Welcome to AFRIKA!
The region of Hope, Resiliency and Action. At Youth4Nature Afrika, we are on a mission to raise the Afrikan spirit higher by highlighting and celebrating youth restoration and climate action work happening across the region.
Here, be sure to look out for #Y4NSpotlightSeries, regional briefs, webinars, blogs and other relevant content in the region.
Interested in collaborating on a project/webinar/workshop, or have ideas on meaningful collaborations we can forge or explore? Reach out to our office, t, at hello@youth4nature.org.
INUKA PILOT: WE LAUNCHED
Youth4Nature has LAUNCHED its first-of-a-kind, for-youth-by-youth restoration project-INUKA. The project, which launched on 20 March 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya, seeks to take advantage of experiential learning to deliver training on Nature-based Solutions (NbS) best practices, youth leadership and storytelling and scale-up solutions across five key landscapes in Kenya (Coastal Mangrove ecosystems, Inland wetlands, Semi-Arid, Highland forests and Agro-forestry ecosystems).
INUKA, a Swahili word for “rise up”, taps into youth actions and leadership in NbS by bringing to light the incredible on-the-ground restoration work they do while inculcating International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Global Standard for NbS as an effective tool for assessment, design and verification of NbS.
INUKA’s goals include;
Biodiversity and NbS best practice
Sustainable Livelihoods and Youth Leadership
Community Building and Storytelling
Meet the #Y4NAfrika team that is headed to the Africa Protected Areas Congress this July in Kigali, Rwanda!
Afrikan youth are already leaders for protected areas and need a seat at the table to co-shape policy and implementation processes and decisions. At APAC we will be doing just that - advocating for the role of youth and local and Indigenous communities and hosting events to create space for youth to exchange and add their voices.
Learn more about what we are planning and get to the know the team here! More details coming soon about our events and how you can get involved.
#PhotoChallenge
To inspire action across the region, our #PhotoChallenge takes on the warmth of our inspiring Y4N Global Ambassadors from Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania, Rwanda, Egypt and many other Afrikan nations.
These photos inspire action from all of us, by showcasing the amazing landscapes, environments and actions young people are taking at the local level. And for you, we hope that these equally inspire you!
#PhotoChallenge takes us into the depths of June, with varying experiences, landscapes and pollinators - all towards the goal of sharing the stories of our ecosystems across Afrika, from whereabouts our amazing Global Ambassadors are based.
Afrika team shares with us content of their different landscapes, to learn, get inspired, and imagine a better Afrika
Y4N Afrika ushers us into what April has been for them, while pressing on into their #PhotoChallenge monthly feature. Join them as they celebrate our precious planet, with actions on the streets, impacts and solutions to soil erosion, views from the lake, moments along the coast, and resilience in the deserts.
It is March. And we are at it again. Greeting you with the amazing oozes from our array of landscapes. Afrika, we march on, crafting the story that makes us who we are, from eons before, to eons to come. Take a moment, dive into every single one of these stories, and explore with us across the stunning landscapes featured this month.
February is here with us. A month of love, a month of vibes, a month to continue inspiring the world. For our team in Afrika, we are at it again. Showing our love via our landscapes. Telling you as it is. Because we are all connected, and storytelling is an important part of us and our cultures. We give these to you, as we continue to craft the positive Afrikan story about us, our nature, and inspiration for what we can achieve.
#Y4NSpotlightSeries
The Youth Spotlight Series project seeks to challenge the status quo and offer a platform for youth in the global south to share their stories (as activists, stories of their initiatives or projects, their journeys in community leadership), and have those unique stories profiled and amplified on Youth4Nature’s social platforms, as well as linking the youth action to networks that can support their cause. Initially designed to highlight the youth in Africa, this project is expected to be rolled out to other parts of the global south, with cooperation among the Youth4Nature regional directors and regional programs. The aims are to:
Highlight unrecognized youth working to drive impact in their communities
Incorporate existing exemplary youth action at the grassroots
Listen to their stories and compile it/ profile it
Use their stories to amplify their efforts
Bring in a new perspective to inspire underrepresented youth
Pitch these stories to partners/ local/ national/ regional actors
Create a lasting catalytic change on how youth engagement is done
We were honored to host our guest for the July spotlight - Munduru Mwajuma, Founder and Executive Director at Family Uplift Uganda, to delve deeper into financial literacy and how it contributes to restoration efforts led by women and youth.
