Africa Regional Resilience Initiative on Climate Education (ARRICE): For an innovative climate education in Africa

Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate change, although it contributes little to global greenhouse gas emissions. Droughts, heat waves and biodiversity loss threaten living conditions and worsen inequalities. Education on climate change (ECC) is essential to prepare young generations to face these challenges, but remains underdeveloped or poorly contextualized. The ARRICE project, implemented in Kenya, Mauritius and Senegal, intends to remedy this by integrating ECC into primary and secondary schools. It targets the training of teachers, the adaptation of school curricula and the creation of educational projects allowing students to become committed actors in adaptation and mitigation. Ultimately, ARRICE aims to perpetuate best practices in each of the three countries in order to inspire other countries on the African continent.

The project is based on four axes: 

• Create adapted, free and royalty-free educational tools and distribute them widely among educational stakeholders.
• Strengthen the skills of teachers and trainers to deploy ECC in schools.
• Develop dynamic communities of practice, focused on sharing experiences and concrete action rooted in the territories.
• Initiate a strategy for the sustainable integration of ECC into national education systems.

• Integrate quality climate change education into national education systems in a sustainable manner.
• Mobilize the entire school community around concrete projects through a 'whole school' approach.
• Enhance the leadership of young people by involving them in local climate actions.
• Position Kenya, Mauritius and Senegal as regional hubs to inspire other countries in Africa.

The ARRICE project innovates through its systemic approach, equipping teachers and school officials with tailor-made resources, continuous training, and dedicated support. It applies the "whole school approach" to integrate climate action into all aspects of school life. Inspired by the ALEC project in Latin America, also supported by the FFEM, ARRICE goes further by integrating human and social sciences into educational content. This approach helps to limit environmental anxiety and mobilize students as actors of change. ARRICE makes the school a real innovation laboratory for climate resilience.