Thank you for this world

November 6, 2024

What do young people think about the state of our world in the shadow of climate change?

Rezi Dgebuadze is a youth climate ambassador in Georgia and part of Generation Nexus, a UNDP regional network of youth climate, peace and security activists.

"Nature doesn't fit into our schedule," he notes in this video. The 18-year-old shares his reflections, fears and hopes for the future with a fellow youth activist.

This video collaboration was inspired by the excerpt of the poem "Thanks" by W.S. Merwin (see below). Rezi proposed this film as his visualization of that poem, and filmed it on a Go Pro.

The film had its offline premiere on 3 October 2024 in Tbilisi, at an event gathering youth climate ambassadors from around Georgia. After a Q&A with the director, the discussion continued with youth presenting various climate initiatives across Georgia, from Kakheti to Ajara, focusing on environmental education, raising awareness, and encouraging behaviour change. These local projects are already making a difference by engaging communities and fostering greater climate consciousness.

with the animals dying around us
taking our feelings we are saying thank you
with the forests falling faster than the minutes
of our lives we are saying thank you
with the words going out like cells of a brain
with the cities growing over us
we are saying thank you faster and faster
with nobody listening we are saying thank you
thank you we are saying and waving
dark though it is
W.S. Merwin, excerpted from “Thanks”