Two years ago, at the nexus of youth, employment, and the green economy, we launched our first-ever 10-year global Moonshot Initiative: Our World, Our Work (OWOW). With the ambitious goal to ensure that 1 million young people, 60% young women, secure green jobs, OWOW has already made significant strides in just two years. As we celebrate this anniversary, we want to take a moment to share the accomplishments we’ve achieved so far.
Investigate
Together with our partners, we have been conducting research to identify and assess scalable workforce development solutions to accelerate the transition to green economies. We have engaged in hands-on research, analyzing global trends and conducting hyper-localized assessments of labor markets in green sectors.
Building on our global desk research, our team conducted localized labor market assessments to identify job opportunities in green markets in Rwanda, the Philippines, Senegal, South Sudan, and Liberia. In the Philippines, through their Youth Development Alliances, 15 cities now have the capacity for and are conducting their own market assessments and developing action plans for placing out-of-school youth into green jobs.
Our investigation has not only informed innovation and programming across 13 countries to date, but it has also elevated the importance of green skills at the center of discussions in global conferences, such as the Africa Climate Summit (ACS) and the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference. Furthermore, by conducting stakeholder convenings and workshops, we have helped identify opportunities and challenges in advancing the green skills and youth employment agenda. In preparation for these conferences, our team conducted extensive research to develop background papers, synthesizing global and regional trends that can inform policies and national systems’ designs.
African Climate Summit (ACS)
In September, the African Union and the Government of Kenya co-hosted the inaugural ACS, highlighting the urgent need for climate adaptation and the role of Africa’s youth in this effort. EDC organized the high-level panel “The Big Opportunity,” hosted by Kenya’s First Lady, Mama Rachel Ruto. The background report for this event, The Big Opportunity: Education & Skills Development for a Climate-Adapted and Green Economy, analyzed the critical role of education in building climate literacy, adapting to change, and equipping youth with skills for the future economy.
COP28
What we started at the ACS Conference was significantly amplified at COP28, which centered on establishing a sustainable low-carbon economy and accelerating climate change adaptation. EDC organized four side events at COP28 focused on green skills and the just transition to a green economy. Toward a Youth-Inclusive Green Economy: Five Levers for Scaling Positive Change in the Next Five Years, also a background report, highlighted the importance of connecting diverse stakeholders and local resources with broader commitments, policies, and financing at national and global levels. The report also proposed an actionable, systemic five-levers of change framework to rapidly grow the youth pipeline transition to a green economy.
Workshops and Convenings
While participating in these major conferences, we also took pride in our consultative workshops and convenings. Events such as the “Accelerating Youth Jobs and Inclusive Green Economies” convening in December 2022 and the “Preparing a Green and Blue Workforce” convening in February 2024 aimed to gather stakeholder insights on the green and blue workforce and to introduce tools and frameworks to enhance youth engagement in green and blue economies.
Implement
Beyond research, we focused on integrating green work readiness skills, work-based learning and entrepreneurship, and climate mitigation and adaptation skills into secondary, postsecondary, and bridging programs for out-of-school youth. This process created practical tools and frameworks designed to meet local needs.
Today, we are implementing innovative and impactful climate-smart activities across 13 countries: Jamaica, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Djibouti, Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States. Our OWOW Team is actively engaged in co-developing and promoting a variety of tools and designs country by country, aiming at developing the essential green transferable skills that will equip young people in navigating new emerging markets and rapid changes in jobs and occupations, and it will demonstrate the necessary pragmatic innovation needed for the green economy. These products, such as Green Work Ready Now, range from green and blue economic modules, market assessments, and green job catalogs to Market.Able coaching apps for young green entrepreneurs. By refining our initiatives through a green skills lens, we were able to launch with rapid results. Here is a glimpse of what we have accomplished in the past two years:
- Senegal: We are rolling out a green work readiness and entrepreneurship curriculum nationwide across the national technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system. Additionally, we are implementing a green career readiness program in 200 middle schools. Our goal is to transition 100,000 young Senegalese, with 70% being young women, into quality jobs by 2028.
- Southeast Asia: We have developed the Youth Climate Action Leadership Development Program, designed to enhance the leadership skills and networks of youth leaders transitioning into public, private, and community leadership positions. This program empowers these leaders to address environmental issues and contribute to sustainable development, thereby building a robust community of leaders advocating for and implementing ecological action in their jobs.
- Asia-Pacific region: We launched the Community Empowerment for Racial and Environmental Justice initiative aimed at equipping 5,500 youth from diverse ethnic minority communities in Indonesia and the Philippines with skills for the blue and green economies. We focus on inclusivity, local potential, and facilitation of youth-led coalitions to address environmental challenges and green economy opportunities.
- Liberia, Senegal, and South Sudan: We are developing climate-smart agriculture practices for youth, including horticulture, beekeeping, chicken farming, and hydroponics. In Liberia, for example, we have trained youth as beekeepers, with one young beekeeper receiving a $10,000 grant to advance her business through the USAID Agribusiness Development and Incubator activity. We are also placing youth in green jobs related to solar energy, from installation to maintenance.
These initiatives represent just a fraction of our global efforts to equip young people with the skills and opportunities needed to thrive in a green economy.
Influence
We actively support governments and the private sector in implementing local and national policy solutions. Our focus is on enhancing green skills and employment opportunities. We prioritize supporting young women and vulnerable youth populations who are often underrepresented in green career pathways. By sharing successful approaches widely, we are working to facilitate the uptake of these solutions across various regions and sectors.
Our participation in ACS and COP28 not only provided us with the opportunity to showcase our efforts but also allowed us to collaborate with global leaders on advancing green careers and sustainable development.
We started the Coalition Skills for a Green Future in partnership with GIZ, NDC-P, and WRI. This coalition aims to advocate for and disseminate research on effective models for greening the national workforce. We hope to mobilize governments and multilateral funding to scale these efforts to additional countries, helping to achieve climate mitigation and adaptation targets.
In parallel, in the United States, EDC mobilized a network of like-minded agencies, the private sector, and academia to share and commit together toward facilitating the transition to a sustainable and equitable green economy by enhancing workforce development, education, and skills training related to climate solutions. By creating programs that tackle funding, policy, research, career exploration, higher education, and workforce training, these organizations aim to prepare individuals, especially from underrepresented communities, for careers in green jobs, thereby addressing climate change and social equity.
We are also amplifying young women’s voices through our podcast and Africa campaign with bird News Agency, highlighting their perspectives on climate issues in South Africa. The vodcast is dedicated to bringing attention to the contributions and insights of young women in the fight against climate change.
These initiatives reflect our ongoing commitment to empowering youth and driving the transition to a sustainable low-carbon future. Thank you for being part of this journey with us. Stay connected for more updates as we continue to make strides toward our Moonshot goals.