Webinar Celebrates Young Women Leaders in Africa for International Women’s Day 2026
Highlighting stories from Algeria, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Morocco, Republic of Congo, and South Africa
The Crucial Role of Young Women in Climate Adaptation Leadership
The climate crisis does not affect everyone equally. Women and children face 14 times greater vulnerability than men during extreme weather events, largely due to limited access to information and resources, especially in Africa. In rural areas, women and girls often bear the responsibility of securing food, water, and firewood. During droughts, they must work harder, traveling further and spending more time to provide for their families, which increases their risk of gender-based violence. Women’s frontline experience with climate change positions them uniquely as potential agents of change.
Event Details
Leading up to International Women’s Day on March 8, the Youth Leadership and Education team will host a 90-minute webinar to honor young African women leaders. The Zoom event will feature:
- A panel discussion with young women from Algeria, South Africa, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Comoros, and Morocco discussing their roles in climate resilience. Each will share their journey into the climate space, along with challenges, needs, and opportunities for women in adaptation.
- Participant introductions, organizational affiliations, and countries
- 1-minute interventions on the role of young women in adaptation in their countries
- 1-minute interventions on the challenges, needs, and opportunities from their experiences
The webinar will also include working groups focused on sharing experiences and tools for gender-focused youth leadership in climate adaptation.
- Participant introductions, organizational affiliations, and countries
- Discussions on the challenges women face in climate leadership
- Sharing practical tools for overcoming these challenges
Objective: The event aims to disseminate practical tools, share learned lessons, and provide networking and mentoring opportunities, fostering collaborations, capacity building, and youth-led initiatives.
Participants: This event is organized for the African Youth Adaptation Network, which includes 51 African countries as of 2026.
Guiding Questions:
- What lessons have young women leaders learned in climate adaptation?
- How can all young people contribute to greater gender inclusion in climate adaptation in their communities?
Agenda
Opening Video: The Connection Between Gender and Climate, link here
Opening Remarks and Welcome:
- Adriana Valenzuela, Youth Leadership and Education team lead
- Meriem Lambahbah, Association Cultural Marjane, Algeria 🇩🇿
- Lesedi Gaonewe, CorpsAfrica South Africa, South Africa 🇿🇦
- Claude Aleyda Fila Diafouka, Youth Empowerment Engaged to Protect Environment, Republic of Congo 🇨🇬
- Anastasia Amor Ñengono NKOGO ABESO, Federación de las Organizaciones de Mujeres Emprendedoras de Guinea Ecuatorial, Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇶
- Faida khadidja Idaroussi, Réseau climat Océan Indien (RCOI), Comoros 🇰🇲
- Soukaina Koumani, CorpsAfrica Morocco, Morocco 🇲🇦
- Glory Emmanuella Appiah, Ghana Youth Environmental Movement, Ghana 🇬🇭
- Katrina Khan Roberts, CEO of Metrina Marine Minded Network, Trinidad and Tobago 🇹🇹
- Lydia Porkpah, Liberian Youth for Climate Actions, Liberia 🇱🇷
- Elgin Créa, SIDS Youth AIMS Hub (SYAH), Seychelles 🇸🇨
- Tatiana Balagazi, Democratic Republic of the Congo 🇨🇩
- Adriana Valenzuela, Youth Leadership and Education team lead
Contact: For more information, contact Adriana Valenzuela, Youth Leadership and Education Team Lead at adriana.valenzuela@gca.org
Original Story at gca.org