Empowerment for Climate Leadership

The project „Empowerment for Climate Leadership“ (ECL) is an extra-occupational 18-months-lasting platform of exchange and training, organized by Climate Action Network (CAN) Tanzania and Germanwatch. ECL supports 20 enthusiastic, climate-active young people, aged 20 to 30 years, who are professionally or voluntarily committed in civil society.

The subjects of this education and exchange program are the Agenda 2030 with the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The participants work online in intercultural teams and develop among other things education materials and event ideas.

The first stage of the ECL-Program ended with a multilateral, personal and enriching exchange in November 2017 in Bonn against the background of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 23). Focuses have been the topics climate change, climate policies and climate protection. The participants from different non-governmental organizations in Tanzania, India and Germany met on a very personal level. Taking part in the Conference of Youth (COY 13), having debates with participants of the COP and participating in climate simulation games, they explored the subject in a very profound way. On a dialogue event during the COP 23, several of the participants took part in the discussion when it came to the subjects commitment and climate education.

Now, the second stage of the ECL-project is initiated. The online part focusses on the topics "African civil society", "energy revolution" and "access to water". Its purpose is the preparation of the second meeting at Arusha and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) in June. The participants are going to debate with actors of the civil society, get to know pioneers of sustainability and seek exchange with decision makers of different levels and sectors. Visiting different places, they are going to face aggrieved parties of the climate change and become acquainted with their environment. Furthermore, they engage themselves intensively in the implementation of the global Sustainable Development Goals of the Agenda 2030.

In the following third and last online stage of the project, the participants are going to develop their own project ideas and work on concepts of education regarding future subjects.

The project is executed within the framework of "weltwärts-Begegnungen", a funding line initiated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
It is fascinating to see how the participants link with each other, develop their personalities through this exchange and create policy approaches in a South-North-dialogue.