IV Youth Conference for the Environment Engages Students from the State Network
Students participated in discussions on climate change on the second day of the event marked by plenaries and workshops on technology and innovation
By Fernanda Cavalcante (SEDUC)
03/06/2025 14h13
Discussions on sustainability, workshops, exhibitions of environmental projects, and plenaries on the role of youth in climate discussions marked the second day of the IV State Youth Conference for the Environment (CEIJMA), this Tuesday (3), at the Hangar Convention and Fair Center of the Amazon, in Belém.
Students, teachers, and managers from all over the Pará territory participated in the program, conceived by the Government of Pará, through the State Department of Education (Seduc). The initiative aims to strengthen environmental awareness and youth leadership.
“The Conference was extremely important and rewarding, after all the effort, not only ours but also from the students, the schools that mobilized, especially the schools with students who are delegates, and were chosen through a democratic process in their territory, and have now arrived here at this state stage,” said the Environmental Education Coordinator (CEAM) of Seduc, Mauro Tavares.
The Seduc coordinator added: "I would say that Pará challenged Brazil to make a great showcase of environmental education in homage to Environment Week. Today we have 30 schools here, bringing results from environmental education, which is a new component that has entered our curriculum and has also opened space for some of our partners to show how they can contribute to our schools. This is a unique moment for our students, to take advantage of this moment, to exchange experiences, talk, and get to know other projects,” said Mauro Tavares.
The IV State Youth Conference for the Environment (CEIJMA) encourages the school community to adopt a responsible stance towards socio-environmental challenges, promoting local actions to face climate emergencies, based on environmental education, equity, inclusion, and diversity. At the state stage, 160 delegates deepened the dialogues and chose the projects and representatives for the VI National Youth Conference for the Environment (CNIJMA), promoted by the Ministries of Education, Environment and Climate Change (MMA), and Science, Technology and Innovation.
For student Rafael Santos, from the 1st year of High School at the Walter Bezerra Falcão State School, in Ananindeua, in the Metropolitan Region of Belém (RMB), who participated in the workshop “Photography with Cell Phone: the Amazon through Our Eyes,” it is important to think about the future of the environment and the conference motivates young people for this debate.
“I found it wonderful and amazing to be able to participate in this photo workshop. I particularly like photography, and being able to photograph our Amazon, our home, and learn more about photos is incredible. I learned several tips, and for sure, these debates about climate and sustainability are important for us, young people, who are the future of the world, so we can leave here motivated to take care of our environment, take care of our home,” shared student Rafael Santos.
Starting from the Environmental Education curricular component, offered by Seduc since the first semester of 2024 as mandatory in the school units of the network, students and educators are increasingly engaged in discussions about innovation and sustainability both inside and outside the school environment. These are initiatives that reinforce youth leadership on the subject, such as the project “Sustainable School Garden: Cultivating Paths for Environmental Awareness,” developed by students from the Lauro Sodré State School of Elementary and Secondary Education, in the Marco neighborhood, in Belém.
“I think this moment is incredible because here each school has a project and we learn from each exhibition. For example, here we are exhibiting about the garden and there are other schools exploring other themes, and we can have this exchange of knowledge. I believe that if everyone, especially the students, become more aware and start to make a difference at home, at school, the world will be a better place and, of course, along with the Environmental Education subject, I think these are very relevant debates at this moment for us, especially now that we will have COP 30,” said student Sthefany Ramos, from the 3rd year of High School.
Environmental Education - Seduc emphasizes that the implementation of the Environmental Education curricular component makes Pará a pioneer in ensuring a mandatory sustainability curricular component, encouraging the participation and engagement of students in discussions about fundamental agendas for Pará, whose capital, Belém, will host the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 30) in November 2025. This component can be adopted by municipalities and is based on the Environmental Education, Sustainability, and Climate Policy.
