Thousands of children around the world are joining choristers at Truro Cathedral to urge the world's leaders to do more to tackle climate change.
A special song has been written by Sir Tim Rice, with music by Peter Hobbs, ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall next week. And it's hoped some of the world leaders attending the summit will join the children on a Zoom call to hear their message of Hope.
Co-founder of the Sing2G7 initiative, Esme Page, told Premier she and the Musical Director of Truro Cathedral Choir, Christopher Gray, came up with the idea in January:
"We got together and we're thinking, how is this relevant to our children, it's going to be happening just around the corner. They have so much to say to power, but how do they get to actually reach them? "
The pair had already worked on a song for the families and survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire which became a global hit with more than six thousand people joining to sing. And so they approached Sir Tim Rice, who is a patron of Truro Cathedral.
The song has some very powerful lyrics and a strong message for world leaders about climate change. It includes the line :
"Let nations speak to nation, don't let the others down. Don't forget, they're not so fortunate, or they'll run you out of town."
Esme says there is a lot in the song about leadership and accountability and care for each other. And she says that is particularly relevant and the project is also supporting UNICEF's campaign for global vaccination, called "Give the World a Shot."
"We're singing with choirs in 27 countries and one is in a township in South Africa. Now, if you ask our choristers, how many of you have got two or more members of your family vaccinated? Every single one can put their hand up. But if you asked that same question of the South African choir, not a single child can."
On Wednesday 9th June, thousands of children around the world will join together to sing as part of a Zoom call and it's hoped some of the world leaders will join them to hear their message :
"We're inviting the G7 leaders to pop into the zoom, and to show that they want to listen to children by taking a couple of minutes to greet them and to hear them. And if they can't, for timezone reasons, send a video message. Let's just pray into that, who will be the first leader to decide to pay these 25,000 children the attention that they deserve."
Esme says it's vital to listen to the voices of young people on the big issues such as climate change :
"I've heard this phrase - courageous advocacy. And that's something that I really see in children, they want to speak up about things they're passionate about. They don't have the blinkers. But I do feel that they're not heard enough. And that's what we're trying to achieve here."