Rodrigues island is a small island which is already witnessing the effects of climate change such as severe droughts and rising sea level which have been threatening the population. However, the population does not understand the causes of climate change and subsequently it can be difficult to implement climate mitigation actions in the population’s lifestyle. Furthermore, the youth is the segment of the population who is less aware of climate change since they have not experienced other climates than that they have seen these past years.

With climate action being an arena that the majority of young people claim to care about - and with youth-led activism championing climate action around the world - this is a prime moment for young people in Rodrigues to learn more about the incredible work being done on the ground in Rodrigues and most importantly, the soft skills required to meaningfully take actions toward this cause.

The Youth Climate Leadership programme will directly address these challenges by aiming to equip the next generation of environmentally conscious young leaders with skills, knowledge, confidence and networks to positively take action on climate change through mounting impactful community-based projects. The approach is a collaborative which aims to activate leadership, agency and action of young people throughout the process rather than only taking buy-in from the existing stakeholders.

A 5-day intensive workshop addressed to 10-15 students to develop more soft skills to become dedicated activists for climate issues in our community. The one-week workshop will enable the project team to showcase the different tools that the youth can use to engage themselves in simple actions that can have significant impact within their community. They will be taught the different networking skills that are essential to solve climate related issues, which are affecting different parts of the world. The $10 000 will provide the opportunity to hold 2 iterations of the 5-day programme over two school holidays, furthermore a larger grant will be given to the students to implement their projects. Global Shapers Rodrigues with the collaboration of the other stakeholders will provide a one year follow-up to ensure the sustainability of the project by counselling the youth on the continuity of their project through fundraising and engagement of other youths. A grant of $500 will be provided to the different projects that will be submitted by the different groups of students to implement their project.