Africa-Europe Week : Exploring the critical partnership between youth and cities to accelerate climate action
As part of the Africa-Europe Week (14 -18 February), the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) secretariat, the Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA) secretariat, with the support of the Covenant of Mayors for the Mediterranean (CoM Med/Clima Med) hosted a session entitled, “Youth and Cities vs Climate Change: How cities, local organisations and youth can team up to fight climate change”.
The youth-focused session gathered more than 135 African mayors, youth-led civil society organisations (CSOs) and representatives from the European Union. They engaged in a candid conversation about how they can join forces to take action against the climate crisis, focusing on developing partnerships between local governments in Africa and local youth-led CSOs to combat climate change and advance the clean energy transition. They also discussed the strategic priorities and future perspectives of a more robust and people-centred Africa-EU partnership, which will bring added value and concrete benefits for all.
Ms Pato Kelesitse moderated the session with great enthusiasm and success.
The CoM Med initiative invited two representatives of its signatory cities:
Anis Jegham, the newly elected Mayor of Hammam-Sousse, in Tunisia, explained how essential it is as a new local administration to build on the work of the past administration to ensure continuity of the relationship with CSOs and its activists to maintain the successes. And Adnane Ghazi, Head of the Planning and Sustainable Development Department in Oujda Municipality, Morocco, presented the city’s approach in enabling local civil society members, youth, and cultural associations to get involved at different levels through consultations in total equity between women and men. Ms Cécile Gillot (in charge of the cooperation between Oujda and Lille in France on managing sustainable energy projects, culture and youth mobility) and Mourad Arabi (president of Yes Green l’Association) accompanied him to talk about the North-South cooperation programme with Lille.
Honourable guests and speakers included :
Paula Pinho, Director: Just Transition – Consumers Energy Efficiency and Innovation at the European Commission, highlighted the role of youth at COP26, where younger delegates called for a faster change to fight against climate change and safeguard the planet. She said, “youth have the energy and readiness to change behaviours – an energy that is crucial to adapt to and mitigate climate change effects.”
Carla Montesi, Director: Green Deal, Digital Agenda at the European Commission, described the youth as agents of change, saying, “the youth are our partners for the green transition and can boost the work of municipalities.”
The Lord Mayor of Dodoma, Prof Davis Mwamfupe, presented a programme in his city that encourages the youth to get involved in tree planting campaigns and stressed the need to give them more voice and more space for decisions.
CoM SSA signatory, Mayor of Bangui, Emile-Gros-Raymond Nakombo, explained his journey with CoMSSA and the SEACAP process that was validated by the government and the Covenant.
Mr Olumide Idowu, Executive Director of the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change in Lagos, pointed some of the challenges facing his CSO, such as the issue of transparency and accountability when engaging local governments in their work.
Environment and Climate Activist in Ghana, Ms Ellen Lindsey Awuku, described the CSO platform they have on SDGs, which offers an opportunity to interact with politicians and engage more with projects and ideas.
Director of the Organisation for Environment and Sustainable Development in Togo, Mr Joseph Kogbe, outlined how the implementation of a formal partnership framework between local governments and NGOs facilitates collaboration.
Founder and Executive Director at One World International in Malawi, Mr Stephen Chiunjira, explained the disjuncture between the informal and formal sector, where the “formal” sector imposes decisions on the informal one.
A representative from the Lake Victoria Region Local Authorities Cooperation’s (LVRLAC) Uganda chapter in Entebbe, Mr Mercy Sebuliba, elaborated on initiatives this organisation is implementing, such as the climate change competitions in schools.
CoM SSA signatory, Mayor of Lusaka, Ms Chilando Chitangala, described the green schools initiative her team is implementing, and the importance of partnerships, financial and human support.
Local governments are committed to partnering with the youth to harness their passion for building a more resilient world. During the event, African leaders shared how they involve the youth in their local government.
Mayors and representatives from CSOs were enthusiastic and energetic in their involvement, which saw the session ending with a fun set of rapid-fire questions on burning issues. The interventions shared during the event showed that although there are challenges to developing partnerships between local governments and CSOs, both parties are committed to building more resilient cities.
View the full English and French recording here.