U.S. Climate Activist, Illai Kenney, Urged Young Leaders at the Continental Youth Symposium in Uganda to Unite Globally for Climate Justice
By Edrea Davis – Determined to encourage unity across the African Diaspora, expand their global network of youth working to advance climate justice and to promote the upcoming PreCOP27 Africa Virtual Summit, the HBCU Green Fund sent a small delegation to participate in the 3rd African Peer Review Mechanism Continental Youth Symposium in Kampala, Uganda last week. Themed, African Union @ 20: Repositioning the Youth Agenda for a Transformative Continent, the symposium brought together over 800 attendees from the African continent and Europe.
Speaking during a session at the symposium, Illai Kenney, director of HBCU Green Fund told attendees, “It’s up to young people to advance equity and justice, solve the climate crisis and make the transition to clean energy. To do that, youth of African descent must work together across continents to create solutions. I am here from Washington, DC with my associates in the audience–Jared Sawyer, Jr. from Atlanta, Georgia; Faida Uwase of Rwanda; and Destin Sempijja of Uganda. We’d like connect with you to share ideas. We invite all of you to join our network of youth leaders from over 20 countries united to build a sustainable future for Africa and the Diaspora for our PreCOP27 Africa Virtual Summit.”
The award-winning climate justice advocate continued, “Sustainability is not just a word; it is a lifestyle. It is a culture. It is a thing that we have always done as an African people. It is what I was taught as a member of the African diaspora who’s been dislocated. A person whose ancestors were taken from this continent, brought to another and used to sustain the culture and livelihood of another people. But that’s ok because those skills will sustain us today.”
Hosted by the Government of Uganda, the African Union and the European Union, the goal of the Continental Youth Symposium is to develop recommendations for empowering youth to contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic transformation of their respective countries. Topics included: innovative approaches to sustainable youth employment; role of the youth in transfer of science, technology and innovation; the role of the youth in combatting climate change and promotion of green growth; sexual reproductive health and rights; and food and income security and peace. Participants included top youth leaders and youth Parliamentarians, government representatives and representatives of the private sector.
With offices in Atlanta, GA and the Washington, DC, the HBCU Green Fund is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization working with historically black colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad to advance sustainability and promote student engagement in green initiatives. Titled, A Sustainable Future for Africa and the Diaspora, the HBCU Green Fund’s PreCOP27 Virtual Summit will convene young leaders from the Diaspora September 19-23, 2022 to highlight local climate solutions already underway in Africa, mobilize support for projects, and to help fund African youth participation in COP27 in Egypt in November.
For more information on HBCU Green Fund or to register for the Pre-COP27 Virtual Summit visit www.hbcugreenfund.org to register for the PreCOP27 Virtual Summit go to https://sustainableafricafuture.org.