Wednesday 13 September 2017

ASSAR Ghana Participates in the 2nd Ghana Youth Conference on Climate Change and Sustainable Development

By Rahinatu Sidiki Alare (ASSAR)
     
''What is the role of the youth in the global climate change discourse?''
 
''How can our voice be heard in climate change negotiations and decision making processes?''
 
''How can the youth leapfrog over the opportunities that climate change presents to contribute in achieving the SDGs in Ghana?”
 
These and many more questions were deliberated on during the 2nd Ghana Youth Conference on Climate Change and Sustainable Development (GYCCC-SD) which took place on the 22nd – 24th August, 2017 at the British Council, Accra. The three-day event brought together 200 young people across the country to learn about the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Agenda and the role of youth in actively contributing to their successful implementation in Ghana. The Conference was organized by the Greener Impact International (GII) in collaboration with the National Youth Authority (NYA), the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP).
Prof. Chris Gordon 
The Adaptation at Scale in the Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR) Ghana team led by Prof Chris Gordon, the Director of the Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies (IESS) and ASSAR Ghana Country Lead (who presented on the Background and Evidence of Climate Change in Ghana) shared their research experiences in climate change related issues in the semi-arid regions of Ghana.
Prince Ansah, a Technical Officer on the ASSAR Ghana project was also a guest speaker and he presented on ASSAR Ghana’s research activities and ways of making research findings impactful and useful-Research into-Use (RiU). Representatives from Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) also presented on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and practical initiatives that could be carried out by the youth.


 Key personalities at the Conference included Ms Christine Evans –Klock, UN Residence Coordinator in Ghana, Mr. Seth Osafo, a climate change expert and a Legal Advisor to the African Group of Negotiators in the ongoing United Nation Negotiation on climate change, the spokesperson to the former president of Ghana and also the UN Envoy on climate change (His Excellency John Agyekum Kuffuor), Mr. Frank Agyekum  and Kasim Gawusu-Toure, the Director of Greener Impact International as well as the West Africa Regional coordinator on African Youth Initiative on Climate Change.
A youth position paper was developed and a Ghana National Youth Alliance on Agenda 2030 was also launched with the youth motivated and challenged to take up initiatives to contribute to the successful implementation of the SDGs for the benefit of their communities and the nation at large.
The Conference was co-moderated by Miss Rahinatu Sidiki Alare who is also a Technical officer of the ASSAR project.

Rahinatu S. Alare
 
 


Group Photograph of Conference Participants


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