Manifesto for the climate: from base camp via various stations to the summit meeting

Rising sea levels, heavy rains, drought, melting ice caps and lots of unanswered questions – climate change has many frightening faces. It remains to be seen if what we have done so far is enough. The Junge Hamburger Climate Conference 2013 now wants to send children, young adults and teachers - even entire classes - up the "Georgswerder Energy Hill" on a very special expedition supporting climate care and adjustment to climate change. A symbolic ascent, starting at the base camp and with several stops along the way before arriving at the summit meeting at the top, where there will be a climate manifesto for a climate-neutral City of Hamburg. This unique, very special information and participation project is an initiative by the IBA (International Building Exhibition) Hamburg that is intended to encourage the next generation to become climate researchers, creative minds and project developers; to become involved, shape and develop things with the aim of presenting their climate-friendly city.

On Tuesday,  21 August 2012, IBA Hamburg and the Ministry of Education invited interested parties to the Junge Hamburger Climate Conference 2013. From now, children and young adults from all schools, from Years 1 to 13, and extracurricular educational establishments are being asked to participate actively in the conference, and contribute their own ideas and fabulous, imaginative, exciting and creative projects. Ties Rabe, Hamburg's Senator for Education, and IBA managing director Uli Hellweg plus a representative from the main sponsor Aurubis AG have provided the initial information on this unique project.

Hamburg, 21 August 2012 – "Today's youngsters will, in the foreseeable future, experience the effects of climate change even more than we do today. And because the Ministry of Education and Training and the IBA Hamburg have developed a training and participation concept in the Junge Hamburger Climate Conference 2013 that puts the focus on children and young adults as the most immediately affected, this is quite an exceptional and very special project. It combines education and the confrontation with our current climate situation in a creative, active and communicative way," Ties Rabe, Hamburg's Senator for Education,  said on Tuesday. Its aims include the intensive occupation with the leading questions of our time as well as exchanges with other schools and extracurricular training establishments, the development of solutions and the awareness that we can all, every one of us, contribute in our own way to climate protection.

From now, children and young adults, and even whole classes and their teachers from Hamburg and the metropolitan region, will have the opportunity to take part in the Junge Hamburger Climate Conference – just like their counterparts do at international level in Kyoto and Copenhagen. The Junge Hamburger Climate Conference 2013 is also following in another tradition - Hamburg's schools have been addressing the question of climate change since the 90s. However, the concept of this conference is, as yet, unique. What it is looking for are ideas on five different issues: building in the future in the light of climate change; obtaining electricity and heat from renewable energies; saving and preserving resources; climate adjustment and dealing with rising sea levels, and ideas and projects on the subject of how we can be more climate-compatible in the future. These issues reflect the close links to the content of IBA's leading issue, "City in climate change". The associated places and pictures are the Georgswerder Energy Hill and the Elbe. "The Georgswerder Energy Hill illustrates the concept of CO₂-neutral urban development. We not only see the risk of flooding on the Elbe, but it is also somewhere that can illustrate the possibilities for flood protection. That is why we are starting with a call to the Junge Hamburger Climate Conference on the Georgswerder Energy Hill, and finishing up on the Elbe, the IBA DOCK in the port of entry“, explained IBA managing director Uli Hellweg.

The call is to all school classes, from Years 1 to 13, and extracurricular educational facilities to choose a subject and develop creative solutions, unique projects and their own climate concepts. Participants should have plenty of time to develop and prepare their projects by the time of the conference in 2013. In the second week of June in the IBA presentation year 2013, participants will bring their ideas and projects to the Georgswerder Energy Hill, "base camp", for the climate conference, and work together on their climate message for Hamburg. IBA managing director Uli Hellweg continues: "Because of the tremendous challenge to all participants, the image of 'reaching a summit' is highly symbolic, and literal for the climate conference, which consists of several stages. Starting from base camp on the Georgswerder Energy Hill, the participants will head off on several excursions to IBA projects at other stations on the way to the summit." At the summit meeting, a tent camp at the summit of the Georgswerder Energy Hill, participants will discuss their results, and work from them to prepare a manifesto that will then be handed over ceremoniously to political representatives as the highlight. To finish with, climate researchers and project developers will join in a celebration on the Elbe: the water festival in the port of entry. The project has numerous sponsors, and the main one is Aurubis AG. "When the IBA told us about the concept of the Young Climate Conference 2013 a few weeks ago, we were immediately captivated by the idea. This project is the perfect combination of what Aurubis stands for: the southern Elbe region, supporting young adults, protecting the environment and climate change," explained Michaela Hessling, Director of Group Communications and press officer of Aurubis AG.

Interested parties will now find the project sketch, the call to the project and course materials at: www.iba-hamburg/klimakonferenz.

From 15.00 hrs today, you can view and download photos of today's press meeting at the following link:

Link: http://iba-hamburg.eyebase.com 

PIN access: IrIwp7Yt

(There is no need to register or enter personal details; PIN access will expire 30 days after publication of the press release.)

In the event of queries please contact:
IBA Hamburg GmbH, Kristina Hödl, Director Press Office,
kristina.hoedl@iba-hamburg.de, tel.: 040 2262 27335, or Anna Vietinghoff, Press Office,anna.vietinghoff@iba-hamburg.de, tel: 040 2262 27331 or presse@iba-hamburg.de

You can also follow the IBA Hamburg on Twitter: twitter.com/iba_hamburg
Would you like to subscribe to the IBA newsletter? www.iba-hamburg.de/newsletter