The effects of climate change, increasing rates of youth unemployment, the lack of equal access to quality education, and the impact of violent conflicts throughout the continent need to be effectively tackled through increased international cooperation.
Africa’s role in addressing global catastrophic risks needs to be guided by the continent’s emerging youth demographic, coupled with the ever-changing global dynamic.
This forum, co-hosted with the Global Challenges Foundation, will be a platform for the re-envisioning of global governance to tackle the most urgent risks facing our generation.
Ms. Wanjira Mathai
Wanjira Mathai is the Senior Advisor for the Partnerships for Women Entrepreneurs in Renewables (wPOWER) where she leads global advocacy and strategy. The wPOWER Hub promotes the prominence of women’s leadership in addressing energy poverty and climate change by bringing renewable energy to 3.5 million women in East Africa, Nigeria and India. She previously directed International Affairs at the Green Belt Movement (GBM), which was founded by her mother, the late Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai. Ms. Mathai now chairs the board of the legacy-focused Wangari Maathai Foundation. She also sits on the boards of the Green Belt Movement, Wangari Maathai Institute, the World Resources Institute, and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). She is an advisory council member of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, co-chair (with the Former Prime Minister of Sweden) of the Global Restoration Council, and a member of the Earth Charter International Council.
Mr Deon Shekuza
Deon is a Namibian youth activist who, for close to 5 years, has been passionately working to promote environmental protection and socio-economic development through youth empowerment. Mr Shekuza was the official Namibian Youth Delegate to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP22) in Marrakesh, Morocco, and is now leading a Southern Africa youth climate change coalition for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process. Mr Shekuza was also a founding member of the Namibian Youth on Renewable Energy (NAYORE) non-governmental organisation and serves as their first Director.
Professor Coleen Vogel
Professor Coleen Vogel is a climatologist by training and has undertaken research in climate change, climate vulnerability and adaptation, with a particular focus on disaster risk reduction and climate variability. She was one of the key contributors to the writing of the Green and White Papers on Disaster Management and also was a major contributing author for the Disaster Management Act. She was one of the Chapter Lead Authors of the Africa Chapter for the IPCC 4th Assessment Report and was also an author of the team for the Synthesis Report for Policy Makers of the 4th IPCC Assessment Report. This team, together with Al Gore, received a Nobel Peace Prize. Coleen was a Chapter Author on Human Security for the 5th IPCC assessment report. She has also been Chair and Vice Chair of international committees (for example, the International Human Dimensions Programme, now known together with other international programmes as Future Earth). She has received an international award, the Burtoni Award, for her work on climate change advocacy and science of climate change adaptation.
Ms Vivian Adhiambo Onano
Vivian is the Vice-Chair of the Global Youth Empowerment Fund Board of Trustees. She is also the Youth Ambassador at Water Aid and a Youth Advisor to the United Nations (UN) Women Civil Society Advisory Group. Ms Onano is a blogger for the Huffington post and respected speaker, who has presented at forums such as the UN General Assembly, Nexus Global Youth Summit, and the Clinton Global Initiative. She has been featured by the New African Woman Magazine as one of the “30 under 30: Faces Changing Africa Now” and profiled by Forbes Woman Africa as “Ones to Watch”.
Ms Luanda Mpungose
Luanda is the Programme Officer for the Governance and Foreign Policy programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs. Having worked as a youth advocate for the past six years, Ms Mpungose has acted as the World Humanitarian Summit Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Focal Point with the United Nations Major Group for the Children and Youth (UN MGCY), and represented the youth of the region at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey. She is currently a member of the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) Youth Panel, and was most recently part of a 12 person group brought to Copenhagen to consult on DANIDA’s programmes for the future.
Moderated by:
Mr Kenneth Diole
Kenneth is a Youth Policy Committee member at the South African Institute of International Affairs, Director at a youth-led advocacy organisation, Innovation for Empowerment and Development (IFED). He is a TEDx speaker, 2015 Model United Nations Debating World Champion, an independent consultant and social commentator through various South African media groups.
Please register your attendance on the link below.
Date: Monday, 27 March 2017
Time: 16h00 – 18h00
Venue: SAIIA Hall, Jan Smuts House, East Campus, Wits University, Johannesburg
RSVP: To register please click HERE
*Please note that space is limited
