Events

This regional meeting was organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Mauritius. The forum brought together various stakeholders from the SWITCH Africa Green partner countries and other stakeholders involved in promoting an inclusive green economy and circular economy such as policy makers, business associations, the private sector, financial institutions, regional economic communities, international development organisations and partners, and civil society organisations.

This policy dialogue was held from 11-12 October 2022 in Kampala, Uganda bringing various stakeholders.Uganda as a country has been geared towards a green economy. Uganda’s Vision 2040 affirms the attainment of a green and clean environment through sustainable utilization of the Environment and Natural Resources. This has been laid out in the National Development Plan III (NDPIII) (years) that prioritized Agriculture, Manufacturing, and Tourism sectors for green growth.

This side event was held in the margins of the 18th Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Dakar Senegal. It was organised and managed by the EU-funded SWITCH Africa Green Programme and included participants from countries, financial institutions, development banks, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), development partners, the private sector, and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

SWITCH Africa Green Programme in Ethiopia organized the national policy dialogue to discuss identified policy interventions that promote nature-based solutions, and Sustainable Consumption and Production practices in Ethiopia. The platform also provided a platform for policy makers and key stakeholders to discuss policy responses required and to be strengthened to build back green, inclusive, and better.

The Regional Validation Meeting on Circular Economy and Green Finance was held in Accra, Ghana between 24 - 25 August 2022. During the SWITCH Africa Green regional meeting on integrated waste management in Africa, held in June 2019 in Accra, Ghana, it was emphasized that Africa should develop a regional framework on Circular Economy (CE).

The National Policy Dialogue for Ghana was held on 22nd August 2022 in Accra, Ghana. Implementation of the SWITCH Africa Green Program started in March 2014 and Ghana has implemented a number of activities under the different components of the project. A National Implementation Plan was developed which identified areas such as policies, capacity building, regulatory frameworks, incentive structures, tax and market based instruments, awareness creation, etc.

The Government’s vision is to promote an inclusive, high income and green Mauritius. In line with this vision and to support this transition to a green economy paradigm, it is important to align the national vision with sectoral policies and engage the collaborative efforts of all key stakeholders.

The SWITCH Africa Green Networking Session in South Africa will be held on 09 February 2021. The purpose of this session is to share the success stories, challenges and opportunities, in promoting green business development within the second phase of SWITCH Africa Green and also share information on Green Financing. 

Theme: Advancing Green Business and Circular Economy in Africa

The SWITCH Africa Green Programme held a regional meeting on “Advancing Green Business and Circular Economy in Africa” in Kampala Uganda, 24-25 February 2020. participants attended the regional meeting that gathered senior government officials from over 25 African countries, representatives from the European Union, Regional Economic Communities, Financial Institutions, Academia, United Nations agencies and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

The SWITCH Africa Green Regional Sector meeting on Sustainable Agriculture, was held on 27-28 November 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya. In attendance were stakeholders from the government, private sector and Micro-, Small, and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in the agriculture sector to promote the scale-up & replication of best practices in the sector.

SWITCH Africa Green organized the Regional meeting on Sustainable Tourism, that was held from 29-30 October 2019, in Kigali, Rwanda. The meeting discussed the economic viability of enterprises in the sustainable tourism sector that have led to improved livelihoods, income generation and creation of jobs while preserving the environment. In attendance were Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) experts, policy and decision makers, financial institutions and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

The SWITCH Africa Green regional sector meeting on green manufacturing, took place from 26-27 September 2019, in Entebbe, Uganda. The meeting was attended by Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) experts, policy and decision makers, financial institutions and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Others were government officials from Uganda, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, Uganda, among others, Regional Economic Communities, the European Union (EU), UN agencies, and experts in green manufacturing sector.

Speakers

The SWITCH Africa Green Regional Sector meeting on Integrated Waste Management, was held on 11 - 12 June 2019, in Accra, Ghana.

The EU-funded SWITCH Africa Green Programme supports African countries in their transition to inclusive green economy and in promoting Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) practises and patterns. UN Environment, in collaboration with UNDP and UNOPS, have been implementing phase I of the programme since 2014 in six countries across Africa: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, and Uganda.

The Second Switch Africa Green Regional Networking Forum was held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on 3-4 October 2018 and brought together SWITCH Africa Green partners and stakeholders to share lessons and experiences; build synergy and complementarity; and explore opportunities for scaling up and replicating successful interventions in the programme. The theme of the forum was “Innovative Solutions for Accelerating Africa’s Transition towards Inclusive Green Economy through Sustainable Consumption and Production practices”.

The Burkina Faso SWITCH Africa green networking forum was held on June 4, 2018, at the Ramada Hotel in Ouagadougou. The Honorable Batio Nestor Bassiere, Minister of Environment, Green Economy and Climate Change; Mr Jérôme Compaoré, representative of the Prime minister of Burkina Faso; Jean Lamy Charge d’Affaires of the European Union in Burkina Faso and Dr. Patrick Mwesigye Regional programme coordinator, UN Environment officiated the meeting.

SWITCH Africa Green held the Uganda National Networking Forum on 14 and 15 September 2017 in Kampala under the theme “Sustaining Uganda’s resources through promoting green business production”. The key objective of the forum was to foster open sharing of information and knowledge among stakeholders on the transition towards an inclusive green economy. The forum brought together about 150 participants, including government officials, members of parliament, development partners, academics, researchers, and representatives of civil society, cultural institutions and the private sector.

27 July 2017 - The Kenyan Government, through the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, brought together various stakeholders in the green economy to launch the Green Economy Strategy Implementation Plan (GESIP), at the same time holding the SWITCH Africa Green National Networking Forum in Nairobi under the theme “Accelerating the transition to an inclusive green economy in Kenya”.

The aim of the event was to:

South Africa held its SWITCH Africa Green National Networking Forum on 28 June 2017, with the Department of Environmental Affairs as the host. The approximately 50 programme stakeholders participated in the forum, including members of the National Technical Coordination Committee, representatives of the grantees, micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) beneficiaries, United Nations agencies and the delegation of the European Union.

The Mauritius National Networking Forum was held at the Business Parks of Mauritius Ltd (BPML) Cyber Tower 1 – Ebène Cybercity from 10 – 12 May, 2017. About 70 participants from government, civil society and the private sector attended the first day of the event.

The SWITCH Africa Green National Networking Forum in Mauritius was held in two parts. One meeting was held at the Business Parks of Mauritius Ltd. Cyber Tower 1 – Ebène Cybercity from 10 to 12 May 2017. The other meeting took place at the Cultural and Leisure Centre, Mont Plaisir, Rodrigues Island, on 8 and 9 May 2017. Together, these meetings attracted about 170 participants from various sectors, such as government, development partners, civil society and the private sector, including SWITCH Africa Green grantees and beneficiaries.

SWITCH Africa Green held the Ghana National Networking Forum at the Accra City Hotel on 21 and 22 March 2017. The forum brought together about 150 participants from the private sector, civil society and government. Its main objectives were to discuss the opportunities, challenges and barriers faced by the private sector in transitioning to an inclusive, low-carbon green economy promoting sustainable consumption and production practices and patterns in Ghana.

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'.