Ghana’s environment policy and framework seeks youth involvement in tackling the climate crisis, however the level of awareness and engagement in pro-environment and sustainability-oriented behavior amongst youth is low. As such, more effort is needed to actively engage youth to participate in environment conservation and preservation activities.
Dr Albert Banunle is a Lecturer at the Department of Environmental Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana.
The activity promoted the 2024/24 ACEF theme: Youth for Sustainable Development.
Addressing gaps in youth awareness
Through his Commonwealth Scholarship, Dr Banunle’s Master’s research explored ‘pro-environmental behaviour amongst urban youth in Ghana’ and the low level of awareness and engagement of Ghanian youth towards environment and sustainable development. Using his Master’s research, Dr Banunle designed his workshop to address some of the biggest gaps in youth awareness on environmental concerns in Ghana and discuss solutions.
The key message of the workshop was to empower youth to understand the impact of climate threats to sustainable development locally and globally. In doing so, the workshop aimed to enable youth to understand that they are not too young to be a part of the solution and, even more importantly, it is in their interest to help address sustainable development challenges for their future.
Workshop on environment and sustainable development
The workshop brought together over 50 participants including students from St Louis Senior High School and KNUST Senior High School. Activities included topical sessions by speakers, a group discussion, and the formation of a youth club to lead on pro-environment activities.
In his opening welcome, Dr Banunle encouraged participants to become youth advocates for environment and sustainable development as future leaders of the country.
Following the welcome address, participants watched a video documentary which provided information on local environment and sustainable development. The video highlighted environmental challenges such as climate change, waste crises, deforestation, pollution, and environmental degradation and their impact on society, health and economic activities.
Following the video, renewable energy expert, social entrepreneur and environmental sustainability leader, Maxwell Beganim, gave a talk on, ‘Opportunities and tools for youth engagement in local and global activism on climate change for sustainable development’. He shared his experience as a youth worker and the need for youth activism to address climate change.
Building on the topic of youth activism, Stephen Oppong Osei Tutu, Senior Administrative Assistant in the Advancement and Alumni Relations Office at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and climate action advocate, spoke on, ‘My (youth) responsibility for a sustainable future through lifestyle and behaviour change’. He encouraged young people to adapt to sustainable innovative strategies in waste recycling, reducing the carbon footprint, and adopting mindful consumption to address the pressing environmental challenges.
Through the talks, participants were encouraged to develop behaviours and actions that contribute to sustainable development. Suggestions included activism, forming and joining groups to advocate for the environment and sustainable development; green consumption, minimising waste and choosing sustainable product alternatives; utilising green transport, such as walking, cycling and taking the bus; recycling and re-using products; and utility saving, such as avoiding waste of water and energy.
Becoming youth leaders
Dr Banunle next invited participants to engage in group discussions on what they had learned so far and to discuss action plans towards adopting pro-environment and sustainability behaviours. Each group was then asked to present what they had learned and their action plans. Participants shared that following the morning sessions, they now understood the important role they can play as change leaders by adopting sustainability-oriented behaviour and practices such as tree planting and that they should engage in advocacy to build awareness of these actions in their schools, homes and local communities.
Together with teachers from the St Lois and KNUST High Schools, Dr Banunle launched a Youth for Sustainable Development Club (Y4SD). The club is designed to encourage and support students to engage in youth activism and promote behavioural solutions towards environment and sustainable development. Inspired by the workshop, one of the teachers in attendance volunteered to serve as the patron of the newly formed club and lead on awareness activities for students at her school.
Building a sustainable future
To ascertain the impact of the workshop, Dr Banunle asked participants to complete pre- and post-workshop feedback surveys. For many students, this was the first time they had attended such a workshop. 68% of respondents shared that they had learnt about behaviours, tools and opportunities they can utilise to advance sustainable development.
“Programmes like this should be held with a bigger audience to influence more people to engage in pro-environmental and sustainability-oriented behaviour.”
– Student from St Louis SHS
Impressed by the enthusiasm of the high school students to become champions of change, Maxwell Beganim kindly pledged support to scale up the programme to other high schools in the county.
Dr Banunle will conduct follow-up sessions with the two schools to institutionalise the newly launched Youth for Sustainable Development (Y4SD) Club to sustain the interest of students and support in developing action plans towards sustainable development.
Dr Albert Banunle is a 2020 Commonwealth Shared Scholar from Ghana. He completed a Master’s in Environmental Partnership Management at the University of Aberdeen.
