Microgrants Awarded to 8 Local Movements in Africa for Climate and Environment Initiatives

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The Pulitzer Center has awarded eight local movements in Africa ACE Microgrants to engage audiences on climate and environmental issues inspired by Pulitzer Center-supported reporting. 

The Africa Climate and Environment (ACE) Microgrants promote engagement in environmental and climate issues through innovative ideas for outreach activities that creatively integrate one or more reports supported by the Pulitzer Center. 

Selected projects target young professionals or communities on issues such as deforestation, the preservation of aquatic environments, and the impact of climate change on labor and workers. Additionally, they showcase and use resources featured in Center-supported stories to promote platforms for free expression, the sharing of knowledge and experiences, and inspiration for change.

The Pulitzer Center received more than 500 applications from all over Africa, demonstrating the African civil society’s commitment to environmental and climate awareness, justice, and solutions.

The following are the selected ACE Microgrants applicants:

1. Mangroves in Flames: Community Awareness of Bushfires on Lake Ahémé in the Municipality of Kpomassè: A project run by NGO Pauly Afrique Bio in Benin aims to bridge the knowledge gap on the consequences of bushfires in the mangrove area of the Kpomassè region. The NGO identified the need after implementing its landscape restoration project. Pulitzer Center reporting will be the centerpiece of community and radio discussions, a photo exhibition based on community testimonials, and an online campaign.
    
2. "The Sustainable Waters: A Dialogue on Climate, Labor, and Fisheries in Binga": A two-day, multi-stakeholder dialogue will address issues affecting Zimbabwe’s small-scale fisheries sector, particularly in the context of climate change and labor challenges faced by the Binga community as pointed out by Pulitzer Center grantee Marko Phiri’s stories. The Earth Co-Existence Initiative (ECI) is convinced that involving Phiri in this project will provide great insight and amplify the voices of those directly affected by these challenges, ensuring that dialogue is grounded in real experiences and data.
    
3. Mzimba Youth Organization: The group's proposed project, Voices for Transparent Climate Governance in Mzimba, aims to enhance transparency and accountability in the management of environmental and climate-related resources in Mzimba District, Malawi. The project will also work to build awareness among young professionals and community members about the intersection of governance, climate change, and natural resource management, using dialogue and creative outreach inspired by Pulitzer Center-supported journalism.
    
4. Community Resilience to Climate and Ocean Challenges in Benin: By raising awareness, this project intends to use Pulitzer Center-supported stories to strengthen the resilience of coastal communities in southern Benin amid climate change and marine degradation. NGO Education et Environnement plans to use activities such as participatory workshops, traveling photo exhibitions, and online campaigns.
    
5. Voices of the Forest: Women, Climate, and Health: This project draws inspiration from Pulitzer Center-supported stories to collect testimonials, develop a participatory skit, and encourage collective discussions about deforestation caused by gold mining in rural areas of Côte d'Ivoire (the Ivory Coast). Zero Décès en Donnant la Vie (ZEDVIE) aims to encourage critical thinking and the expression of solutions by communities affected by access to drinking water, health, and food security in rural areas.
    
6. Strengthening the Role of Young People in Idjwi in Protecting Lake Kivu From Environmental Threats: Green Health seeks to facilitate dialogue between young people and artisanal fishermen, as well as raise awareness through artistic expression and participatory radio programs in order to mobilize action on ecological threats around Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
    
7. The Intergenerational Storytelling for Climate Justice in Savannah Ghana: This project aims to address the intersection of climate change and labor in Nakori, a rural agrarian community in the Upper West Region of Ghana, increasingly affected by erratic rainfall patterns, land degradation, and reduced crop yields. Through dialogue, radio shows, and a mobile photo exhibition, the Youth Alliance for Community Change intends to strengthen the community’s ability to respond to climate-labor challenges, build intergenerational resilience, and influence local policy actors by making visible the “invisible” labor stories from the climate front lines.
    
8. The project Stolen Forest, Awakened Voices: Citizen Dialogues in Yaoundé by the NGO Climate Life Movement aims to connect engaged urban youth with rural realities that are often invisible in public debates. It will focus on critical reading workshops and participatory art, culminating in a collective public presentation followed by a mini digital campaign. The goal is to foster the emergence of a collective consciousness around environmental rights violations by encouraging artistic expression as a catalyst for social change.