Mahugnon Serge Djohy
I am a young Beninese activist fighting against climate change, with five years experience in research and action for sustainable development in Western Africa. I am currently the African Representative at the World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW 2015-2018), involved in raising awareness on current global water-related challenges, advocating for youth participation in water-related decision making processes and debates, and promoting water as a political priority. I also support youth-led and youth-inclusive local action, networking and communications on the achievements and efforts of young people in addressing the world’s water crises.
I also currently hold several other positions: Programme Coordinator at Plant for the Planet in Cape Verde; West Africa Regional Head at Organisation of African Youth for Development and Peace; Climate Change Focal Point at IDEAS For Us, Inc.; and Co-founder and Director of Partnership and Advocacy of Better Life NGO which serves as the General Secretariat of the Benin Partnership for Climate Change Challenges, a network of NGOs working on environmental and climate justice in Benin. Through these networks, I am working towards achieving sustainability across communities and educational institutions around the world by educating, engaging, and empowering multi-generational groups of citizens through awareness initiatives and action projects related to energy, water, food, waste and ecology. In Western Africa, I work with hundreds of young people, advocating for poverty eradication, sustainable development and peaceful society in Africa.
I previously held the positions of Expert in Sustainable Development at the West Africa Institute (WAI), an ECOWAS think tank working for regional sustainable integration and social transformations in Africa, based in Praia, Cape Verde from 2013 to 2014; and Fellow of the Climate Change Adaptation Policy, from 2012 to 2013, as part of the African Climate Change Fellowship Program (ACCFP) based at the University of Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania. From 2010 to 2012, I worked as a Junior Consultant at the Laboratory for Regional Analysis and Social Expertise in Benin, contributing to a better understanding of local and regional dynamics, a better definition of sectoral policies in the development process and strengthening the professionalization of grassroots stakeholders to promote inclusive, balanced and sustainable development.
I was selected as winner of the essay competition, Imagining the Future of Africa 2025, organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and Global Development Network (GDN). As the winner, I was invited to join GDN’s 15th Annual Global Development Conference on Structural Transformations in Africa and Beyond held in June 2014 in Accra, Ghana. There, I had the opportunity to discuss with international experts on how transformation has been taking place in other parts of the world – in Latin America, in Asia and in Central and Eastern Europe – and on the structural, political, economic, social and human challenges, in economic, social and environmental perspectives, for structural transformations in Africa.
With regards to my educational background, I obtained a Masters in Dynamic and International Policies, specialising in Environmental Management and International Relations, from Jean Piaget University of Cape Verde. I also hold a Masters in International Economics and Finance, and in Political Science and International Relations, both from the University of Parakou in Benin. I am fluent in French, English and Portuguese.
