Click on each person to read more about them.

POSTPONED SPRING 2021

DUE TO COVID-19 

We would like to offer you a chance to connect with each of our proposed Keynote Speakers during this time of the COVID-19 crisis and hear about what they are doing in their homelands.

Aya Chebbi - African Union Youth Envoy Ambassador - has been extremely busy sharing what African Youth are doing to support their countries & communities since the Covid-19 crisis began. Here is her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AUYouthEnvoy/

Nnimmo Bassey (Nigeria) - Africa’s famous environmentalist and Director Health of Mother Earth Foundation has been non-stop voicing through his writings, poetry and online conferences a deep reflection about our world today - https://www.facebook.com/HealthEarth

Ambassador Sidique Abou-Bakarr Wai - Sierra Leone Ambassador to USA, has been hosting CoVid-19 Community calls for Sierra Leoneans in Sierra Leone and the USA, especially as many Sierra Leoneans live in NYC and are part of the healthcare systems.

Ousmane Aly Pame (Senegal) - Network for Emergence and Development of Ecovillages in the Sahel REDES has been continuing to build ecovillages and providing the infrastructures that include a community training center, irrigation systems for food forests, solar energy and much more while observing the COVID-19 guidelines in their area. https://www.facebook.com/REDESoutreach

With our new reality of social distancing yet keeping connected, ERI is proposing to organize SUMMER WEBINAR with some of our colleagues to keep us informed of what is happening in their part of the world, how we can support one another and where we might go from here. We would love you to join us and will send out information when we put all the details together. If you would like to participate in the discussion, please contact us, and if we do get a lot of response, we might even do more than one online event.

About the ARCC Forum

ARCC 2020 inaugurates a 5-year commitment to build bridges between the USA climate change movement, African Diaspora and Africans addressing climate change emergency action. This event will include multiple UCLA schools and departments and provide the opportunity to meet some of the most notable Africans on the continent and in the Diaspora engaged in climate change. This platform will help develop strong public/private partnerships between the USA and Africa, united in seeking climate solutions and implementing the UN SDGs. The ARCC Forum will assemble interdisciplinary panels of scholars, scientists, industry leaders, climate change innovators, youth activists, and dignitaries to build on African initiatives in these key areas: sustainable agriculture, energy, water use, wetland restoration, biofuel development, entrepreneurship, awareness building, engineering, and ecovillage development.

Purpose and Goals

An opportunity for L.A. and climate change leaders to accelerate ambitious solutions and build stronger global partnerships. ARCC 2020 inaugurates a 5-year commitment for climate change emergency action between Africa and the USA to solve some of the most pressing challenges of the climate crisis.

The general goal of the forum is to develop an integrated vision of “Green Development” in Africa that is both ecologically and economically sustainable, emphasizing local solutions to climate change developed by African stakeholders in urban and rural environments. Key contributors will identify priorities for research and implementation, and collaboratively develop an action plan for the future. 

The two-day international ARCC Forum will be a green eco-friendly event serving a broad audience within the UC system and throughout the climate change community. The event provides a unique opportunity to support African-designed programs that incorporate best practices in sustainable development and are guided by the needs of both communities and governments. In addition to panel discussions on topics ranging from Climate Readiness Infrastructure to Ecovillage/Eco-City Development, we will offer Design Thinking jam sessions, a campus green tour, Climate Solutions exhibitors hall, and opportunities to network with leaders in the global climate change movement.