Bulawayo, (New Ziana) –Youths in Bulawayo aged between 15 and 25 will soon benefit from a US$100 000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies Youth Action Fund for use in designing, producing and governing urgent climate solutions in the city.
The City of Bulawayo is part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Youth Climate Action Fund Project through which 90 cities across five continents receive a grant to fund youth-led climate initiatives.
The City joins the second round of the Fund project after successfully the first round which ran from April 1 to December 31 last year, where it received US$50 000 to fund 10 microgrants projects.
Confirming the development on Monday, mayor David Coltart said the city is proud of the work done in the first round where young people conducted various innovative projects including the Bulawayo carbon footprint assessments, youth led waste management innovations, innovative renewable energy projects, tree planting and community garden initiatives.
Other initiatives include biogas production, public education campaigns, climate hackathons to launch recycling or waste reduction initiatives.
“The projects will be key in the City’s road map towards a 40 percent per capita emissions reduction as they outlined co-governance strategies towards mitigation planning. Stemming from the Youth Climate Action Fund the microgrants advanced critical community goals,” said Coltart.
He said the city managed to complete all the projects within the set timeline allowing it to receive an additional US$100 000 to support more youth-driven projects over the course of one year (2025).
“With double the funding and a year of experience, Round 2 offers Bulawayo the opportunity to deepen collaboration, support more impactful projects, and inspire the next generation of local youth leaders. “The City of Bulawayo launches the Open Call for the 2025 Youth Climate Action Fund. The second round of funding is providing opportunities for young people to co-produce, co-govern and co-design youth-led initiatives,” he said.
Coltart said The Youth Climate Action Fund is important in achieving sustainable development of the city. “The City of Bulawayo notes that sustainability goes beyond environmental considerations and encompasses social and economic dimensions. Sustainable cities strive to create inclusive and equitable communities, and the Youth Climate Action Fund presents an opportunity for young people aged 15 – 24 years to contribute towards the development of an effective climate change response for Bulawayo,” he explained.
New Ziana