Meet Sarah, founder of the Kilimanjaro Project, which mobilises rural communities and international cooperation to create a more just and green world! Watch our short interview with Sarah to learn more about her work in Tanzania and what is up next for her projects!
On the shores of Lake Victoria, Michelle and her younger brother Jeremy set out to co-found Bring Back the L.Victoria. With a vision to restore the lake to it’s pristine condition, Bring Back L.Victoria started as a campaign to rid the lake ecosystem of plastic waste and to create a thriving haven for biodiversity and communities once again. On our April edition of the #Y4NSpotlightSeries, we hosted a
In the month of February 2021, we embarked on our Y4N Spotlight Series. On this feature, we hosted Mr. Chile Kangwa, a youth leader from the southern African country of Zambia, to understand more about his story and his organisation, action for nature. Here is the conversation Chile had with our Regional Director for Africa, Kaluki.
STORYTELLING
African Youth, you are invited to submit your story! For more, click here.
Forced to migrate due to climate change, a family from the Namisindwa district in Uganda navigates the challenges of displacement, land struggles, and governance failures. This personal journey highlights the interconnectedness of climate, biodiversity, and human mobility, and calls for better governance to harness Africa's vast resources for sustainable development. Discover how one individual's experience fuels a determination to create lasting change for future generations.
Growing up on the shores of Lake Victoria, I saw the impacts of climate change firsthand. Driven by my love for the lake and my community, I embarked on a journey to combat environmental degradation. Now, through education, sustainable agriculture, and eco-friendly initiatives, I am working to restore the natural beauty and resilience of our ecosystem while empowering the next generation to be environmental stewards.
The solar panels that were erected on my grandfather's farm in a village near Ben Guerir, Morocco, initiated a new epoch, whereby tradition and innovation actually coexisted. This transition to solar panel energy is a decision brought on by the increasingly precarious situation with climate change and limited resources. Our solar panels are now a symbol of commitment toward sustainability and a bright future. As the Grandfather said, "In every ray of sunlight, we find a new beginning." Learn from our journey of switching our farm to renewable energy and how it changed our approach toward agriculture and the environment.
"How using electricity to cook could save millions of trees from an Axe " is a non fiction story. It is a story based on the reality that is facing people in Kiryandongo currently. It about how we can tap Uganda's growing electricity capacity to mitigate climate change that is facing the residents of my village kinyara I and kiryandongo at large. It is about how fast climate change is happening in my village and the challenges it presents inform of loss of trees to charcoal and firewood. Charcoal and fire are our energy for cooking in this part of the world. This story is also about how residents in my village are not able to access Charcoal and firewood again due to depletion. This story also delves into how residents could tap into Uganda's huge electricity to change the narrative.
In most of the cobalt mining areas, especially in Congo,The people are working in subhuman,degrading conditions using pickaxes and shovels to dig for cobalt in this small-scale mine known as UCK Drain on the outskirts of Kolwezi in the DRC's southern copper belt, where great amounts of cobalt are mined. Although the DRC has more cobalt reserves than the rest of the planet combined, there's no such thing as a "clean" supply chain of cobalt from the country.
My name is Andrew Meitekini Mponin, and I am a passionate advocate for climate resilience and community empowerment, particularly among indigenous pastoralist communities in Kenya. Growing up in Narok County, I witnessed firsthand the challenges posed by climate change, especially in semi-arid regions like the Maasai rangelands. This inspired my work with the Standard Eco Watch initiative, where I help indigenous women become leaders in climate adaptation by training them in sustainable practices like rainwater harvesting and land restoration.
In addition to my environmental advocacy, I have worked as a UN volunteer, promoting vaccination campaigns, digital skills training, and youth engagement in marginalized communities. My focus on grassroots action and leadership development aims to create a future where vulnerable communities can thrive despite climate challenges. By blending local knowledge with modern solutions, I believe we can build a more resilient and sustainable tomorrow.
