THE NAIROBI SUMMER SCHOOL ON CLIMATE JUSTICE: THEME: SUSTAINING MOMENTUM ON CLIMATE ACTION IN THE PANDEMIC ERA

The Nairobi Summer School on Climate Justice’s (NSSCJ) took place from August 30 to September 12, 2021 at the Kenyatta University in Kenya. Its core objective was to build new bridges and bring the voices of frontline communities into the international arena. Similarly, the school sought to bridge the conversation between prominent scholars, communities and other stakeholders on climate justice in the Global North and those in Global South, while providing an opportunity to explore diverse possibilities on climate justice.

To achieve the mentioned objectives, the summer school relied on key modules.

In the end, the over 500 participants who attended either virtually or physically expressed a deep satisfaction with the experiential learning as well as the networking and knowledge sharing opportunities that the NSSCJ presented them with.

Some of the networks created during the Summer School are sure to create a movement of the 21st Century Climate Advocates who are going to be at the center of not only Climate Action in Africa, but also those who shall lead thought and practice at the global policy and legislative platforms and tables of negotiation, all towards a low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive Africa.

The participants were drawn from across the globe, from Argentina, Afghanistan, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, Costa Rica, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, India, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Morocco, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United Kingdom, USA, Zambia, Zimbabwe among others.

The ten days’ event saw the presenters, moderators and facilitators rigorously go through interesting topics with participants actively contributing to the sessions through the discussions, panels, group works and question and answer sessions.

Organized into thematic areas, the fourteen days programme was spread under the following thematic areas: climate crisis; climate justice; environmentalism and conservation; international environmental governance, institutions and unpaid climate debts; emerging solutions, response measures and policy options in building resilience ad cities in the era of the pandemic; movement and alliance building in the transition to low-carbon, climate resilient, fair, equitable and ecologically-just development trajectory; participatory alternatives, technical solutions and fusions for the future; nurturing the movement from below: the case of PACJA, successes and lessons in articulating peoples legitimate voices in global climate politics; navigating the era of the pandemic and climate emergency; tree planting and field visits/solidarity building session.To read the report from the Nairobi Summer School, click here to download.