wider coverage would be achieved in the long run.

CEESD hopes to reach out to all thirty eight (38) training colleges in Ghana and we look forward to partnering with organizations, associations and individuals.