Making Africa Work Through the Power of Innovative Volunteerism
Dr. Richard Munang, a PhD holder in environmental change and policy from Nottingham University. Awarded an Executive Education Certificate having undertaken Harvard University’s Executive Programme in Climate Change and Energy Policy Making for the Long Term at the Kennedy School. The @Unenvironment Innovation award winner, book author, Making Africa Work Through the Power of Innovative Volunteerism. Driven by Africa’s disproportionate affliction by climate change, Dr Richard Munang spearheaded a paradigm shift
to building resilience, breaking out like wildfire across the continent.
Dr. Munang is from the village of Jinkfuin, in the north-western part of Cameroon. The people in his village were small-scale farmers, and cassava, maize, and bananas were their main crops. His village epitomized the African values of togetherness and loyalty to the various cultural festivals they, as a people, performed to mark different occasions. These traditions were quite vibrant, as they were passed down from generation to generation. The early part of the book highlights his life struggles through primary and secondary school education and finally going abroad for further studies. This part highlights especially the thirst and pursuit of knowledge and education, the fundamental principle behind what he is today. It’s said that knowledge is power, and knowledge is transformation. His work as a professional in climate change has focused on making it relatable to the ordinary person, through premising climate action as a solutions provider.
Being a bright and focused African from an agriculturally dominated community and family, Dr. Munang was quick to notice the encroaching devastating effects of climate change and erratic weather on agriculture, the backbone sector for Africa, and inevitably on food Security. It is from there that he devoted to researching the issue and crafting practical solutions to solve the problem of climate change. He proposed Combining Ecosystem Restoration with Alternative Livelihoods, considering that agriculture is the backbone of African, this plan also takes advantage of ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) agriculture techniques that the communities can safely engage in for their livelihoods which can be achieved via the Ecosystem-Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (EBAFOSA).
Mr. Munang has taken it upon himself to ensure the realization of Africa’s potential for the benefit of all. His efforts towards achieving that led him to author this book. In the succeeding chapters, the book reveals the biggest challenges for Africa, giving relatable events, and solutions for each. In a promising way, he also showcases the numerous opportunities underlying the challenges and how the youth can harness these opportunities to create wealth and jobs while working towards an efficient Africa. As he said and I quote “Africa’s challenge is actually a blessing in disguise” innovative volunteers are going to unveil such blessings.
The Concept of Innovative Volunteerism
New as it may sound, it’s really easy to understand and implement. An insightful African proverb reflects innovative volunteerism: “Cross the river in a crowd, and the crocodile won’t eat you.” It is a prudent approach of engaging the entirety of Africa’s human capital in its diversity towards a shared goal of maximizing the productivity of the continent’s catalytic sectors-skills, talents, experiences, networks and initiatives of diverse complementary stakeholders are engaged in mutual partnerships that meet the respective business organizational interests of those actors but converge towards a common goal of establishing sustainable industrialization of the agricultural sector powered by clean energy.
“It is the young trees that make up the forest.” There it is a call for us to rise up to not only to maximize on the potential of this continent, but to also ward off the overlooking monster of climate change. It is a real effort of investing in human capital vis collaboration, motivation, partnership and support for innovative development in Africa, which actually proves that the “Africa We Want” Enshrined in the AU’s Agenda 2063—Is Possible. God is no respecter of persons; while He favorably gave Africa resources, Africans must work against many odds.
To acquire a soft copy of the book contact Dr. Munang on Twitter at https://t.co/SFX8EHFOvc
IBRAHIM MUHAMMAD SHAMSUDDIN
An Environmental and Climate Action Activist
to building resilience, breaking out like wildfire across the continent.
Dr. Munang is from the village of Jinkfuin, in the north-western part of Cameroon. The people in his village were small-scale farmers, and cassava, maize, and bananas were their main crops. His village epitomized the African values of togetherness and loyalty to the various cultural festivals they, as a people, performed to mark different occasions. These traditions were quite vibrant, as they were passed down from generation to generation. The early part of the book highlights his life struggles through primary and secondary school education and finally going abroad for further studies. This part highlights especially the thirst and pursuit of knowledge and education, the fundamental principle behind what he is today. It’s said that knowledge is power, and knowledge is transformation. His work as a professional in climate change has focused on making it relatable to the ordinary person, through premising climate action as a solutions provider.
Being a bright and focused African from an agriculturally dominated community and family, Dr. Munang was quick to notice the encroaching devastating effects of climate change and erratic weather on agriculture, the backbone sector for Africa, and inevitably on food Security. It is from there that he devoted to researching the issue and crafting practical solutions to solve the problem of climate change. He proposed Combining Ecosystem Restoration with Alternative Livelihoods, considering that agriculture is the backbone of African, this plan also takes advantage of ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) agriculture techniques that the communities can safely engage in for their livelihoods which can be achieved via the Ecosystem-Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (EBAFOSA).
Mr. Munang has taken it upon himself to ensure the realization of Africa’s potential for the benefit of all. His efforts towards achieving that led him to author this book. In the succeeding chapters, the book reveals the biggest challenges for Africa, giving relatable events, and solutions for each. In a promising way, he also showcases the numerous opportunities underlying the challenges and how the youth can harness these opportunities to create wealth and jobs while working towards an efficient Africa. As he said and I quote “Africa’s challenge is actually a blessing in disguise” innovative volunteers are going to unveil such blessings.
The Concept of Innovative Volunteerism
New as it may sound, it’s really easy to understand and implement. An insightful African proverb reflects innovative volunteerism: “Cross the river in a crowd, and the crocodile won’t eat you.” It is a prudent approach of engaging the entirety of Africa’s human capital in its diversity towards a shared goal of maximizing the productivity of the continent’s catalytic sectors-skills, talents, experiences, networks and initiatives of diverse complementary stakeholders are engaged in mutual partnerships that meet the respective business organizational interests of those actors but converge towards a common goal of establishing sustainable industrialization of the agricultural sector powered by clean energy.
“It is the young trees that make up the forest.” There it is a call for us to rise up to not only to maximize on the potential of this continent, but to also ward off the overlooking monster of climate change. It is a real effort of investing in human capital vis collaboration, motivation, partnership and support for innovative development in Africa, which actually proves that the “Africa We Want” Enshrined in the AU’s Agenda 2063—Is Possible. God is no respecter of persons; while He favorably gave Africa resources, Africans must work against many odds.
To acquire a soft copy of the book contact Dr. Munang on Twitter at https://t.co/SFX8EHFOvc
IBRAHIM MUHAMMAD SHAMSUDDIN
An Environmental and Climate Action Activist
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