The climate crisis disproportionately impacts Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like Seychelles. For effective climate action, Seychelles and other SIDS will need to provide youth with equal opportunities to strengthen their capacity to lead their communities in tackling and adapting to the various consequences of climate change.

The Victoria Hub recognised this need and seized the opportunity to initiate the Environmental Youth Leadership Programme (EYLP), funded by a grant from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Global Environment Facility/ Small Grants Programme (GEF/SGP).

The EYLP is a four-week youth engagement programme held in Seychelles, starting in the first quarter of 2021. The programme will equip Seychelles' next generation of environmentally-conscious young leaders with the skills (soft and hard), knowledge, confidence and networks to positively tackle local climate action-related causes in their communities. 

Through an interactive programme, participants will meet prominent national leaders operating in the environment and conservation space, learning first-hand about the climate-related challenges Seychelles faces, as well as the community-led solutions taking place on the ground.

Site visits, technical workshops, and other activities will inspire and equip these youths to take on the climate crisis with the particularities of their country and community in mind at heart.

Participants will also be connected to existing conservation groups and non-profit organisations in Seychelles through experiential activities, to attract more young people towards volunteering opportunities. In a first for the country, this programme also aims to develop the specific leadership skills of participants, to ensure that we are fostering a new generation of competent, ethical and environmentally-conscious servant-leaders across the public, private and civil society sectors. 

This programme aims to train 60 young people aged 11-20 over a 1.5-year period, comprised of 20 lower-secondary school-aged students, 20 upper-secondary school-aged students, and 20 post-16 students. Through a rigorous monitoring and evaluation component, the EYLP will share lessons learned with other Seychelles-based organisations, Shapers and Hubs around the world, especially those in SIDS, for scalability and replicability. 

To ensure meaningful project delivery, the Hub will collaborate with the Seychelles Government (Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Change) and the following Seychelles based organisations: The Island Conservation Society (ICS), Marine Conservation Society Seychelles (MCSS), Parley Seychelles, Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF) and WiseOceans.