Closure of phase 2 of TonFuturTonClimat

From May 23 to 26, 2023, a regional workshop was held in Togo to close the second phase of the TonFuturTonClimat (TFTC) project.

Bringing together all the partners and numerous participants, the workshop provided an opportunity to evaluate and capitalize on actions, and explore avenues for development, while mobilizing the commitment of other national and regional partners to support the scaling-up of achievements and results.

Technical workshop

During a technical workshop, the partners were able to highlight the key lessons learned from this initiative.  It emerged that the key to success lies in..:

  1. Flexibility in implementation, enabling us to respond to needs as they arise and to overcome obstacles.
  2. The learning community made up of partners, associations and various stakeholders, to increase impact and improve implementation.
  3. Complementarity and commitment of partners at all levels.
  4. The political support of local authorities and their alignment with local development priorities, as well as strong synergies with actions implemented by other players in the area.
  5. The importance of learning and capitalizing on results to promote successful scaling-up.

Field visit

Workshop participants had the opportunity to measure the results of TFTC implementation in the Grand Kloto region during a field visit led by JVE-Togo. To ensure greater water and climate resilience for communities and ecosystems, TFTC has made it possible to:

  • Implement various actions for the adoption of agroecological practices by more than 50 associations,
  • Train over 500 young people and generate economic activity for 51 young people.

A waste-to-fertilizer unit has also been set up to produce 30 tonnes of compost per month for farmers in the greater Kloto area, improving the health of the region’s waters and ecosystems. The 9 communes are in the process of finalizing an inter-communal agreement on agroecology, enabling them to pool their efforts and put this approach at the heart of Grand Kloto’s development priorities.

Official closing workshop

This regional closing workshop followed the 3 national workshops held in April by the partners. The workshop was opened by the President of the International Secretariat for Water, Ms. Antonella Cagnolati, the Executive Secretary of the Global Water Partnership, Mr. Armand Houanye, and the Cabinet Director of the Ministry of Water and Village Hydraulics. Ms. Cagnolati highlighted the successes of the project, which have enabled communities to increase their climate and water resilience, thanks in particular to the ownership of the approach by local authorities and youth organizations, whose commitment has been exemplary.

In the presence of Togo’s Minister of Water and Hydraulics, TFTC’s partners were able to present the results of the initiative and explore the possibilities of scaling up the approach in new communities in the current countries, as well as in the 12 other West African countries. Representatives of organizations such as UNDP, the Mono and Volta Basin Authority, ECOWAS, UMEAO, GIZ, and several mayors from the Togo target area were present.

About TonFuturTonClimat

Launched in 2018, TonFuturTonClimat is a youth-focused initiative based on a partnership approach in Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso. It aims to build the capacities of young people (aged 18 to 35) to enable them to become promoters of innovative water and climate solutions and supporters of local economic development in their countries. These laboratory initiatives aim to demonstrate how young people can help strengthen partnerships and collaboration to accelerate action on water and climate. This phase 2 was implemented from March 2021 to April 2023.

The project was led by a diversity of actors under the leadership of the International Water Secretariat and in close collaboration with the West African Regional Water Partnership. In all three countries, the organizations responsible for local implementation are PNE-Benin, PNE Burkina Faso and Jeunes Volontaires en Environnement – Togo for Phase 2, and Eau Vive Togo for Phase 1. TFTC is anchored in broader dynamics aimed at better integrated land management, building on already existing local dynamics that mark their action and intervention strategy. However, with a regional approach, all these partners are implementing a corpus of similar actions.

Media coverage (in French)