Africa Continental Workshop on 16–17 August 2023, Nairobi, Kenya

The Call for Expression of Interest is now closed, and selected candidates will be contacted on the week of July 24
L'appel à manifestation d'intérêt est maintenant clos et les candidats sélectionnés seront contactés dans la semaine du 24 juillet.

Concept Note

You can find the Concept Note for this event below, in English, French and Arabic:

• English
• French
• Arabic

Background

Climate change poses a threat to human security, putting at risk lives, health and well-being, livelihoods and jobs, safety and security and cultures of persons and various groups, particularly children, youth, women, indigenous communities, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable populations in the Global South. 

Environmental change and natural hazards have always been major drivers of migration, while climate change predictions indicate that even more people are expected to be on the move as slow onset processes and sudden onset climatic events such as floods, landslides, and drought; degrade ecosystems, reduce crop yields, destroy habitable areas, livelihoods, jobs, infrastructure and job opportunities.

Evidence shows how climate change can have different implications for particular social groups. Women and young people are often particularly exposed (Traore Chazalnoël et al., 2020 ). Women and young people are often disadvantaged in terms of land ownership, having a sustainable income, and being able to access opportunities that could increase their resilience to climate change. However, women and youth are also powerful agents of change when it comes to promoting climate action, disaster risk reduction and resilience building. Ensuring their full participation in decision-making is crucial. 

Whilst many actors work on these links, IOM recognizes the necessity to step up national, regional, and international efforts to address human mobility challenges and tap on the opportunities associated with environmental factors and climate change. IOM’s vision on migration, environment and climate change is that contemporary migration governance, policy and practice must reflect the significance of environmental and climate change factors on human mobility. Environmental factors must be integrated across all areas of migration management, such as: prevention, preparedness and response to displacement, border management, labour migration and integration, and return and reintegration.

IOM’s objectives concerning migration, environment and climate change are:

• To prevent forced migration that results from environmental factors to the extent possible.
• To provide assistance and protection to affected populations when forced migration does occur in situations of environmental and climate change, and to seek durable solutions to their situation.
• To facilitate migration in the context of climate change adaptation and enhance the resilience of affected communities.

IOM works on addressing the challenges to youth welfare and unemployment and to ensure that migration can bring about positive results in both countries of origin and countries of destination. It also strives to provide opportunities for youth with the direct access to participate and contribute to policy development and implementation.

Objectives

A youth engagement forum will be facilitated in Nairobi, to improve knowledge and understanding of migration, environment and climate change nexus; to plan, agree upon and coordinate the development and implementation of the Kampala Declaration beyond the East and Horn of Africa region, and bring together Youth from the African continent. This forum will be an opportunity for the Youth from various regions, with either contrasting or similar realities to exchange and share their respective experiences and best practices. Furthermore, the purpose of this youth engagement forum is to establish key messages that can contribute to the Global Youth Statement ahead of ACS, ACW, COY18 and COP28.

• Improve knowledge and understanding of, and engagement in climate change induced migration, including risks such as human trafficking.
• Improve collaboration and cohesion among youth in the African continent.
• Increase visibility of the migration and climate change nexus in preparation for sub-regional youth engagements, ACS, ACW, COY18 and COP28 on different social media platforms, including through young advocates. 
• Elaborate on expansion of the Kampala Declaration, as well as provide key messages on human mobility in the context of a changing climate in the African continent.

Outcomes

• Stock taking document of successful contributions of youth to address challenges and opportunities of human mobility in the context of a changing climate that could be replicated across the regions. 
• Youth Key Messages on human mobility in the context of climate change to feed in the expansion of the Kampala Declaration, as well as ACS, ACW, and the COY18 and COP28.
• Strengthen Africa-wide youth networks for continued advocacy on climate change and human mobility nexus.

Related Events

Africa Climate Summit 2023

TECHNICAL CONFERENCE OF STATES ON THE EXPANSION OF KAMPALA DECLARATION ON MIGRATION, ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE (KDMECC)

Related Pages

Kampala Declaration Migration Environment and Climate Change Page