The Democracy Works Foundation (DWF) team is pleased to announce hosting the Climate Change Champions Workshop on “Building Partnerships for Resource Mobilisation & Community-based Climate Change Action” from the 15th to the 18th of May 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa. This is part of the Foundation’s commitment to supporting good climate change governance and enhancing Civil Society Organisation’s participation in municipal and private sector decision-making processes. The workshop explores avenues to build relationships to support adaptation and mitigation initiatives while addressing critical developmental challenges facing communities.
The workshop is the third cross-provincial knowledge co-creation initiative of its kind and builds on the work that CSOs have done throughout the project. Since the start of the project, CSO partners – or Climate Change Champions – have conceptualised projects and communication campaigns which focus on integrating climate change into their work and connecting with municipal officials and private sector Social and Economic Development investments.
Based on evaluations, a mentorship programme and continuous engagement, the programme for the upcoming workshop is crafted to achieve the following outcomes in mind:
- Interactive climate change literacy and localised climate change discourse
- Participation in climate change-related municipal planning and budgetary processes
- Interaction with Independent Power Producer’s Social Economic Development spend
As the last cross-provincial engagement, this workshop is designed to give participants maximum control to manage the agenda to build networks and initiatives that can last beyond the project’s lifespan. The methodology relies on the CSO partners’ expertise and provides the platform to co-design implementation efforts. These are directed towards building the resilience of communities against climate change impacts and taking advantage of the opportunities that mitigation efforts can unlock in line with the “Just Transition” approach.
A key learning from previous engagements is that CSOs struggle to engage their constituencies about climate change amongst the myriad of challenges they face, partly because of a lack of localised scientific terminology and inclusive participation approaches. As a response, the programme kicks off with an interactive theatre production developed by the Mpumelelo Youth Group from Kimberly as one avenue for communities to co-create knowledge about local climate change impacts and adaptation opportunities.
A team of expert keynote speakers and facilitators has been established to deliver an interactive and participatory programme. RIA Digital are communications and negotiations consultants with extensive experience designing and implementing campaigns for the public sector. They have been involved with the project since the beginning. ScienceLink PTY is a science communication company that assists scientists in making their research accessible to communities in African languages and plain English – a key challenge CSO partners have identified in facilitating meaningful participation. Knowledge Pele is a group of companies with research and advisory experience supporting impactful Social Economic Development Spend by Independent Power Producers. Their lived experience in facilitating relationships between IPPs and communities will provide invaluable insights and complement the expertise of CSO partners with experience in this regard.
The Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) builds knowledge around using effective public resource management for social accountability to promote open, participatory and accountable governments and will guide participants on engaging municipalities in budget-related decision-making. Together with Democracy Works Foundation, this team will draw on the expertise that participants bring into the room and manage processes to map out a way forward for the projects and communication plans that Climate Change Champions have developed throughout the project.
The workshop uses the “Open Space” technique, giving participants maximum control in creating and managing the agenda. Through an Ideas Market place, knowledge co-creation keynote addresses, interactive and small group discussions and plenary feedback, the workshop programme is designed to open the space for discussions and planning activities that participants find helpful for their individual work and as a network.
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About The Fostering Inclusive Growth Through Climate Change Champions Project
The Fostering Inclusive Growth Through Climate Change Champions, known as the “Climate for Growth project”, aims to empower communities to effectively identify and respond to how climate change impacts development priorities within communities and integrate the community’s development priorities into local government planning and resource allocation. The project is co-funded by the European Union and runs from March 2021 until February 2024 in the Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces of South Africa.
For more information on the Climate Change Champions Comms & Negotiations Workshop and Climate Change programmes, contact DWF:
Mira Dutschke
South African Programme Manager
E mira@democracyworksfoundation.org
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