ABC Festival 2024: A defining moment for African Youth
The ABC Festival 2024 marked a transformative moment for young Africans, bringing together future leaders to tackle climate change and biodiversity conservation. A call for action echoed through every session. Abdel-Karim Ali Mahamane, ABN”s Regional Programme Coordinator, reflects on the festival’s key moments.
“Young people are the elders’ letter to the future” — wise words from the Sages, delivered by the Elders at the launch of the inaugural Forum of Young Africans on Cultural Biodiversity. This forum was a pivotal feature of the 13th edition of the Agro Bio Culture Festival (ABC), a significant event organised by the Agenda of Young Volunteers for the Environment (JVE). It has become a premier gathering for young Africans engaged in climate action, biodiversity, and agroecology.
The format of the 2024 edition of the ABC Festival was ground-breaking, featuring exclusively Open-Door sessions. This deliberate choice by JVE underscores the need to reconnect young people with nature. This year’s edition was rich in both diversity and depth, with panels and masterclasses covering a broad range of topics, including social enterprise creation, resource mobilisation, project management tools, community mobilisation strategies, communication, visibility, and intergenerational dialogue. Additionally, visits to natural sites such as waterfalls and forests were organised, allowing participants to deepen their connection with nature.
Celebrating African values, with an urgent Call to Action
Kpélé Tsiko, in the Grand Kloto Region, played host to the ABC Festival, set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Atakora mountain range. Over a hundred participants from countries including Niger, Togo, Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso came together to celebrate African culture and its relationship with biodiversity. This year’s festival, through its activities and discussions, issued a powerful call to action — to move beyond mere words and promises. The messages carried during the climate and biodiversity march exemplified this, as young people voiced their collective determination to confront the challenges incuding climate change that await future generations. These messages were presented to the authorities in attendance at the African Youth Forum on Biodiversity, with a promise that they would be relayed to those in power.
Empowering African Youth through knowledge exchange
One of the key highlights of the 2024 ABC Festival was the intergenerational dialogue, a significant moment that fostered the transfer of knowledge from Elders to the younger generation. The launch of the first African Youth Forum on Biodiversity provided a rare opportunity for young Africans to engage directly with the traditional leaders of the Grand Kloto region. These face-to-face discussions were an invaluable chance for young people to learn about the region’s past, forgotten practices, and the socio-economic consequences of abandoning these traditions. This profound exchange was further validated by the presence of local administrative authorities, who reiterated their support for JVE’s initiatives.
Launch of the Regional Study on Youth and Biocultural Diversity in Africa
The festival’s closing day, which coincided with the second day of the African Biodiversity Forum, saw the launch of the Report of the Regional Study on Youth and Cultural Biodiversity in Africa conducted by JVE with financial support from the African Biodiversity Network. Focusing primarily on West Africa, the study is continental in scope and serves as the first volume in a series of publications, each volume exploring different sub-regions of Africa in alignment with ABN’s approach. The report will be availaed once completed.
Elevating African Youth voices to the global stage
The 2024 ABC Festival was a crucial step in asserting and solidifying an African stance on global issues such as climate change and biodiversity conservation. Participants identified these key areas of focus to ensure that the voices of young Africans are heard in global decision-making forums. The ABC Festival continues to inspire and shape the future of African youth, empowering them to take action and become leaders in the preservation of both their cultural heritage and the planet’s biodiversity.
The Young Volunteers for the Environment (JVE), a West African partner of the African Biodiversity Network, also serves as the Learning Centre for the Western Sub-Regional Node, supporting the implementation of programmes under ABN’s Node approach.