La gouvernance des AMP devrait se baser sur l’existence de rapport, d’accords ou même de sources vérifications de la conception à l’établissement des instances liés à la gouvernance, à la gestion et à la planification pour asseoir une bonne conservation et donc de leurs capacités à être éligible à la liste verte de l’UICN.
Le Parc National de Kahuzi-Biega est menacé par le braconnage, l’abattage d’arbres et bien d’autres problèmes par les peuples autochtones riverains qui n’ont pas d’autres moyens d’existence/ subsistance. A cela s’ajoutent des activités minières qui se développent dans le Parc et ses environs.
L'histoire parle de la sauvegarde d'un écosystème marécageux à partir de la mise en valeur d'une particularité culturelle propre au village.
My story is on how I became and environmentalist. Human actions damage it, and how individuals can help. The essay focuses on individuals because while I and you may not be able to influence international commitments or government actions, we can change our attitudes toward our environment, which spreads to those around us, and I am confident that if over 7 billion people do the same, we will achieve our goal of saving the planet Earth.
BLOGS
Past WEBINARS
Join Adiza to learn more about what happened at the first ever Africa Protected Areas Congress, and to share in discussions about what we do next for people and for our planet.
Join us in the Youth Pavilion at the Africa Protected Areas Congress on Wednesday, July 20 at 2:00 - 3:30 pm for conversation and exchange about NbS across Afrika!
Meet us in the Youth Pavilion at the Africa Protected Areas Congress for an engaging and interactive discussion with youth who are leading conservation initiatives across Afrika.
Join us on Sunday, September 26, 2021, for a conversation about restoration in Africa with local youth leaders as part of Africa Climate Week 2021! Learn more and register.
Youth projects and organisations are always on the hunt for money! Build your proposal and grant writing skills with Y4N Regional Director for Africa, Kaluki and Y4N Engagement Director, Caroline at our workshop with Kenya Inter-University Environmental Students Association.
In the third and final part of this series, we are taking a practical approach to pollinators and will introduce various actions that citizens can take to understand and help these little friends! Join us to learn more about the “how-to” and to get the glimpse of what you can do for pollinators, wherever you are, with whatever you have. Ranging from…
Nature-based solutions (NbS) are becoming an increasingly contested issue in several policy fora. While many governments, businesses and even big NGOs in the climate space are pushing for swift global implementation and are praising NbS as an important response to climate change, many grassroot NGOs, Indigenous and local communities as well as…
This intergenerational event will bring together expert speakers from NGOs, global governance, multinational corporations, environmental consultancy firms, and other fields to focus on the private sector’s engagement with nature through supply chains and externalities, as well as opportunities for improvement and youth engagement. The event will have a global, intergenerational focus, with voices from various UN global regions.
Join us as we bring together experts to discuss the reality for pollinators in Africa today, and the fate of humans and nature without them.
Y4 Nature y RELLAC-jóven te invitan al webinar: " El poder de tus historias"
Acompáñanos a conocer 5 historias de conservacionistas cuya vida cambió trabajando de cerca con la naturaleza y haciendo eco de su historia.
Viernes 10 de Julio a las 4 pm (hora México)
Registrate en
Meet the #Y4NAfrica Team
Nbs resources
Cities are an extremely valuable aspect of nature-based solutions, as they are not only where majority of the world’s population lives, but where there is the most capacity for building urban adaptation, climate change mitigation, community resilience, and building or greening sustainable urban centres.
UNFCCC COP25 is more complicated than ever. As youth, we face many barriers to participation in these high-level forums, one of the largest of which is an explanation on how it all works. Meaningful climate action attempts to break down barriers like these, which is why we’re sharing some guiding resources on the who, what, how, and why of COP.
This group of four is working on a volunteer basis to direct public attention towards Natural Climate Solutions and to champion the work of others. Their mission is to catalyse global enthusiasm for drawing down carbon by restoring ecosystems: the single most undervalued and underfunded tool for climate mitigation.
An interdisciplinary programme of research, policy advice, and education. Based out of Oxford, the NBS Initiative is a great resource for the latest science, and their policy platform makes it easy to visualize the action different countries are taking on nature-based solutions.
One third of the solution, yet only 1% of the conversation, and 3% of the funding. Nature4Climate is working to change that.