Cultivating Youth's Capacity to Address Climate Change in Uganda

Cultivating youth's capacity to address climate change is critical for a sustainable future. This is especially true in developing countries in equatorial Africa where agrarian communities are severely affected by climate change. We examine a youth development program designed to increase knowledge and capacity for leadership and action in response to climate change. Ugandan youth, ages 16 to 24 years, participated in multiday residential workshops held in national forests. Workshops included biodiversity assessments with scientist mentors, discussions of environmental concerns, and reflective writing. Surveys revealed increases in self-efficacy, connection to nature, and political awareness. Youth reported gains in knowledge, leadership, social awareness, and commitment to civic action. Our results suggest that engaging youth in nature-based field experiences is a contextually appropriate pedagogical approach to empower conservation. We discuss challenges of interdisciplinary community-based research, highlighting the needs for advances in cross-cultural measurement and support for collaborative international program development and research.