Addressing Climate Change through Moulding Briquettes

Youth Fighting Climate Change in Uganda

Lillian Nkwenge is a Ugandan Lady and a Development Communications, Journalist and Diplomat by Training. She has over 17 Years of Communication, Public Relations and Journalism having worked with the Print media, Government Ministries, Agencies, Local Governments and International development partners offering different areas of communication specialization and expertise. She has worked as a Communication Specialist with Organizations like UNDP, UNICEF, USAID, Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Bank of Uganda, and the Ugandan Meteorological Agency among others.She has also been engaged as both a National and international trainer in Media, Access to information and Behavioral Change communication. On a personal level, Lillian is a single mother of three, (2 girls, 1 boy). She hails from Fort portal, a City in Western Uganda and is a Mutooro by Tribe. She is first born in a family of four, three girls and one boy. She was inspired by her mother, Akiiki who raised them in a rural setting where she worked as a Nurse. Lillian got interested in Environment conservation and indeed climate change issues when she was studying for a Master’s Degree in Development studies and when she was carrying out a UNDP-UBOS Millennium Development Goals Household survey 2010 that was gauging status and level of implementation of the 8 MDG goals including Goal No 7 that ensures environmental sustainability, as a District supervisor. Later, she was nominated as one of the officials to write the report that culminated into the MDGs Report, 2015. In her study, she focused on Environment and Sustainable Development Management, Public Policy and Management, Gender and Development, Rural Economic Development. This interest later culminated into looking for ways of contributing to environment conservation to mitigate climate change, and that is how she got the vision and started an organization known as “Youth fighting Climate Change”- YOFICC in short. She realized that the best people to push the climate agenda lies in the youth, whom she has been guiding to create solutions for this current global problem since 2015. Her long term goal is to become an International champion for climate change, using her drive and communication expertise to bring more Youth, starting from Primary schools in getting the focus and rising solutions to save the environment. Lillian Holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and Diplomacy, a Diploma in Journalism, a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration & Management and a Master’s Degree in Development Studies; she also did a Certificate in Law to understand the laws governing all issues on climate change both national and international. Lillian intends to carry out a PHD in the same field to broaden her knowledge and drive her ambition to combat climate change.