Climate Action mentorship Session 1-3

After a competitive application and a careful selection, we have 30 mentees out of 615 applicants for our first cohort, which will be entirely virtual.

Cohort 1 mentees are drawn from six countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Somalia. The participants come from different fields with a demonstrated interest and prior engagement in climate action and environmental conservation activities.

For more information about the mentorship programme visit the LINK

Month 1: Introduction to Climate Science

Cohort 1 kicked off on 17 August 2022, focusing on climate science as the basis of the mentorship. It is important for anyone advocating for or implementing climate action and environmental restoration and conservation activities to understand the scientific aspect to make informed proposals, comments and actions.

The entire month concentrated on the introductory and the scientific aspect of climate change.

The live session was facilitated by Dr. Stephanie Gerretssen and climate specialist at, Samuel Anuga.

Stephanie Gerretsen serves as the Clean Seas campaign coordinator for the Advocacy and Communications Division at UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya.

Samuel Anuga is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Environmental Economics in Germany. Samuel also contributes as a Technical Expert for the FAO and UNFCCC. He specializes in Climate Policy and Sustainable Agriculture.

MONTH 2: Policy, Laws and Climate Change

The second month of the mentorship was centred on laws, policies and regulations governing climate adaptation and mitigation and the larger scope of environmental protection from a global perspective. We take keen note of this thematic area as a significant aspect for any community or country in developing climate interventions and making binding and non-binding commitments to address climate change.

The live session was facilitated by Lydia Jung, a climate laywer and Tallash Kantai, a climate and environmental policy consultant.

MONTH 3: Climate Advocacy

The third month of the first cohort focused exclusively on climate advocacy, in particular, the role of youth in advocating for climate action and the various ways of undertaking the advocacy, including potential challenges they are likely to face.

The session is structured into three areas: 1. A systems approach in youth climate advocacy; 2. Climate advocacy from a civil society perspective; and 3. Climate advocacy from the private sector perspective and their challenges.

The session is expected to prepare the youth already engaged in climate activism and advocacy for the real issues in tackling climate change.

The live session was an open session for all young people across east Africa and was facilitated by;

Omesa Mokaya, a climate scientist; Nancy Marangu, a communications strategist and public policy analyst and Sophie Odupoy, a business development professional and the head of public affairs at KOKO Networks.