Across the globe, young people are stepping up as never before to confront the climate crisis. This spring, the Climate Museum is excited to present a new platform for creative youth leadership, recognizing the hunger youth have to engage with climate action.

On March 16, the Museum kicks off the first annual Climate Speaks, a citywide spoken word training program and competition for high school students, presented in partnership with the New York City Department of Education Office of Sustainability and with special thanks to Urban Word NYC.

Climate Speaks includes workshops, trainings, mentoring, a written competition, and live auditions, with 16 finalists taking the stage of the Apollo Theater on Friday, June 14. For program details, visit climatespeaks.org.

Young people deserve better than climate chaos and they know it. The report last fall from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sounded a new level of alarm, intensifying the call to transform our society and build toward a more equitable, climate-safe future. Though the window is shrinking, we still have time to act.

Youth imagination and vision have a unique capacity to inspire us all. Join us in listening to those whose future is at stake.

All high school students in the New York Metropolitan area are eligible to register for Climate Speaks. Please forward this to anyone you know who fits that description! The final performance at the Apollo Theater on Friday, June 14 is open to the general public; we’ll let you know as soon as tickets go on sale.

We are deeply grateful to our partners who are hosting Climate Speaksworkshops across the city: DreamYard, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Sunset Park High School, and Urban Word NYC.