The Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO), the Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies (C3SS), and the Climate Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) together with their partners are delighted to announce the second edition of the YouSustain Conference slated for December 6 – 8 2023 at the Centre for Climate Change & Sustainability Studies, University of Legon in Accra, Ghana.

This academic conference dubbed “Sustaining Sub-Saharan African Cities through Youth Ecopreneurship” aims to provide a platform for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and leaders working on diverse aspects of sustainable development pertaining to young people. The conference will discuss the adaptation efforts and potential role of young people in Sub-Saharan Africa’s urbanization surge and its associated processes from a perspective of climate change and sustainability. Such an opportunity will help create the requisite forum to share ideas and insights on how Sub-Saharan Africa’s young people can use innovative approaches and their endless energies to shape the future of cities in the region. Ultimately, Africa’s youth must mobilize to sustain Sub-Saharan African cities.

The YouSustain Conference 2023 will bring together over 150 participants from all over Africa both in-person and virtually with the objective to:

• share knowledge and experiences on best practices for addressing challenges that impede the sustainable development aspirations of Sub-Saharan African cities as it pertains to young people,
• dialogue on how young people in Sub-Saharan Africa can be better engaged as key players toward advancing adaptation and attaining sustainable development in the sub-region cities
• convene researchers and practitioners, especially those working on research and projects that center on young peoples’ adaptation, potential, and role in addressing climate change and urban environment challenges in sub-saharan African cities, for intellectual exchange.
• Select visible ecopreneur ideas from the conference and provide them with incubation support and potential grants for their project implementation.

Some thematic areas to be covered at the conference include circular economy (youth in environmentally sound waste management), climate adaptation, climate-related hazard mitigation, air pollution reduction, nature-based solutions, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). The key outcome of the conference will be a publication containing an inventory of solutions in use or proposed to address the twin challenges of climate change and urban environmental problems in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The YouSustain Conference 2023 is free but requires registration at bit.ly/3sGVfCr. Young entrepreneurs and innovators involved in green businesses are also offered a unique opportunity to exhibit their products and services. Exhibitors are required to register at bit.ly/3Lu1ArA. Further conference details can be found on the conference website yousustain.net and GAYO’s social media platforms.

FOR ENQUIRIESCall +233 54 253 0695 or write to yousustain@greenafricayouth.org