2 weeks Ago By postcourieronline
The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS), in partnership with the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), launched the RCS Clean Oceans Plastics Campaign in Samoa during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) last week. The campaign is a new pan-Commonwealth environmental initiative from the RCS. It aims to prevent one million pieces of plastic from entering Commonwealth waterways.
Through local action and education, this youth-led campaign will encourage everyone to reduce their plastic waste, highlight alternatives, and seek to permanently change the way we use our shared waterways across the Commonwealth. RCS Patron, His Majesty The King, highlighted this ambitious pan-Commonwealth campaign at CHOGM and his long-standing commitment to the environment. The launch took place at the Ulalei Vaiala, Taula Stadium in Apia, and was attended by the Commonwealth’s political and diplomatic community, including UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, RCS Executive Chair Linda Yueh and CGF President Chris Jenkins.
Commonwealth athletes from Samoa, local volunteers from the Samoa Recycling and Waste Management Association and young Commonwealth leaders, including members of the Commonwealth Youth Taskforce, the newly elected Commonwealth Youth Council, the RCS Associate Fellow Network and the RCS Commonwealth Youth Gender and Equality Network (CYGEN) also attended the event. Speakers included UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, RCS Executive Chair Linda Yueh, CGF President Chris Jenkins and Samoa Recycling and Waste Management Association President Marina Keil. In partnership with the Commonwealth Games Federation, the campaign will feature a sustainability relay, bringing together athletes, young people, conservation groups and local communities for weeks of action.
Chris Jenkins, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, said, “We all share a love of sport; the planet is another. We are delighted to be partnering with the RCS and look forward to working closely with our Commonwealth athletes and Games Associations on a new relay to promote sustainability and climate action through sport as part of the countdown to the 2026 Commonwealth Games.” Speaking at the official launch of the RCS Commonwealth Clean Oceans Plastics Campaign, Linda Yueh said, “According to the United Nations, ‘plastic is the most harmful type of marine pollution,’ and the Commonwealth is disproportionately affected as almost half of its members are Small Island Developing States (25 out of 56 countries).
“That is why this RCS Commonwealth Clean Oceans Plastics Campaign is so important, and why we are taking action to prevent plastic waste from entering our waterways and help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14, ‘Life below Water’. We are delighted to be working with local partners across the Commonwealth, including the Commonwealth Games Federation, to achieve this ambitious goal,” she added..
.PACNEWS/INSIDE THE GAMES.
