GAYO – UCAES

Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO)

The youth are the most vulnerable to the lifelong environmental effects caused by environmental challenges.

Age, gender, unequal access to education and health, human rights violations and a closing civic space all pose significant barriers to meaningful youth engagement in governance and policy-making (ECOSOC Youth Forum, 2022). Yet, youth show extraordinary strength, leadership and resilience and they urgently need to be better supported at the heart of environmental action and sustainable development.

Environmental issues present some of the most profound and complex challenges requiring attention today and in the coming decades. Environmental concerns in Ghana as elsewhere in the world are receiving relatively higher priority because of these environmental challenges such as waste management, climate change, deforestation, wetland degradation, global warming, desertification, dwindling water supply, and food shortage, among others hence there is need for Environmental Education among the young people.

This has become a major concern for the education sector and the international community, particularly for educational policymakers and curriculum developers. According to research, several measures and strategies have to be put in place to intervene; among them is the use of the school curriculum to create public awareness of the need for environmental conservation and protection. In Ghana, there is a need to strengthen Environmental Education (EE) in schools and tertiary institutions through eco-clubs.

Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO) is a youth-led, gender-balanced advocacy group whose activities focus on education, training, and empowerment. Its vision creates a world whereby conserving the natural environment will be the number one priority. GAYO intends to engage youth and students around universities through the establishment of campus eco-clubs. The purpose of this campus eco-club will be to create awareness, educate, enhance interaction, leadership, health creation, self-discipline, and self-confidence, and lastly provide a linkage between the students and the community through community engagements, actions and awareness creation on environmental conservation and protection.

eco-club chapters

These various universities will have representatives serving as coordinators and leaders who will oversee the facilitation of projects, campaigns, and activities. The eco-club chapters will engage in activities such as:

Ecopreneurship Projects

Plastic-free campus campaigns

Tree Planting Exercises

Soft and Hard Skills Workshops and Training

Building Capacity for Youth Development Workshops

Social media campaign on environmental awareness

Outreach to Basic Schools, Junior and Senior High Schools

Virtual climate change talks (Seminars)

Clean-up Exercises, Brand and Waste Audits

Green Friday celebration

University forums

Circular Economy Activities

Disaster Risk Reduction Activities

Community Engagement and Environmental Awareness

Objectives

To empower the youth to participate in and take up meaningful environmental activities and projects.
To create awareness among young people through environmental education on environmental conservation and management.
To increase the number of environmental and climate change youth activists in Ghana for sustainable development.
To create a platform through which students can reach out to influence and engage their peers, relatives, and neighbourhood communities to promote sound environmental behaviour.