Theme:  How can youth support in mobilizing communities around coastal resilience

Objectives of the Briefing

• Explain the development challenges related to coastal degradation due to erosion, pollution and flooding.
• Invite the Blog4Dev community to implement a campaign through their platforms (personal blogs, Facebook pages, twitter account, Instagram) on how coastal communities could contribute to reduce risks affecting them. Best content will be shared on the WACA Website and Youth Transforming Africa blog.

Background

West Africa’s coastal areas host about one third of the region’s population and generate 56 percent of its GDP. But environmental degradation on the coast of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Togo cost $3.8 billion, or 5.3% of the four countries’ GDP in 2017. Beyond the economic cost, coastal degradation puts livelihoods, nutrition, food security, and prosperity at stake. Climate change will exacerbate the environmental stresses along the coast. By 2100, West Africa is expected to have sea level rise of up to 1.06 m, higher incidences of extreme rainfall, a temperature increase of 2°C, and 5,500 km2 of coast flooded.

The West Africa Coastal Areas Management Program (WACA) supports countries’ effort to bring the solutions needed to protect coastal livelihoods. It will also help mobilize public opinion in order to reduce the natural and man-made risks affecting coastal communities. 

Through its Youth Transforming Africa initiative, the World Bank Africa Region is organizing regular roundtables on development topics. Their purpose is to build Africa’s youth capacity to understand the challenges, allow dialogue among Africa’s youth, and prepare some youth-grown solutions to influence policymaking in Africa.

In the context of the World Environment Day (June 5) and the World Ocean Day (June 8), the Africa Communications team (AFREC) and the WACA program will brief the Blog4Dev community members on the challenges related to coastal degradation. While the bloggers from the 17 countries planned to be part of WACA are specifically targeted, all the Blog4Dev community will be invited. Expected attendance is around 40 bloggers.

Format and Speakers (EST)

10:00    Welcome: Sylvie Nenonene, Lead External Affairs Officer, Regional Integration, AFREC

10:03    Agenda and speakers

             Kelvin Adantchede, Youth Blogger, Moderator

10:05    The challenges of coastal degradation

              Maria Sarraf, Practice Manager

              Salimata Follea, Project Team Leader, WACA Benin

10:15    Which role for young entrepreneurs? 

             Margaret Arnold, Senior Social Development Specialist

             Elikia Abraham, Private Sector Specialist

10:25    How to use social media to mobilize communities

             Marie Duffour, Social Media Specialist, AFREC

10:30    Q&A     

10:55    Closing remarks: Maria Sarraf, Practice Manager

11:00    End