Charlot Magayi used to sell charcoal for cooking in the Nairobi slum community of Mukuru where she grew up. Today, she’s the recipient of a 2022 Earthshot Prize for her work on climate and the promotion of clean cooking alternatives. Magayi, founder of Mukuru Clean Stoves, was one of five…
African heads of state aren’t the only ones heading to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. Young climate activists from across the continent, along with their global peers, are again calling for action on climate change through various events aligned with UNGA. The Youth4Climate initiative, along with other…
Amina Mohammed, the deputy secretary general of the United Nations, plans to arrive in Côte d’Ivoire on Saturday ahead of a key meeting on desertification and land use in Abidjan. The meeting, the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention to Combat Desertification (COP15), is considered to be a…
Architect Diébédo Francis Kéré, a native of Burkina Faso, was awarded this years top prize in architecture for his climate-focused work, much of it in West Africa and in Kenya, Sudan and other parts of the continent. Kéré was named this year’s recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize for pioneering…
There’s disappointment and anger over the now-concluded COP26 climate negotiations in Glasgow, with firm commitments on coal phaseouts removed from final-draft language at the objection of developing nations. South Africa, China, India and others made a successful case for a softer commitment and longer timeline on coal. Those changes come…
The African Union (AU) says it is placing cultural values at the center of its upcoming Assembly of Heads of State and Government, in an announcement of a theme that will carry throughout the year – a year of both challenge linked to the pandemic and its economic fallout, but…
There’s not a lot of fashion news covered here at AT, but there’s a good reason when the African Development Bank (AfDB) and its partners announce a Fashionomics Africa contest to advance the circular economy. The inaugural online contest invites African fashion designers and brands to submit their “best sustainable…
The 2021 Zayed Sustainability Prize scheduled for January in the United Arab Emirates has been postponed, with any submitted entries now moved into 2022. Officials in the UAE said the ceremony, celebrated during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), was too much of a risk with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The…
Young adults focused primarily on South Africa are worried about the continent’s future, but remain optimistic about their own opportunities and their own communities. That’ s according to the recently released Pan-African Youth Survey, which asked 4,200 young adults ages 18-24 how they viewed both the African future and its…
The deadline has been extended for applications for the prestigious Zayed Sustainability Prize, an initiative of the Unite Arab Emirates that engages Africans and their global counterparts in delivering solutions for a sustainable future. The prize coordinators say that because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, they’ll now accept entries through…
A Ugandan teen made famous by the Disney movie “Queen of Katwe” has died, according to the school she attended in Gayaza, a community just a few miles north of Kampala. “Fare thee well Nikita Pearl Waligwa,” the school said in messages that followed news accounts of the 15-year-old actor’s…
Madagascar has welcomed its new Hakanto Contemporary gallery in Antananarivo with an exhibit celebrating local artists in a space committed to contemporary art. The “Here We Reach All the Dreams of the World” exhibit opening showcased Malagasy dancers, musicians, writers, designers and chefs, in a dedication of the 300 square…
A Ugandan advocate for women and children has been named as one of two recipients of the 2019 Ginetta Sagan Award, an honor Amnesty International gives each year to women who work to protect the most vulnerable in areas where human rights violations are widespread. Victoria Nyanjura, the founder of…
Climate change and related environmental challenges are implicated in gender-based violence and discrimination, notably in sub-Saharan Africa’s fishing and timber industries, according to a new study from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Conflict over scarce resources can give rise to practices such as ‘sex-for-fish’ in parts of…
Tibor Nagy, the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs for the United States, will begin a five-nation tour on the African continent on Wednesday. Nagy will visit the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan during the two-week journey. The trip will highlight a U.S. commitment to African youth,…