The alumni of the Nairobi Summer School on Climate Justice represented by Idriss Adoum Idriss from Chad, Salem Ayenan from Benin, and Faithfulness Joshua and Tanui Dominic from Kenya facilitated a panel session themed: Leveraging the use of Artificial Intelligence to combat natural disasters and the adverse effects of climate change. During the 10th edition of the Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum held from April 12-14, 2023, at Sarova Stanley Hotel in Nairobi Kenya, organized by Paradigm Initiative organization in partnership with Google, KICTANet, Strathmore University, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Open Technology Fund and Global Network,
The Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF) is a platform organized by Paradigm Initiative organization where conversations on digital policy in Africa are shaped, policy directions debated, and partnerships forged for action. The theme for 2023 was building sustainable internets for all.
The panelist engaged in a discussion on the most pressing climate change issues and how to harness the power of Artificial Intelligence to combat it. The panelists acknowledged the gap and the deeper problem with Artificial Intelligence and Climate Change whereby there is little or low sensitization programs, lack of youth proactiveness and the low advocacy among the youth especially in African Countries.
The session delved into the application of Artificial Intelligence in climate change mitigation and adaptation in various sectors such as; Agriculture where there is need to reduce wastages and provide insights that enable adaptation to changing weather patterns, use of satellite imagery through localized machine learning models that assist in providing localized insights about risks and disasters and generation of sentinel images that can inform initiatives such as tree planting and tree species identification to reduce monocropping.
Dominic Tanui highlighted that “Rural youths constitute 68% of youthful population in Kenya and this forms the basis to have more digital capacity building initiatives in rural areas of Kenya. Rural Momentum in partnership with the Kenya Forest Service and the Kobujoi Community Forest Association to train youths living adjacent to South Nandi Forest in Nandi County in digital capacity building through its Rural code program. Through the program we hope to utilize digital technology in solving societal pressing issues including climate change and forest conservation while also being keen on ensuring the skills create job opportunities for the youths.”
Some of the speakers in the event included Gbenga Sesan -Executive Director Paradigm Initiative, Emma Theofelus -Deputy Minister of ICT, Republic of Namibia, Grace Githaiga- Executive Director, KICTANet and Vladimir Garay – Advocacy and Communications Director, Derechos Digitales who emphasized on the need to shape digital policies in Africa.
Recommendations made at the session included need for inclusion of the youth in the climate change space with technology through digital capacity building initiatives in the communities, informal settlements and towns while also training them to be problem solvers and utilize the digital space to create and offer job opportunities. There were emphases on the prioritization and inclusion of women and young girls in the digital technology space to reduce the gap of gender imbalance. The panelists urged the respective governments and stakeholders to develop legislation on how computers and internet costs can be subsidized to ensure increased access.
Finally, there is a need to review the education curriculums at all levels in African countries to ensure that there is technology literacy while ensuring that the Institutions of higher learning incorporate dynamism in their Information technology curriculums.
Nairobi Summer School on Climate Justice (NSSCJ) is an initiative by the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) and is currently co-coordinated with Kenyatta University based in Nairobi, Kenya. The school conceptualized as an intergenerational platform to share, learn, and network on disruptive ideas that are needed to catalyze economy-wide transformation in a climate-catastrophic world. The school adopts a society-wide focus, targeting sectoral and thematic experts and frontline activists irrespective of formal education and cultural backgrounds. The call for applications for the two (2)-week long NSSCJ Cohort III that will take place from July 3 to 14 July 2023 at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya is open. https://www.climate-justice.school/application
