From Vulnerability to Resilience: Students and Women Driving Urban Climate Action in East Africa

Partnerships for co-creation of knowledge and research
Empower cities to act, raise ambition, and scale implementation
Knowledge-sharing on a specific topic, method, and/or output
Awareness-raising on a specific topic, method, and/or output
Other (please specify)

Ms. Grace John Shilly

Headmistress Gov't School (Sechelela Sec School), & Chairperson, Tanzania Head of Secondary Schools Association (TAHOSSA)-Dodoma

organization
Comparatively for Tanzania Elites Community Organizers (CTECO)
country
Tanzania
language
French; Spanish; Arabic; Other (please specify)
Reference: 
Multi-level Governance and Partnerships
Justice and Equity
Creative Narratives (25-minute session)

Summary

Students and women in vulnerable communities are driving climate innovation in East Africa. This session

highlights practical projects in Tanzania and Kenya that transform vulnerability into resilience through

education, grassroots leadership, and applied learning. Examples include the Dodoma Demonstration

Borehole, School Botanical Garden, and Forest Bioeconomy Development project and BARWAQA Relief

Organization’s women-led resilience programs. Together, these initiatives show how schools can serve as

urban climate innovation hubs and how women’s leadership solutions for water, biodiversity, and food

security. The Innovate4Cities agenda by linking education systems, grassroots organizations, and city

strategies, offering transferable approaches and policy pathways. It emphasizes equity and inclusion by

elevating the voices of students and women from the Global South. Expected outputs include a regional toolkit

for replication, a joint Tanzania–Kenya declaration on resilience, and visual documentation of applied

learning. Interactive dialogue and youth testimonies, the session will inspire collaboration and showcase

practical experience that future urban climate action.

Partners

Organization
Country
Comparatively for Tanzania Elites Community Organizers (CTECO)
Tanzania

Session panelists

Panelist
Role
Organization
Country
Grace John SHILLY
Chairperson
Comparatively for Tanzania Elites Community Organizers (CTECO)
Tanzania
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