Events

First day of the Association Jeunesse Solidaire pour le Développement Véritable regional forum, 20 October 2016. Elimination of uncontrolled dump site at the Ouahigouya municipality. Photo | SWITCH Africa Green 

The e-learning course “Introduction to SCP in Africa” is geared towards policymakers in Africa who want to advance sustainable consumption and production in their countries. 

The fourth meeting of the Joint Steering Committee for the Switch Africa Green programme was held on 29 May 2016 in Kampala. The meeting was attended by representatives of the European Union, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the African Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production (ARSCP) and the Government of Uganda on behalf of the pilot countries.

The Ninth African Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production (ARSCP-9) was held from 29 May to 1 June 2016, with more than 200 participants, consisting of sustainable consumption and production practitioners, the national focal points for the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns (10YFP), SWITCH Africa Green implementing partners and development partners.

The SWITCH Africa Green Regional Networking Forum was held on 28 and 29 May 2016, back-to-back with the ninth African Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production, held in Kampala from 30 May to 2 June 2016. At the SWITCH Africa Green exhibition, selected enterprises had the opportunity to showcase what they had been doing under the programme. The theme of the meeting was 'Supporting African countries in the transition towards an inclusive green economy based on sustainable consumption and production patterns'.

After the welcome speech by Mr Jean Carlo Botsar, Departmental Head of the Commission of Environment, Forestry, Tourism, Fisheries and Marine Parks, the workshop was officially opened by the Commissioner of Environment, Mr Richard Payendee. The commissioner gave assurance of the full support of the Rodrigues Regional Assembly to the implementation of the SWITCH Africa Green project in Rodrigues. He expressed his appreciation of the fact that the national projects being implemented in Rodrigues were in line with the Regional Government’s objective of making Rodrigues an ecological island.

The Mauritius National Stakeholder Workshop was held on 17 and 18 March 2016 at the Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel in Port Louis.

Mr. Simon Springett, United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, delivering opening remarks. Photo | SWITCH Africa Green

The NTCC meeting was convened at the Protea Hotel Fire and Ice in Menlyn Pretoria on 10th March 2016 and chaired by the Mr. Tlou Ramaru, SWITCH Africa Green National Focal Point from the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). The meeting had about 20 participants including the EU, DEA, CSIR, NCPC, DAFF, EDD, DTI and DST.

The main objectives of the meeting were to:

The grant awards ceremony was held on 3 March 2016 at the Pacific Hotel in Ouagadougou.

The SWITCH Africa Green National Stakeholder Workshop, held on 2 March 2016 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, was officially opened by Mr. Rasmane Ouedraogo, Director of the Department of Environmental Policies, Coordinator of the Poverty-Environment Initiative, Permanent Secretary to the National Council on Environment and Sustainable Development (CONEDD) and the SWITCH Africa Green national focal point for Burkina Faso.

The South Africa SWITCH Africa Green grants were officially awarded to the six successful applicants from South Africa in a ceremony held on 15 December 2015 at the Southern Sun Hotel in Pretoria, South Africa. During the second call for proposals, 14 concept notes were received from South Africa and, after preliminary screening and evaluation, six organizations from South Africa qualified for SWITCH Africa Green grants (see table). The beneficiaries received more than USD 1.4 million for various projects related to the green economy and sustainable development.

The grantees from the second call for proposal were given in-depth training on the monitoring and evaluation guidelines for the SWITCH Africa Green programme. The training sessions were held in South Africa on 26–27 November 2015. During the training, the grantees and their partners were first taken through the grant support agreement signed with the United Nations Office for Project Services and then given in-depth training on the project monitoring and evaluation requirements.

The SWITCH Africa Green National Stakeholder Workshop in Uganda was held on 19 and 20 November 2015 at the Hotel Africana in Kampala. The workshop was officially opened by Mr. Arnold Waiswa, Director of Environmental Monitoring and Compliance at the National Environment Management Authority, who delivered a statement on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water and Environment, Uganda.

The Kenya National Stakeholder workshop was held on 16-17 November 2015 at the BOMA Inn Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. In addition to clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the various parties in the project and linking the three project components, the agenda of the workshop also included the grants award ceremony as well as the validation of the country implementation report. Participants comprised of members of the NTCC, the grantees, the partners as well as some of the MSMEs in the four SAG projects in Kenya. Development partners and EU were also represented in this meeting.

The grantees from the second call for proposal were given in-depth training on the monitoring and evaluation guidelines for the SWITCH Africa Green programme. The training sessions were held in Mauritius on 12–13 November 2015. During the training, the grantees and their partners were first taken through the grant support agreement signed with the United Nations Office for Project Services and then given in-depth training on the project monitoring and evaluation requirements.

SWITCH Africa grants were officially awarded to the successful applicants from Mauritius in an exceptional ceremony held on 12 November 2015 in the boardroom of the Ministry of Environment, Sustainable Development and Disaster and Beach Management. The grants were awarded by Mr. Eric Vanhalewyn, First Secretary and Head of Section for the Delegation of the European Union to Mauritius, and Mr. Raj Dayal, Minister for Environment, Sustainable Development and Disaster and Beach Management.

Participants at the SWITCH Africa Green National Stakeholder Workshop held in Accra on 5–6 November 2015 pause for a group photo. Photo | SWITCH Africa Green 

At a grant award ceremony held at the Imperial Golf Hotel, Entebbe, on 27 July 2015, the Minister of State for Environment, Ms. Flavia Nabugera Munaaba, together with European Union representative Ms. Jalia Kobusinge, officially awarded grants to the successful SWITCH Africa Green applicants in Uganda.

The Ghana SWITCH Africa Green grants were officially awarded to the five successful applicants during an exceptional grant awards ceremony held on 21 July 2015 at the Orchid Hospitality Management Services Conference Room in Accra.

Ghana

In July 2015, over $3.4 million in SWITCH Africa Green grants was awarded for projects in Kenya, Ghana and Uganda. In November 2015, additional awards of over $3 million were granted for 16 projects in Burkina Faso, Mauritius, and South Africa, as well as $4.5 million for 3 multi-country projects covering all six pilot countries. Table 1 lists the grants awarded in Burkina Faso, Mauritius and South Africa and the multi-country grants, and table 2 lists the grants for Kenya, Ghana and Uganda.

The second call for proposals for SWITCH Africa Green, covering Burkina Faso, Mauritius and South Africa, was launched on 23 March 2015, through the website of the United Nations Office for Project Services after the approval by the United Nations Environment Programme and the European Union of the grant support agreement and the guidelines and templates for the concept notes and full application.