The Revamp Rave Network has ended its Second Cohort Programme on Climate Change during a valedictory event themed “Collective Action Towards a Climate-smart Future”.
The event. which hosted the 200 participants from six continents and 28 tutors who had given their pro bono expertise in educating the participants, saw Dr Bankole Oloruntoba, President of Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre, as the chief guest.
The event also had in attendance Prof Fagbohun Olarenwaju, a Professor of Environmental Law currently working with the Federal Government on the Nigerian Climate Change Act, Evgeniia Kostiania the Global Lead of UN Ocean Decade. Early Career Ocean Professional, Hamzat Lawal of Connected Development, and Mrs Erimma Orie, the Associate Editor of International Journal of Climate Change Strategy and Management.
The event kickstarted with Mr Babatunde Enitan of Mushin to The World Foundation giving the opening remarks, where he spoke not only about how young people are crucial to solving the climate crisis but, more importantly, how the participants who are now more informed can leverage the knowledge gathered from the cohort to further influence others. He listed how they can champion the climate change cause and do so relentlessly as, according to him, the journey ahead is tough but the fight for sustainability must be won.
The founder of Revamp Rave Network, Abimbola Abikoye, appreciated the time and effort the tutors and experts put into ensuring the goals of the cohort was achieved. She encouraged the participants to keep up the momentum and leverage the opportunities the cohort has given. She highlighted the numerous opportunities they can leverage on to push forward and scale their impact and advocacy. She encouraged them to deploy action with knowledge to help the world achieve its Paris Agreement target.
The highlight from the cohort was explained by the Communications Lead of Revamp Rave Network, Godiya Zambwa, who spoke on how the organisation had conducted the 14-week training and the impact that has been made so far. Listing the achievements, Godiya said that the application process saw 800 participants applying for the second cohort, out of which 200 were selected by a six-man committee set up to review the applications submitted. The 200 participants who were from different countries across the six continents, participated in the 14 weeks cohort and 10 of the 200 participants would emerge winners of the internship scholarship slot.
Ten participants from the 200 were unveiled as winners of the three-month internship scholarship opportunity. The 10 participants were Loretta Nwajiaku and Bate Garba both from Nigeria who interned with Early Career Ocean Professional; Promise Mannet and William Kazambe from Malawi who were posted to Thought for Food Foundation; Serah Akojenu and Nwamaka Uzonnah from Nigeria were posted to EnviroNews; Ayinla Mwamadi from Malawi and Winnie from Zimbabwe were posted to WasteXchange Nigeria; and Toheeb Bolaji from Nigeria and Lwazi Mlamboi from Eswantini were posted to CleanTech Republik.
Also, the five most outstanding participants were awarded for their active participation and diligence throughout the 14 weeks the cohort lasted.
The event ended with the closing remarks by one of the participants, Atamba Saviour from Uganda, who in his remarks thanked everyone for coming and for the platform created by the organisers.
