Youth Speaker entry #54: Mahugnon Serge Djohy (Benin)

I am a young Beninese activist fighting against climate change, with five years experience in research and action for sustainable development in Western Africa. My environmental leadership goal is to be a catalyst for change by addressing climate change to reshape our future and create a sustainable world.

I’m currently Programme Coordinator at Plant for the Planet in Cape Verde. Through Plant for Planet Project, I coordinate the Academy “Stop Talking, Start Planting”, a youth-led initiative who aims to plant one million trees by 2020 with children and young people in Cape Verde island to by flight against climate change through reforestation. Between 2014 and 2015, we train 1,500 young climate justice ambassadors and plant over 7000 trees on the archipelago of Cape Verde Islands.

I’m also African Representative at the World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW 2015-2018), where I am involved in awareness-raising about the current water-related challenges across the Planet, advocacy for youth participation in water-related decision making processes and debates, and to promote water as a political priority, youth-led and youth-inclusive local action, networking and communication about the achievements and efforts of young people in addressing this worlds water crises.

Climate Change Focal Point at IDEAS For Us, Inc.; and Co-founder of Better Life NGO which serves as the General Secretariat of the Benin Partnership for Climate Change Challenges, a network of NGOs working in the field environmental and climate justice in Benin. Through these networks, I am working for sustainability across communities and educational institutions around the world by educating, engaging, and empowering multi-generational groups of citizens through awareness initiatives and action projects related to energy, water, food, waste and ecology.

My previous engagements include the roles of Expert in Sustainable Development at the West Africa Institute (WAI), an ECOWAS think tank working for regional sustainable integration and social transformations in Africa, based in Praia, Cape Verde from 2013 to 2014; and Fellow of the Climate Change Adaptation Policy, from 2012 to 2013, as part of the African Climate Change Fellowship Program (ACCFP) based at the University of Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania.

I was Winner of the essay competition, Imagining the Future of Africa 2025, organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and Global Development Network (GDN).

In terms of my educational background, I obtained a Master in Environmental Management and International Relations, from the Jean Piaget University of Cape Verde. I also hold Masters in International Economics and Finance and in Political Science and International Relations, both from the University of Parakou in Benin. I am trilingual, speaking fluently in French, English and Portuguese.

Text, photo and video are submitted by Mahugnon Serge Djohy (Benin) – sergedjohy(at)gmail.com

The content, structure and grammar is at the discretion of the author only.

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This post is published as an application by the author, to speak as a youth representative at the World Forestry Congress. Have a look at the other entries too!

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