Leading up to COP27, the Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week, LACCW 2022, and Africa Climate Week, ACW 2022, convened thousands of stakeholders to engage in solution-oriented discussions on climate action. ACW 2022 brought the voice of youth to the conversation with a session dedicated to building capacity for youth leadership.
 

RCC Kampala and RCC Lomé, UN Climate Change Regional Collaboration Centres in Africa, partnered to provide a platform for youth and stakeholders to share recommendations on capacity building for youth leadership in climate action at each of the two Climate Weeks. The partnership connected Impulsouth, a Fundación Avina IDRC-funded programme, and the UN University Pan African Cooperation and Educational Technologies (PACET) programme with the RCCs to engage youth in implementation.

The ACW 2022 youth session in Libreville, Gabon, discussed ‘Capacity Building for Youth Climate Action and Entrepreneurial Leadership in Africa’ and highlighted:

• A need to rethink capacity building and balance investment in youth participation between policy discussions and on-ground climate action
• Increased demand for advanced modules on policy aspects and focused capacity building approaches
• Practical and localized approaches that analyse national climate strategies and develop aligned projects that can easily gain government support

During the event, the Africa Group of Negotiators Expert Support showcased a practical approach to building capacity for NDC implementation with sub-regional NDC delivery labs. The Africa Youth Initiative on Climate Change and High-level Champions Team shared their collaboration to develop the 2022 Green Book. The Book is a compilation of key youth-led actions that contribute to meeting the Paris Agreement goals. These partners also launched a youth pavilion at COP27 to open space for youth to engage with leaders and investors. 

Thanks to all our panellists at the ACW 2022 youth session:

• Dr George Wamukoya from the Africa Group of Negotiators Expert Support
• Jabri Ibrahim of the UN High Level Champions Youth Engagement Team
• Olumide Idowu of the Africa Youth Initiative on Climate Change
• Dr Zeinabou Maman Noura representing alumni of the Impulsouth programme 
• Roberta Ianna who serves as Co-Chair of the Paris Committee on Capacity Building

See the full discussion on the Impulsouth YouTube Channel. 

You are welcome to join the third session of the series at the PCCB Hub at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh on 9 November 2022.