Itezhi-Itezhi Youths at RCOY Southern Africa 2024
From 24 to 26 September, the remarkable RCOY Southern Africa 2024 conference was held at the Mulungushi International Conference Center in Lusaka, Zambia. This incredible youth-led climate platform attracted 350+ young leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders with a bold agenda of driving tangible climate action.
The Wildlife and Environmental Conservation Society of Zambia – WECSZ through the Voices for Just Climate Action Zambia programme, proudly facilitated the active participation of 22 local youths at the conference i.e 7 from Itezhi Itezhi District, 5 from Mumbwa District, and 10 from Kafue District. These youths were privileged to add their punchy voice to the youth-led agenda towards climate mitigation and adaptation in the southern region of Africa.
During the conference, the youths actively engaged in thematic panel discussions, as well as thematic group discussions centered on Climate Adaptation and Resilience, Climate Finance Markets and Green Jobs, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, Youth and child-sensitive Climate Policies, and Climate-Induced Migration. From these crucial deliberations, these youths directly contributed to the action points in the Youth Position Paper, which was developed and presented to the policymakers and other relevant stakeholders during the conference.
Among the youths was Boyd Musangu, a fervent environmental activist and councilor for Itumbi Ward in Itezhi Itezhi District. He was one of the panellists during a thematic panel discussion that focused on youth engagement in locally-led climate mitigation and adaptation. In his submission, he highlighted the impactful efforts being undertaken by the youths in his district towards the Conservation of the Makumucha Spring Stream, through a project dubbed Community Coined Climate Action (CoCCA).
