The Youth Climate Champions (YCC) programme, which was launched at an event in Braamfontein recently, saw young and old come together to talk about how to take youth action beyond mere tokenism.
The programme aims to capacitate, support and facilitate collaboration between young people and youth organisations interested in climate change.
Planned activities include climate boot camps, the establishment of a steering committee, a podcast series, social media activist training, internships, and training modules.
The programme was launched under the banner of the Climate Ambition to Accountability Project (CAAP), a partnership between the World Wildlife Fund South Africa, the South African Climate Action Network and the Institute for Economic Justice, co-funded by the EU.
The rationale behind the programme is that young people in South Africa operate at the margins of climate policy processes and engagement has been largely fragmented. Because of this, youth have limited access to resources, knowledge, expertise, and opportunities to get involved.
As part of the project’s activities, the programme will empower and train youth leaders – particularly those from disadvantaged communities – to ensure more meaningful youth engagement in climate action and policy processes.
Among the coming activities is a boot camp which will see 25 young people come together to learn how to take meaningful action.
The programme will include an intensive session on climate change, its impacts and how this affects young people, interspersed with fun activities and outings.
The camp will begin with a virtual preparatory event from September 26 - 30, followed by a five-day, in-person event in Gauteng from October 3-7. Participation is open to anyone with an interest in climate action, and who are between the ages of 18-30.
Applications can be made here. If you’re unable to attend the boot camp, there are several other ways to get involved:
You can help climate organisations understand youth climate issues in South Africa by completing the Youth Climate Champions questionnaire here.
If you are interested in youth climate activities, you can sign up to the Youth Climate Champions Network here, or if you are interested in climate work being done by civil society organisations, you can sign up to the Climate Ambition to Accountability newsletter.
For questions on the Youth Climate Champions Programme, contact Ivanna Katz at ikatz@wwf.org.za.
Current Affairs