The present brief delves into the purpose of the Intergenerational Ambassadors of Environmental Sustainability (IAES) / Ambassadeurs Intergénérationnels pour la Durabilité Environnementale (A.I.D.E.), a program owned and carried out diligently by Sustainably Greening Africa (SGAfrik) under the sponsorship of Intergenerational Climate Microgrants Fund. The programme aims to build strong intergenerational collaboration and synergy for climate resilience, sustainability, intergenerational inclusion and transformation. This programme is designed to hold policymakers accountable, raise ambition on equitable and fair climate and environmental action, and cultivate youth leadership rooted in community power and cohesion. It outlines the program’s core activities, such as workshops, seminars, community projects, and awareness and reforestation campaigns, designed to empower individuals of different age groups to become effective environmental advocates.
This program was carried out in three stages:
- Mainly, 25 children and 30 parents, grandparents and mentors were trained on May 11, 2024, at Foyer des Jeunes in Amadahomé, Lomé, Togo, on Climate Justice advocacy techniques (#climateadvocacy). This training consisted of equipping and strengthening the capacity of these children and parents/mentors to become agents of change and prepare them to properly assume their role as Intergenerational Ambassadors for Environmental Sustainability (IAES).
- Then, on Saturday, June 01, 2024, which falls on the National Day of Trees in Togo, the participants eagerly took part in the #ClimateSaturday day where they led an awareness and reforestation campaign at a village near Hahotoe, in the Plateaux region and the city of Kara, in the northern part of the country. Over 50 persons, including the village residents, were engaged on that day to plant over 300 trees. The testimony of the local representative of the village can be found here.
- Finally, on Saturday, July 06, 2024, the 3 Intergenerational Ambassadors for Environmental Sustainability were selected following a competition that kept all its promises in Lomé, Togo.
The winners of this edition are:
- In the first place, Bokonam Samtou (mentor) and Simliwa Adeline (mentee) from Kara, the northern region with their project under the theme on Agroecological Awareness, entitled “Involving vegetable growers in the Kozah 1 commune in good agroecological practices: the use of composting ''.
- In the second place, Djaka Kokou Gerardo Mathias with his father Djaka Yaovi Mawusi coming from Lomé (southern part of the country) with their project under the theme of Awareness, entitled “Advocacy and Creation of garbage cans for solid waste paper and plastic waste in schools in the canton of Agoè-Nyivé and advocacy”.
- In the third place, Amana Aninam (mentor) and Dossou Ayawa Célestine (mentee) coming from the plateaux region with their project under the theme of Agroecological Awareness, entitled “Promoting the adoption of agroecological practices: the case of the use of bio liquid fertiliser on productivity in vegetable and cereal farming”.
These first 3 winning teams (laureates) received prizes to motivate them to continue the climate advocacy work and the remaining participants were provided with certificates of participation. In addition to that, the laureates are benefiting from the technical support of the Sustainably Greening Africa (SGAfrik) for the execution of their social project during one year of mandate. They are also provided with a training voucher from Sustainably Greening Africa (SGAfrik) for continuous reinforcement of their skills during their one year of mandate.
Our three pairs of winners have begun their advocacy mandates in their respective communities across the country specifically in the Maritime region, plateaux region and Kara region (northern part) and we are following up to provide them with technical support and advice as needed.
Thanks to the Urban Movement Innovative (UMI) Fund, Our Kids Climate, and Parents for Future, Global for supporting this initiative.
To see more about this year's program, kindly visit our social media following the links below: Facebook