40 global innovators selected for Climate Democracy Action program

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Forty innovators with a mission of using participatory democracy to address the climate emergency have been accepted into the first cohort of the Climate Democracy Action program. These policymakers and advocates from 22 countries, chosen from a competitive pool of 215 applicants, will plan a participatory program for climate action in their home countries. Half live in Africa, with the remainder split between Latin America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. The participants are 43% female and 57% male, and are fluent in diverse languages — with the majority speaking a native language other than English, French, Spanish or Portuguese. The program is a collaboration between People Powered, World Resources Institute and FIMA, with funding support from Porticus.

Map showing numbers and locations of selected applicants

Locations and number of participants in the first cohort

The innovators were selected based on their experience with climate-focused participatory processes, engagement with local government and/or civil society organizations, interaction with marginalized communities, goals for participating, and the feasibility and impact of the proposed participatory democracy program.      

The Climate Democracy Action program will kick off in October and extend through March. Over the course of six months, participants will receive action-oriented training, a dedicated expert mentor, and peer-learning opportunities, designed to help them develop an action plan to launch a climate-focused participatory program, such as a climate assembly or climate-focused participatory budgeting. They will get first access to the new, interactive Participation Playbook, which walks them through the planning process step by step. Also, two of the action plans will be selected to receive a $20,000 USD implementation grant. 

Below are the applicants selected for the first cohort of the Climate Democracy Action program: 

  • Ayri Saraiva Rando, Mandato Coletivo "A Cidade é Sua," Brazil

  • Alberto Ruiz Ferrer, Fundación Por Un Campo Productivo IAP, Mexico

  • Benjamin Owusu, Wassa Amenfi East Municipal, Ghana 

  • Chris Owalla, Community Initiative Action Group Kenya (CIAG), Kenya

  • Dalia Márquez Añez, Juventud Unida en Acción, Venezuela

  • Djibril Mangane, Espace de Co-production des Offres Populaires Pour l'Environnement et le Développement en Afrique (Enda ECOPOP), Senegal

  • Doreen Tarimo, Tanzania Natural Resource Forum (TNRF), Tanzania

  • Edgar Reinaldo Prandini, Centro de Referência Popular - CERPO, Brazil

  • Freeman Mubanga, Centre for Environment Justice (CEJ), Zambia

  • Javed Hussain, Sindh Community Foundation, Pakistan

  • Jordana Wamboga, Uganda Community Based Association for Women and Children Welfare (UCOBAC), Uganda

  • Karen Montesinos, Gore Los Lagos, Chile

  • Kudzaiishe Seti, Green Institute Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe

  • Laura Berry, People's Voice on Climate, United States

  • Mamadou Welle, Centre de Suivi Ecologique, Senegal

  • Marcone Ribeiro, Prefeitura do Recife, Brazil

  • Marlon Humberto Howking Rodriguez, Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo de la Universidad Centroamericana (Nitlapan-UCA), Nicaragua

  • Martin Bwalya Kampamba, Future-Prenuers Zambia, Zambia 

  • Michelle Chitando, Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association, Zimbabwe

  • Miguel Cánaves, Municipalidad de Rosario, Argentina

  • Monday Itoghor, Environmental and Rural Mediation Centre (ENVIRUMEDIC), Nigeria

  • Muhammad Ibrahim, Break-Free From Plastic Awareness Initiative, Nigeria

  • Mumbere Luc Lango, Research Center for Environmental Planning, Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • Modreck Maeresera, Harare Lemba Jewish Community, Zimbabwe

  • Natalia Garay Pizarro, Gobierno Regional Metropolitano de Santiago, Chile

  • Neha Upadhyaya, Vishwadeep Trust, India

  • Neisha Kirk, Scottish government, Scotland/United Kingdom

  • Nyasha Frank Mpahlo, Green Governance Zimbabwe Trust, Zimbabwe

  • Paloma González Cristi, Ilustre Municipalidad de Pichilemu, Chile

  • Paloma Valenzuela Hernández, Municipalidad de Maipú, Chile

  • Patricia Melgarejo, Alma Cívica, Paraguay

  • Perseverance Javangwe, Community Voices Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe

  • Rahaf Rifai, Agricultural Development Association (PARC), Palestine

  • Rajesh Poudel, Good Neighbors International, Nepal

  • Rita Otu, People Environment and Sustainability Foundation, Nigeria

  • Samuel Kagheni, Aide et Action Pour la Paix, Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • Sydney Chisi, Reyna Trust, Zimbabwe 

  • Theonest Katemana, Dodoma Environmental Network, Tanzania

  • Wala Abdelmuati, UN-Habitat, Sudan

  • Yazid Salahudeen Mikail, Ashley Lashley Foundation, Nigeria

Upon completion of the program, participants who have completed all the requirements of the program will be awarded certificates. For more information, contact the People Powered team at info@peoplepowered.org.

Lead organizations