EMILY MAINA

🇨🇦🤝 🇰🇪

Canada is making a $9M investment in Nairobi for aviation maintenance. This will: 🛫 Certify 2000+ technicians to global standards 🛫 Ensure scholarships for women 🛫 Reinforce 🇰🇪 aviation leadership 🛫 Leverage aviation exports from 🇨🇦 Real mutual benefits. More ⤵️

𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬-𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐃 The State department is exploring viable opportunities for the youth to engage in climate action initiatives to leverage green job creation, climate services and green innovations. In a strategic consultative forum with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), officials from the State Department for Youth Affairs and Creative Economy led by Director Emily Maina, discussed avenues for partnership aimed at empowering young people in Kenya by exploiting green and climate action opportunities through the IGAD Climate Prediction framework. The meeting, held at IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre, focused on strengthening collaboration around climate services, green job creation, and youth participation in climate governance frameworks. IGAD, through ICPAC ( IGAD Climate Prediction and Application Centre),and its Food Security, Nutrition and Resilience Analysis Hub, underscored the urgent need to invest in youth-driven climate action. Based on a significant youth population across IGAD Member States, both institutions emphasized the importance of equipping young people with tailored climate information and skills to build climate-resilient agrifood systems. Among the key areas of discussion were: • Improving youth access to climate services to enhance productivity in agrifood systems. • Co-developing youth-focused digital climate solutions in collaboration with the private sector. • Establishing a Regional Youth Coalition on Climate and Climate-Resilient Agrifood Systems in partnership with national youth councils. • Facilitating youth participation in climate and agrifood policy decision-making forums. • Training young people in adaptation, resilience approaches, and green enterprise development. The forum further explored collaboration with verified civil society organizations under the Environmental and Climate Change Sector Working Group, which brings together over 350 government-recognized organizations, as well as strengthening cross-country youth relations under regional frameworks such as the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. The engagement marks a significant step toward harnessing climate information as a tool for job creation, resilience building, and sustainable development among young the young people; reaffirming the shared commitment to making youth active drivers of climate solutions across the IGAD region. The meeting was attended by senior officials from the state department including Director Youth social development, Emily Maina, Asst. Director Youth Development, Dr. Thomas Mose, Abebe Tadegu Tsehayu, Climate change officer at IGAD-ICPAC and Mr. Calistus Wachana of IGAD-ICPAC