Only few hours before the opening of Global Power Shift in Istanbul, it’s a great pleasure to introduce team members from Kenya participating in the Summit!
Ruth Nyambura has been involved in various social justice movements for the last 6 years and has worked extensively with the Forum for Young Women in Politics (FYWP); a Civil society organization that works with young women in Kenya who are working on policy, governance and development issues in various platforms. For the last 2 years, Ruth has been involved with numerous African organizations working on environmental and climate change issues in Africa in various capacities and is now the Advocacy and Communications Coordinator for the African Biodiversity Network (ABN), a regional network of individuals and organizations seeking African solutions to the ecological and socio-economic challenges that face the continent.
Valentine Sims holds a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism Management from the United States International University (USIU), Nairobi which she obtained in 2009. She’s budding entrepreneur, running a tour company called Heels and Valise Tours, which is one of the projects that is aimed at contributing towards job creation among the youth in Kenya. In additional to this, Val has been a volunteer with the Kenya Youth Climate Network (KYCN) which is a youth network that is hosted by the Norwegian Church Aid, Kenya and whose main focus is climate change advocacy and leadership and governance, since 2010. As a volunteer with KYCN, she had the privilege of convening the 5th National Youth Conference on Climate Change (NYCCC V) in 2012 and she continues to volunteer in various climate change, leadership and governance issues, with the current focus being on encouraging young people to take up green jobs and use climate change as an opportunity to contribute towards poverty eradication, food security, peace building, youth empowerment and participation in governance.
Caroline Wambui is an Environmental Science graduate from Kenyatta University, Kenya and is undertaking her masters in Environmental Sciences. She currently works with Project Survival Media, coordinating a team of five in finding solutions to climate change and documenting them for replication by other communities. She is a keen environmentalist with a specific interest in climate change. Caroline has been on the forefront of environmental activities in Kenya, heading Sustainable Africa Youth Foundation (SAYF), which promotes environmental awareness among youths in schools. Since COP 17, she has actively worked with Project Survival Media, finding, writing, and sharing stories about climate change negotiations, problems and solutions around the world. She has also been involved in the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), working on public participation in decision-making on matters regarding climate change.
Charles Kyeti is a talented energetic and visionary designer aged 24 yrs who believes that a good design is simple, clear and functional. I am a Kenyan citizen by birth who works and resides in Nairobi. Having graduated from the University of Nairobi’s school of design with Hons. I joined Design Forty Limited, which is a leading design outfit here in Kenya where I have been practicing both Interiors, and graphic design. I love graphic design more because it is the avenue through which I volunteer for various organizations here in Kenya one of them being Greenbits initiative http://greenbits.herokuapp.com. As the designer in charge I am tasked with coming up with branding items and communication materials the organization. I design logos posters, fliers, banners and website templates. Recently I was involved in designing a special book called ‘My COP Little Hand book’ whose main aim was to simplify the information and make it easy to read for the youth. The book was translated into various languages and can be found in our website. I consider this a very noble task because it is my way of giving back to the community. My hobbies are drawing, acting, and reading and yes I love soccer too.
Emmanuel Dennis Ngongo is a Youth Development Consultant aged 33 years born in Kenya. He is the Director of the Green Teams Initiative operating in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Senegal. He is a member of the International Youth Initiative Advisory Board of the Open Society Foundation that plans strategies for development in empowering youth to become active citizens able to influence public life. He is the Convener of the National Youth Sector Alliance (NYSA) a Kenyan youth multi stakeholder network for Policy Dialogue and implementation. He is an environmental justice enthusiast and is dedicating his time to ensure young people gain enterprise opportunities from the global ecological challenge.
Prince papa Omugataya is a contemporary dance and theater artist, performer, choreographer and director. Free lance creative non-violent direct action activist.
Nelson Ochieng Opany is a 25 year old youth and community development advocate living in Mombasa. He works with Climate Action Programme for Schools and Youth (www.capsay.org) and also serves as the National Youth Representative at Kenya Scouts Association. In 2011 he began Uwezo Youth Development Programme; a youth-led community organization. Apart from his current work Nelson draws his climate change advocacy experience from UNHABITATs Cities and Climate Change Initiative and the We Have Faith African Youth Climate Justice Caravan to COP 17 in Durban, South Africa.
Kennedy Mbeva is a climate justice advocate passionate about making it easier for young people to engage in environmental and climate governance, as manifested in the climate change education initiative he founded, Greenbits Initiative (http://greenbits.heroku.com). He is also the Policy and Advocacy Development Officer at the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change – Kenya, an avid blogger and poet.