Presentation given by Christine Ogola, Programs Officer Gender and Climate, YWCA-Kenya, as part of the NAP Global Network's Peer Learning Summit on Vertical Integration in the NAP Processes, held in Nairobi, Kenya, from October 11 to 13, 2023.
2. ABOUT US
We endeavor to be the leading non-profit making organization in Kenya that through volunteer membership,
develops the leadership and collective power of girls and women, to achieve social, political, and economic
empowerment on its Christian faith.
We Envision an inclusive society in Kenya where women and girls actualize their potential and live a fulfilled life.
YWCA Kenya is one of the leading women organizations in Kenya implementing programs guided by the following
thematic areas
Leadership
Development
Education Health
Social and
economic
empowerment
Peace building and
conflict resolution
Climate change
and environmental
degradation
Advocacy for
women and girls
right
Physical space for
women and girls
Social Protection.
3. How YWCA Kenya Works
YWCA Kenya works through
programmatic interventions
as stipulated in its Strategic
Plan Goal 1 (Programs)
YWCA Kenya serve to amplify
its beliefs through the various
interventions in accordance
with its objectives in the
strategic plan Goal 2
(Advocacy) encouraging
partnership to create a critical
mass lobbying for youth
issues
YWCA Kenya advocates for
inclusion of youth, YWDs
in all its programmatic
intervention extending the
mandate to climate
response by ensuring the
sustainable interventions
for the environment and
biodiversity.
Adoption of Savings and
Investment model among the
youth group to build the
culture of saving and loaning
within the group to ensure
growth within the affordable
means.
4. CLIMATE ACTION PROJECTS
The “Integrated Approach to Reduce inequalities for an Inclusive Climate Resilience
Society in Kenya”
The project is implemented in Kisumu, Mombasa and Nairobi targeting the youth in Urban
slums with a special focus for the inclusion of Youth with Disabilities and Women.
The overall goal of the project being to Empowered youth actively participate in
promoting justice and peace towards ending poverty.
The project tarted to achieve the following outcomes include;
• Youth are engaged in policy advocacy and decision making,
• Youth are seen as agents of change in the local communities
• Youth have coping mechanisms to address individual and societal challenges
5. Urgent Action is needed for Climate
Change
Youth are engaged in policy advocacy and decision
making
• Youth are championing policy and legal environment
by engaging policy makers to enact and enforce
climate friendly policies and bills.
The policies contributed on by YWCA Kenya youth
groups include;
• Kisumu County Climate Change Act 2020,
• Mombasa Waste management Act
• National Determined Contributions (NDCs) updating
process.
• Drafting a position paper from LCOY meeting to be
forwarded to YOUNGO.
• Mombasa fiscal paper review process pushing for
the inclusion for budget for Persons with Disability.
6. CLIMATE ACTION PROJECTS
• The “Deepening marginalized African Youth, Women, and
Indigenous People’s Engagement in Post Paris Climate
Dialogues Process”
• Aimed at enhancing the capacity of African Youth, Women and
other marginalized communities to actively engage in post
Paris climate dialogues.
Project Models
• - Partnership and collaborative approaches
• Community learning and adaptability
• Art for Change
Outcome Areas: Policy influencing lobbying and advocacy, Public
Awareness, capacity strengthening, people mobilization and
momentum building and institutional capacity development
Long Term Outcome: Improved service delivery to youth,
women, and IPLCs by government and private sector in
addressing challenges of climate change
7. Urgent Action is needed for Climate Change –
Policy Influencing, lobbying and advocacy.
• Capacity Building and awareness creation – Use of social
media, workshops and conferences – LCOY
• A joint youth, women and indigenous consultation that
contributed to the amendments on climate change act 2016
• The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry in
collaboration with other partners held an engagement
workshop, for Youths networks/organizations for the National
Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP III). The measure
recognized youth as important stakeholders who offer valuable
contributions in championing Kenya’s green and climate
resilient development agenda.
• YWCA team participated in the youth engagement NCCAP III
workshop and provided inputs to the recent launched NCAAP
III 2023- 2027.
8. Urgent Action is needed for Climate Change –
Policy Influencing, lobbying and advocacy.
• 3 regional dialogues to advance inputs on to third generation
climate change action plan (NCCAP III):
- Frontier County development council ,
- Jumuiya za kaunti ya Pwani and
- Lake Region Economic block.
• Seven priority areas with 30 actions;
1. Disaster Risk management – Floods and drought management
2. Food and nutrition security
3. Water and the blue economy
4. Forestry, ecosystems, wildlife and tourism
5. Health, sanitation and human settlements including resilient
buildings
6. Manufacturing
7. Energy and Transport
9. NCCAP: YOUTH AND CHILDREN
• For the first we have a youth and children centric NCCAP III – There
is a section specifically touching on children and youth
• Youth and Children were involved during the NCCAP III consultation
meetings. Done through regional economic bloc consultations;
Mt. Kenya & Aberdare region
Frontier Counties Development Council
North Rift Economic Bloc
Lake Region Economic Bloc
Nairobi
Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani
South – Eastern Economic Bloc
In all these consultations, there was an aspect of capacity building and
youth identifying key priority areas
Youth across all 47 counties were engaged – Out of the entire NCCAP II
process, its only youth who were effectively engaged.
(CSOs -2 days, Marginalized groups 3 days, Counties 3 days as well)
10. Challenges
• Understanding of climate change policies for youth is a challenge - calling
on all CSOs/ government to invest more on capacity building sessions to
enhance the capacity first considering complex climate concepts
considering the budget challenges to successfully ensure proper
understanding before moving to other project interventions.
• Lack of and/or inadequate information and communication on policies and
legal frameworks especially to marginalized communities in rural areas –
Government offers little or no opportunities for learning
• Even with the consultations IN NCCAP, Climate Change Amendment Bill and
other policies, there is no unifies approach on how to engage youth,
women, children, PWDs – Need to develop a clear strategy on the same
• An assumption that youth, women, persons with disabilities and all
marginalized groups are homogenous.
• YWDs/ marginalized communities lack an understanding of climate change
or environment and do not view it as a priority to them compared to other
competing issues like SRHR, GBV and discrimination
• Lack of enough database for the project to reference on e.g., Waste
management, (Waste buyers) focusing on youth and YWDs issues that
affect them.
• Climate Change Amendment Bill – Youth are part of the National Climate
Change Council – Its important to address the criteria of nomination. Let
youth have a voice on the nomination