African Youths To Meet In Kenya On Climate Change
Over 70 young men and women from 37 African countries will gather in Nairobi, Kenya on August 16 and 17 to discuss challenges and good practices of climate-induced mobility, as well as opportunities for youth engagement in migration, environment and climate change on the continent.
The youth engagement forum – hosted by the International Organisation for Migration, IOM, would help the youngsters to develop key messages for the ‘Global Youth Statement’ ahead of the Africa Climate Summit and Africa Climate Week to be hosted by Kenya and the African Union, AU, in Nairobi next month.
These key messages are also to give young people a veritable opportunity to make their voices heard at the COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, UAE, in November.
“The upcoming youth forum will not only be an opportunity for African youth leaders to contribute to policy making processes, but also an avenue to instigate life-changing youth collaboration for local and global action on climate mobility,” a young climate advocate from UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change, and Youth Convention, YOUNGO, Rose Kobusinge, said.
The forum aims to strengthen the voices of young people on climate mobility and empower advocates on climate and migration.
Interactive sessions would hold to build the capacity of youths to speak about migration, environment, and the climate change nexus. They would equally offer the chance to review successful and innovative contributions by youths to address challenges and identify opportunities for human mobility in the context of climate change for replication on the continent and the globe at large.
Kobusinge added: “Anyone can become a climate migrant today or tomorrow. Vulnerable communities are facing massive climate-related displacements and losses that could be avoided through planned, safe, and regular migration and relocation. That is why I push myself to raise awareness on the issues arising from climate change-linked mobility, but also the opportunities it brings.”
“IOM is committed to giving young people increased access to platforms and forums that allow them to influence the policy decisions that will affect their future lives and livelihoods,” IOM Regional Director, East and Horn of Africa, Mohammed Abdiker, said.
“The youth engagement forum is a precursor to the continental expansion of the Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change, KDMECC-AFRICA, the first regional policy framework that addresses the climate change and human mobility nexus. We will be integrating the priorities and perspectives that the youth will develop during this forum into the KDMECC-AFRICA and collaborate with them to move the commitments from paper to practice,” he added
Guardian/Shakirat Sadiq
