As part of our COP21 coverage from Paris, Boulder Weekly is partnering with the Boulder nonprofit Global Greengrants Fund to tell the stories of environmental youth activists from around the world.
Namibia is literally gulping down its future. The country is in the midst of the worst drought in its history. Of the three reservoirs that serve Windhoek, the capital city of 325,000, one is already empty. Officials say the others could be drained by mid-2016. In Namibia’s vast, arid rural areas, three consecutive years without rain means life or death for people who depend on seasonal rainfall to grow food.
So, I do a double take when Omagano Shooya tells me she sees opportunity in her country’s water crisis. The 25-year-old works in an environmental assessment firm in Windhoek, but she moonlights as a youth organizer. She was in Paris last week with a delegation of young leaders from around the world who are addressing the causes and impacts of climate change in their communities.
“Right now, the drought is being felt by everyone all over the country,” Omagano says. “And what if this goes on for another 10 years? Where will we go if we don’t have any water? As much as this is a challenge, it’s an opportunity because this is a moment where we can expose people to the concept of climate change and take control of our future.”
Omagano works with the Young Achievers Empowerment Project, a group of 15- to 30-year-olds that meets every Saturday in Windhoek to openly debate issues that often aren’t given voice in their schools, churches or even local media. Issues such as climate change, unemployment and gender-based violence. They bring in speakers, talk about the future of their country and discuss how young people can get involved.
“We empower youth, but we also work to inspire youth,” Omagano says. “Because an inspired young person is a motivated person, and a motivated person is someone who will take action and make a difference in her community.”
Young Achievers is emblematic of the energy coming from young urban-dwellers in the climate movement. It’s exactly the type of community-level action that builds a foundation for change on an international level.
In October, the group used a $5,000 grant from Boulder-based Global Greengrants Fund to host a youth climate convergence. More than 100 young people from 14 regions in Namibia came together with civil society representatives and officials from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, who talked about internship and fellowship opportunities. Omagano says this information exchange was critically important because the passion young people have can often go to waste if they don’t know how to get involved.
The group also produced a position paper to demand a broader role for youth voices at the U.N. climate talks and Conference of Parties (COP21). Omagano, who spent much of her time in Paris observing the official negotiations, delivered the paper last week to Namibia’s COP21 delegates. She and other Namibian youth already have a meeting on the books with their country’s president to present their ideas in Windhoek.
Of the 190 countries participating in the climate talks, Namibia isn’t necessarily a key player. But the country has a lot of skin in the game. Omagano, who traveled to Paris on a different grant from Global Greengrants, wonders: Does Namibia have the infrastructure, capacity or financial capability to handle drought like the one it’s currently facing? She is dis mayed that the country has only two experienced negotiators in Paris as opposed to countries like the United States and India, which have dozens.
“There’s a lot of back and forth and agreements are not being reached,” she says. “Decisions aren’t being made. There’s a lot of text being reviewed and revised. It’s very bureaucratic and political.”
And so Omagano plans to return home with a new mission: to develop a cadre of new young negotiators who can represent Namibia on the international stage.
“It’s one thing to be aware, but if you don’t know how to use it, you might as well be an accountant somewhere,” she says. “The real question is how do we make a difference with what we now know? We aren’t the leaders of tomorrow, we’re the leaders of today.”
Katy Neusteter is the director of communications for Global Greengrants Fund. Global Greengrants envisions a world in which all people live with dignity and in harmony with the environment. As the leading environmental fund that supports grassroots action on a global scale, we create opportunities for you to invest in local leaders working to strengthen their communities and create an environmentally sustainable future. www.greengrants.org
