Postcards for the Planet: a joint mission made visible

The world needs us — together! What now is the intro of an amazing impact video is in fact a joint mission manifested in the Postcards for the Planet initiative. This project was developed in the 2025 second Anhalt University-led COIL cohort by South African, Tanzanian, Ghanaian, and German students, and then further developed and piloted by the next, third-semester cohort.

The students’ goal was to showcase climate action around the globe to display their connected effort and feel as a joint movement — inviting us all to join!

Integrated into our Enviro Kids ICLP — Interconnected Climate Leadership Programme — students had the task to develop a climate advocacy initiative that would urge policymakers to engage in more climate action. However, the initiatives had to be interculturally developed in their diverse teams and must be implementable in all their home countries. Challenge accepted!

Ultimately, our program aims to empower students to raise their voices and discover their ability for change through communication. The second cohort’s winning initiative, “Postcards for the Planet,” showcases the success of such intercultural teamwork.

From Apartheid-era protest to climate advocacy

Their idea is derived from the South African movement during the Apartheid, where postcards were sent to policymakers, flooding their mailboxes and peacefully urging them to take measures. The adapted idea aims to showcase climate themes like water scarcity and biodiversity loss with a QR code to scan for more information and send the cards to policymakers. With the idea to use recycled cards and involve community leaders for joint events to fill and collect them, the initiative shall be sustainable and easily accessible for everyone.

While the second cohort was conceptualizing the idea, the next semester’s students had the task to refine and pilot the initiative for the Anhalt University Learning Festival and the Climate Week at SAUT University Mwanza. The students adapted the motives to showcase joint climate efforts, building through design and visualization a community driven by joint values for protecting nature.

At the Climate Week, students and even teachers jointly drew by hand their climate motivations and daily initiatives taken. We then took some of the cards home, while some are still displayed at SAUT University. For the Learning Festival, students developed motives for a RESO printing workshop using a Japanese technique with sustainable rice colors. Both designs were displayed together with the impact video at the Learning Festival, showing the connection between the events.

At Enviro Kids, we are now working on getting the initiative on our webpage to sustain the message. Perhaps witnessing the next great climate movement.