INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY
I ACT: Building Youth's Capacity Through Peer-to-Peer Learning

Climate change is perhaps the most fundamental challenge of our time. Today's youth will inevitably be confronted with its manifestations and in coming years and decades will be at the front lines of efforts to address and mitigate the impacts. Empowering the younger generation to navigate this challenge is of paramount importance.

Recognising the power of peer-to-peer learning to spread knowledge and encourage collaboration, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is implementing the Italy-IRENA Action for Climate Toolkit (I ACT) initiative in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and with the support of the SDG7 Youth Constituency as well as UNICEF.

Developed in response to the youth demand for climate change education and literacy, I ACT seeks to build the capacity of youth to deliver peer-led, non-formal training around the role of the energy transitions in addressing climate change and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The implementation is divided into three phases:

1. Peer education toolkit: it consists of presentation materials, trainer guides, and workshop activities, comprising six diverse modules in three languages (English, French, Spanish) provided to selected peer educators.
2. Training-of-trainers: up to today, 161 young leaders have been directly trained as I ACT peer educators. They were trained as communicators and educators on climate and energy issues.
3. Local dissemination: the trained peer educators then conducted national workshops in 42 countries, many of which were delivered in collaboration with Italian Embassies around the world. In total, more than 6,000 people participated in local I ACT workshops.

Using the toolkit developed in the first phase, selected trainers or peer educators proceeded to deliver workshops in their regions as part of the last phase. The feedback from the peer educators indicated that the toolkit helped to build their capacity and knowledge on climate and energy issues, as well as their ability to impart that information.

Michael Mfum Asare, a peer educator from Ghana, shared how he used the toolkit to prepare and guide him in delivering his workshops in Accra. "The toolkit helped me strategise how best to deliver the knowledge in a way that resonated with Ghanaian youth. This involved using real-world examples from Ghana's climate and energy context aligned with the I ACT modules, which makes the sessions both practical and relatable for participants," he said.

He continued, "For instance, while facilitating the module on Renewable Energy for Climate Action', I shared examples of how solar-powered irrigation systems are being used in the Northern Region of Ghana to support climate-smart agriculture. I explained how these systems help local farmers adapt to the effects of climate change, such as erratic rainfall and prolonged dry seasons, by ensuring a consistent water supply for the crops."

A peer-educator from Indonesia, Amira Bilqis, who is also an IRENA Youth Council member and delivers her workshops in Southeast Asia, shared that she was using a similar approach by meeting the needs of the participants according to their level of knowledge and backgrounds.

Both Amira and Michael appreciated the fact that their participants showed a high level of enthusiasm in learning, and in return, gave them diverse perspectives on the issues. As young educators, they also faced the challenges of having to improvise on the spot, in order to make sure their participants understood the topics and messages while enjoying the learning process. But they learned as they gained more experience, by including more relatable and interactive elements to the workshops.

They also reflected that there is a clear appetite from youth participants to have their activism, innovation and actions be informed by the latest knowledge and data. Both peer educators observed that their participants showed motivation to turn their knowledge into actions, on which Amira and Michael gave similar advice, "Start small but consistent, by using the resources around you and reaching out to your community for support."

Building on this success, IRENA is expanding the I ACT initiative. The toolkit will be translated into additional languages - Arabic and Portuguese - allowing wider outreach to more youth. This year, I ACT will train a new cohort of over 300 peer educators. The selection process is ongoing and will be announced individually only to selected applicants in the coming weeks. Furthermore, the I ACT materials will be available for public use later this year, to encourage data-and-knowledge-based youth actions and activism.