On June 8 and 9, the Youth 4 Nature Conference was held in Arusha, Tanzania, co-organized by the Honeyguide Foundation. Part of our team was able to attend and talk to other young people about their work in conservation. Rashidy Kikoti, who is Livelihoods and natural resources officer of Ipole WMA project, was accompanied by Milker Pangani, an VGS from Ipole, and Elisabert Gervas, a young woman from the beekeeping training program for school dropouts in Mlele.
The purpose of the conference was to empower the next generation of conservationists to understand the importance and develop conservation in various fields for the benefit of prsent and future generations. The conference also aimed to bring young people together to discuss important conservation issues and give them the opportunity to network.
All three came on behalf of ADAP, and took part in the various conference sessions: group discussions with a moderator, followed by a question and answer session with audience participation, and finally a “Kijiweni” interview session, i.e. exchanges under a tree where each participant shares his or her own experience in the field of nature protection.
They came away delighted with the conference, which not only enabled them to acquire new knowledge in the field of conservation for the benefit of future generations, but also to establish contacts with eminent personalities in the conservation field, with whom they were able to exchange views on conservation.