Africa, Go Green! A New Initiative for the Continent’s Youth to Become Leaders in the Global Environment Needs to Combine Activism with Knowledge, Research and Policy

A growing number of scholars assert that the second half of the century will be the African century. But the question is how exactly, and with which perspectives. This is the challenge of the African youth. Africa’s young are eagerly searching for their place in globalization. The global environmental challenge provides the best opportunity for the continent’s new generation for two reasons: because Africa will be most affected by climate change, and because it is ideally suited to be at the forefront of the emerging renewable energy business, including solar and wind energy. Moreover, taking care of the environment could be a decisive carrier of inter-generational understanding and ethnic reconciliation. In an international knowledge economy, Africa’s youth needs first and foremost an educational initiative at the forefront of global knowledge combining activism with research and policy in order to fulfill such ambition.