World Environment Day 2019

30th May 2019

For this year’s World Environment Day, UN Environment will be calling on everyone, everywhere to come together to Beat Air Pollution, which is now the biggest public health crisis on the planet.

We want to work with our partners in education and youth to take this message into the classroom, campus and community to raise awareness and take action around air pollution, which causes asthma and other respiratory illnesses in young people.

We would like to beat last year’s record and get thousands of events organized with our education partners and we hope that the materials and activations will inspire you to get your sleeves up and ready to join in! Below are a range of suggestions that you could consider in advance of June 5.

1. Make June 5 a Beat Air Pollution Day:

a. Bring in an “Air-expert”: Bring in a local air pollution expert to talk about air quality and its impact in the community during either a school assembly or lecture to raise awareness around this issue.

b. Teach it: Ask teachers and professors to teach a whole day on air quality for World Environment Day. Check out this list of Air Quality-related lecture notes and teaching resources. Explore the materials to discuss questions with students such as:

• What are the biggest sources of air pollution?
• How many different sources of air pollution are they exposed to on their way to school/university?
• How can they reduce or avoid these sources of pollution?
• How do they personally contribute to air pollution?
• What can they do to reduce their own “dirty air-print”?

c. Walk / Bike to School Day: Consider implementing a “Walk / Bike to School Day” to encourage leaving the car at home.

d. Tree planting for air and wildlife: Investing in biodiversity can help clean the air and provide habitats for wildlife. Host a tree-planting event on World Environment Day and ask students to bring in seedlings for their own plants in an effort to replenish this valuable resource.

2. Then, register your event online: Go to the World Environment Day site to get all the help you need and register your event so we can see what you are doing online and put you on our real-time map. All those that register will be awarded a World Environment Day participation certificate by UN Environment.

3. Finally, show your support on social: This year, we want to inspire millions of people to share their concern about air quality by getting involved in the #BeatAirPollution social media campaign. We will be going all out with the campaign on May 22. It’s quick to do and will take just 3 minutes to show your support, all you need to do is:
• First, put a mask (or scarf, wrap) around your face / mouth
• Take a selfie
• Then share your commitment as to what you will do to take action on air quality in your own life
• Then share it using the hashtag #beatairpollution on your social media channels tagging three others to do the same

If you would like further feedback or guidance around any of these suggested ideas, or if you’d like to explore alternative options, please click here or contact unenvironment-yea@un.org

ENDS