" We have been joking with that climate for so long that now we are in dire straits. We try to come up with innovative leadership programmes to equip youths to win over climate change "
More and more international development agencies are putting their money in supporting, what apparently could be described as a new branch of an area of studies and practice that has always attracted a lot of attention. I am talking about leadership applied for climate action.
Actually what I am talking about is not a new field of study but just the application of leadership as an activity or practice for our common interest. Yet it is not so important talking about theories of leadership, but, instead, what counts are the actions that leadership can enable to bring a positive change and tackle the upcoming climate catastrophe.
So the fact that donors are putting some money and creating interesting programmes focussing on youths is welcome and positive. The hope is that the momentum for action and mobilisation will grow with time so that such type of initiatives will be more and more mainstream and common.
At the same time, it might be that one day, the urgency and gravity of the situation will make us think of youth climate activism as something so popular and widespread, that it will be normalised and popularised.
What we need are actions akin to peaceful protests like the ones being staged by youth groups around the world since the last five years. Also we need action-oriented initiatives that can generate an interest to do something to save our communities and our planet.
If the former are indispensable to elevate climate change to the top of the agenda while keeping politicians accountable, we also need masses of youths to get into the change-making process that requires doses of civic passion and can, at the end, bring concrete improvements in terms of climate adaptation and climate mitigation.
It is in the latter type of support where the international community in Nepal is stepping in and filling a vacuum that sooner than later should be bridged by local governments. It is not that international donors should step away for the sake of sustainability of such programmes. It might be possible that, in funding such an initiative, the developmental "myth" of sustainability, often a chimera, will finally be disregarded.
If you think about it, it is almost ironic because all these projects are all focussed on ensuring the sustainability of our planet but cannot themselves be wholly sustainable. Imagine designing new curricula or proposing micro climate actions on the ground, including awareness programmes or small scale adaptation projects, and you realise that such sustainability can't really be "sustained".
So it is indispensable, especially as a matter of climate justice, that the international community keeps supporting on a much bigger scale this type of initiatives with no cumbersome red tapes and a new agility in their approach. Yet we need to have another type of sustainability in place, the one that only local, provincial and federal governments can assure.
It's that type of sustainability that brings in certainty over the fact that funding for climate leadership won't only depend on the international community that, anyway, must do more, but also by the state, the legitimate custodian of the well-being of the people. Imagine wards, municipalities, sub metropolitan and metropolitan governments launching an array of innovative programmes that will be able to engage the youths in climate action.
Such actions need to be designed in such a way that it's not only the smartest and most prepared kids and youths who have access to them. Instead the conceptualisation of this type of initiatives should really appeal to the masses, including those kids and youths who are not fortunate enough to attend schools that are already doing a good job at preparing their students for dealing with these challenges.
If you think about it, it is also an educational emergency because all schools, especially the community-run establishments, must be involved, engaged and equipped to be part of this defining battle.
I have no doubt that big international donors might soon come up with holistic approaches at the grassroots levels that will be able to raise the interest among the average youths on this apparently insurmountable challenge.
Read well the line above: I wrote "average" youths, and actually there is no more disparaging manner to classify youths based on their access (or lack of thereof) to opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge.
The problem we have now is really about dealing with a public education that is unable to lift the vast majority of students who are at risk of being stuck in an "average" world: average schools, average colleges, average jobs and an average life. This is actually the leadership challenge we have to deal with. It is not just about climate action but also about rethinking how youths are empowered and trained to lead successful and meaningful lives.
The key is quality and progressive education. We know that it is possible. The vast majority of private schools are doing a pretty good job though a very costly one.
Yet the challenge remains with the public, community schools though we need to be fair and acknowledge all those administrators and teachers from such learning institutions who are real champions, doing much more than what the society and the state expect from them.
So all in all, it is complicated and messy. We have been joking with that climate for so long that now we are in dire straits. As a consequence, we try to come up with innovative leadership programmes to equip youths to win over climate change. Yet we are mindful that leadership and civic engagement should be foundationalelements already harnessed by the public education system.
Donors and, hopefully, local governments getting involved in funding youth leadership programmes for climate action need to be mindful of this reality. Otherwise their interventions will be just Band-Aids.
Galimberti is the co-founder of ENGAGE, an NGO partnering with youths living with disabilities
A version of this article appears in the print on September 29, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
