The Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) programme in Ghana, currently supports a number of innovative solutions to help tackle climate change in Ghana.

In a recent visit by one of their donors, the President of the International Development Research Center (IDRC), CDKN Ghana shone the spotlight on eleven (11) of these innovative projects during a gallery walk and a roundtable session at the Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies (C3SS) at the University of Ghana.

The 11 are among a number of advocates under the CDKN Ghana youth-focused initiatives which seek to empower and equip young people with the skills to lead a revolutionary change towards protecting the environment, climate-smart development and a sustainable future.

The gallery walk organised by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network Ghana to mark the visit by the current President of the International Development Research Center (IDRC), a key donor, saw the exhibition of projects ranging from “green business innovations, ecosystem-based adaptation work, knowledge sharing and climate literacy through climate games, and tech apps, among others.”

Speaking to JoyNews at the event, President of the International Development Research Center – IDRC, Julie Delahanty, relished the growing involvement of the youth in solving the climate change problem as one of the major interests of the IDRC.

“One of the really key impacts is this active involvement of having young people engaged in climate change and trying to find solutions.  These young people have been taking ownership of the problem and have come up with some solutions that are really a mix of modern technology and really applying to the local context. I think that way of thinking, and the things they are coming up with are much more relevant and accessible to people within their community. So I believe that’s been an amazing success of what IDRC and CDKN has been doing.” she said.

On how the innovations will be developed into high-scale projects, CDKN Project Assistant, Ghana, Valerie Nutakor said “most of them are currently underway.

For instance, when it comes to the conversations on the climate change and health podcast, we have supported her to clean-up her audio, set up her account, make sure she has the content ready and the experts available for her interview and all of that.”

She also indicated that “some are receiving funding, so we are looking at enabling them up-scale, and putting the measures in place to monitor and make sure that their projects are still in tune with the original idea and still are serving the people they are intended to serve.”

The Projects

The various projects include: Game-based Learning for Climate Literacy, the Climate Change and Health Conversation, Climate Mental Health Initiative under the CDKN Justice Awards, Neglected Resources, Echoes of the forest, and Climate Learning Hub App.

The rest include; Go Green Smart Biogas Technology (SBT), Project VAXUS App, PROTIFAI App, and other collaborative projects with other climate focused Non-Governmental Organisations, academia and government agencies

The Climate and Development Knowledge Network – CDKN, with funding from the International Development Research Center (IDRC) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Netherlands, through SouthSouthNorth, works to improve the well-being of the most climate-affected people in the Global South, especially marginalised groups, through transformative climate-resilient action.