Pan-African social agency, Crtve DEVELOPMENT (CD) has come up with an innovative approach which focuses on deploying creativity and Africa’s youthful population in tackling the challenges of climate change in Africa.
According to Statista, as of 2021, persons aged 15 and below account for around 40% of the continent’s population. With a median age of 20, Africa’s youthful population is her most valuable resource and it’s this resource that CD is aiming to deploy to address the challenges of climate change in the continent.
The African continent boasts of creative youths who are making notable impact across film, music, art, and fashion. Crtve DEVELOPMENT has identified these creatives as vital medium through which the urgent message of climate change can be spread across the continent. And it’s against this backdrop that CD has created the WE!ARE Movement aimed at building a pan-African voice on climate justice ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Summit (COP 27).
Using Africa’s Creative Industry to Promote Climate Justice: Africa’s creatives are making a name for themselves and their works. Music, art, fashion, visual content, and film are art forms that attract wide patronage and followership from Africa’s youthful population.
CD is therefore turning to art as a medium to spread awareness about climate justice across the African continent.
The African continent is the hardest hit by the global climate crisis and this has led to visible economic consequences that include a growing conflict between farmers and herders across the continent.
WE!ARE Movement is created as an intersection between art and climate justice and it offers African young creatives an opportunity to play a major role in climate justice through their art.
WE!ARE Movement Launch: The launch took place on Thursday 28th July 2022 at a virtual event themed “The Africa We Want To See” and in attendance were creatives, climate activists, diplomats, and the media.
Speaking at the event launch, Dr. Okito Wedi, Founder and CEO of Crtve DEVELOPMENT, stated:
“Through the WE!ARE campaign, we want to harness the power of art and creativity to change the narrative on climate change and development in Africa and bridge the gap between communities that will most be affected and policymakers who will determine our climate future”.
The WE!ARE movement aims to inspire young people across the continent to share their vision of the Africa they want to see and voice the climate justice demands of their communities through creative mediums.
The movement aims to use the continent’s creative pool to drive climate conversation and take it directly to the mass population through music, fashion, film, and other art forms.
Empowering African Youths to Lead the Climate Justice Conversation: CD in partnership with Africa No Filter has created a platform for African creatives to apply for grants with which they can partake in the WE!ARE showcases that focus on climate justice. The conversation on opportunities for a just transition, in other words “The Africa We Want To See,” sends a message to policymakers and governments at all levels to create a continent whose resources and climate can be conserved for future generations.
Selected Creative Hubs: After a rigorous screening process, five creative hubs were selected — The Assembly (Nigeria), Footprints by David Arts Foundation (Nigeria), Daai Deng (South Africa), Perform Arts (Egypt) and Tamba Africa Social Circus in Mozambique -. The selected creative hubs will be given grants with which they will curate art showcases and creative events that deploy art in promoting the conservation and awareness of climate justice.
The Assembly, founded by fashion consultant Yoanna Chikezie, is an open innovation organization dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs and creatives from Africa and its diaspora to succeed in the global fashion industry. They will be using fashion to offer an insight into how the creative industry can contribute to climate justice.
Drawing from the past and leveraging the present to influence the future, The Assembly will curate a traveling ‘phy-gital’ showcase to be staged at the Ikeja City Mall and Ajegunle in Lagos.
The Footprints of David Arts Foundation is an all-inclusive theater and community development project in the Bariga community. Its founder Seun Awobajo, a children’s theatre director, community organiser, culture advocate, social campaigner and artiste has worked within the Bariga community for over two decades.
Their showcase will feature a creative hub for rural and slum dwellers. It will include a live and digital photo exhibition in public spaces in Lagos, community performances in public areas, and reusable art installations such as Christmas trees with waste PET bottles.
Through their art, they will teach young Nigerians in economically disadvantaged areas of Lagos State the concept of recycling and reusing everyday materials in promoting climate justice.
The Ultimate Goal of the WE!ARE movement: The movement wants to raise awareness of climate justice in Africa. They aim to achieve this by harnessing the pool of creatives across the continent whose art can present the message to their various communities in an entertaining, simple, and relatable manner.
WE!ARE movement is dedicated to offering young Africans an opportunity to share their thoughts and proffer creative solutions to the continent’s climate issues.
You can join the conversation by following their social media platforms:
- Instagram: crtve_development
- facebook.com/crtvedevelop
- twitter:@crtvedevelopand
You can also use the hashtag #AfricaByWe.
