A group of young people from different youth organisations, secondary schools and professional centres along with representatives of relevant project partners, more specifically those with reporting responsibilities in the ‘Ridge to Reef Project’, consultants whose scope of work addresses gender and youth engagement, came together yesterday to discuss and encourage more youth participation and interest in the project.

The ‘Ridge to Reef Project’ is a Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded project being carried out by theMinistry of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment (MACCE).

The project objective is to undertake a comprehensive Ridge to Reef (R2R) approach that addresses the ‘whole island’, focussing on improving the management and conservation of upland forests and agricultural ecosystems as well as coastal and marine ecosystems in Seychelles to produce global benefits in terms of conservation of globally significant biodiversity and to stop and reverse ecosystem degradation.

The main objectives of the consultative session with the youth yesterday at the STC conference room was get them to better understand the importance of effective engagement of youths of both gender in the project activities, provide an opportunity and platform for a deeper exchange of views, ideas and experiences of the youth, their interests, challenges as to why not many young people are interested in activities related to the project, boost effective reporting on youth and gender activities related to the project.

The session formed part of the Seychelles National Youth Council’s (SNYC) activities for the Youth Festival.

Also present for the opening session were the chief executive of the SNYC Penny Belmont, her deputy Ghislaine Belmont, the technical advisor for climate change and energy, Wills Agricole.

In remarks to launch the discussions Mr Agricole said; “We, as large oceanic, small island developing state, are inherently vulnerable to the impact and risks associated with climate change. This therefore created a high priority to climate adaptation strategies that will improve resilience. This is carried out through the ‘Ridge to Reef’ project, where adaptation strategies and interconnections between terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems are recognised to protect, manage and restore them”.

“A lot is being done to reach out to people, but often certain groups are overlooked so we are always looking for more innovative ways to enhance our outreach programmes to educate vulnerable groups,” Mr Agricole explained.

He went on to acknowledge the need for exchange of methodologies and group practices among stakeholders, particularly of measures to ensure more routine and proactive attention on the gender perspective.

He pointed out that an important role of the discussion is to find ways to effectively scale up gender and youth engagement in the activities related to the project.

To begin, participants learned more on the R2R Project through a presentation by project manager Joanna Prosper and a brief overview about the related role of the SNYC by two youth officers and these were followed by more presentations where the participants learn more of the different opportunities for both gender in activities related to the project. There were also discussions and group work.

Source: Seychelles Nation