These past weeks, for the second year in a row, a crop of parents, friends, and families have been tuning in to MBC to watch their loved ones arguing in their mother tongue about the pros and cons of a number of topics related to Climate Change.

As with last year, when the first edition of the Deba Klima took place and was aired on national television, the debate competition is undeniably contributing to national awareness around Climate Change, not least because those concepts are being explained in Kreol.

This topic is famously hard to comprehend, let alone explain. Yet, the whole premise of our response to Climate Change depends on everyone's comprehension of what’s at stake – from individuals to Corporates to Governments - and what efforts are required to reduce the trajectory of Climate Change. However straightforward the notion of reducing greenhouse emissions may seem on paper, the reality is much more complex.

A vital part of the work depends on every stakeholder understanding their role in the chain. It also depends on more intangible things, such as how we view the world, its resources, and our place in it. That’s why awareness is fundamental to the issue of Climate Change. 

At MCB, we believe the young generation has a fundamental role in this fight. After all, sustainability is all about future generations, as the UN’s official definition so aptly puts it: “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

It’s essential to their comprehension of the topic that the youth of Mauritius make the subject theirs as they dissect, discuss, and debate it like they’ve been doing throughout the Deba Klima. Doing so in their mother tongue has undoubtedly brought home the concepts more powerfully and effectively. After all, it’s their voices that need to be heard as they get ready to bear the brunt of Climate Change. 

As a responsible bank, we believe it is our duty to raise awareness on the matter while we support and finance our stakeholders and clients in their ecological transition. That’s why we partnered with a world-renowned specialist on environmental geopolitics and a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to help us in our mission of creating awareness around the topic of Climate Change.

 Each year, Francois Gemenne has met with teachers and students to help them prepare for the debate competition. When they, in turn, relay those concepts to the rest of the population, our young friends are making themselves the ambassadors of their own future. 

The Deba Klima has turned into a great moment of national pride. May it be long-lived.