In April 2023, a new environmental education podcast will be launched in Benin. Entitled “Children of the Earth”, the first episodes will be broadcast exclusively on Code Nature.
For her birthday on April 13, 2023, Odette Ateyiho, in her thirties, wants to take another step in her commitment to environmental education. “Jfeel that we don’t involve children enough in the battle for environmental protection. Yet they are the ones called upon to take over. As a mother, I ask myself questions“, challenges Odette.
A podcast where parents talk
One of the questions this environmental education enthusiast asks herself is: What children will we leave on this planet?“. And one of his answers is the podcast “The Children of the Earth”, whose the trailer was relayed on social networks March 24, 2023. As an environmentalist, Odette will not answer questions that children have about phenomena that even adults have trouble understanding.
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Its method is rather original: it calls on people who are better suited to provide the right answers to children, such as parents with a mastery of science, or technicians who are constantly in contact with the communities and who know the right answers. to give. ” Many friends often refer these questions to me because I am an environmentalist and journalist. But that doesn’t make me the best person to respond to children. So, in this podcast, I am getting help from other parents who have better expertise in their field, so that together we can provide the right answers to our children.“, she explains.
For the little ones… and the big ones
Contrary to what one might think, this ten-minute podcast is not just for kids, but for anyone who wants to understand the basics of how the Earth, our shared home, works. ” We want to share the questions of children, but also those of parents. We want to make every home a place to discuss the environment, because the podcast can be listened to as a family. Feedback and dissatisfaction related to the answers provided in the episodes will lead us to humbly return to the content. We do not claim to provide perfect solutions“, explains this mother of three children.
“Les Enfants de la Terre” will be broadcast next April. This podcast will help the little ones to become familiar with climatic moods, to feel the world in all its dimensions and to be able to interpret what surrounds them. It will also stand out for its fight against misconceptions related to science and for its help in understanding climate change in simple and accessible language.
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Odette and the children
Originally from Dangbo, in the Ouémé valley, Odette Ateyiho holds a master’s degree in environmental sciences. Former journalist for The Daily in Benin, she very early turned to environmental activism. This is what led her to moderate Yann Arthur-Bertrand’s “60 solutions to climate change” photo exhibition, an initiative of the French Development Agency as a prelude to COP 21, for several month.
Apart from the space of the French Institute of Cotonou, the exhibition was also presented at the Lycée Montaigne and in certain colleges of Cotonou. ” During this period, the children found a field of interest. They come to discover photos, acquire knowledge, find a great play space to express their creativity, then concern themselves with the protection of nature. Although they are more interested in the images than in the message, the desire to answer all the questions present on the game sheet leads them to want to better understand the meaning of the photos.“, she testifies in her activity report.
Former technical assistant in Water, Hygiene and Sanitation for the NGO ALCRER, Odette now has the mission of helping children to commit to the planet.
