As the Ministry of Environment, Sustainable Development and Ecological Transition (MINEDDTE) prepares its first national adaptation plan (NAP) document, it launched a digital campaign calling on youth to get involved in adaptation.
Côte d’Ivoire’s NAP communication strategy aims to raise awareness of its climate change adaptation priorities, particularly among young people. Credit: Côte d’Ivoire Côte d’Ivoire is currently preparing to launch its first national NAP document, which is expected to be validated by the minister in the coming month.
Recognizing that the country will not achieve its climate ambitions without bringing all actors and citizens into the NAP process, the Côte d’Ivoire government has worked in parallel on their first NAP communication strategy, published in April 2024. The main objective of the strategy is to inform and raise awareness of the NAP’s priorities among all stakeholders, including civil society, women’s and youth associations, households and communities, institutional actors and parliamentarians, the private sector, the media, and research institutes and centres. This helps to facilitate ownership, implementation, and monitoring of the NAP process among all the parties involved.
The communication strategy defines four strategic areas: (i) ownership of the NAP by political decision-makers at all levels; (ii) public awareness of climate change adaptation best practices; (iii) documenting and sharing information on climate change adaptation measures; and (iv) coordination.
To respond to the needs of different people, the strategy includes activities such as designing materials for social media, developing messages in local languages to be disseminated on the radio, supporting local dance and theatre groups to create shows that will raise awareness on adaptation issues and solutions, and more common activities, such as webinars or conferences.
To start the implementation of the strategy, the MINEDDTE launched the digital campaign #NotreClimatNotreCombat (#OurClimateOurFight) on social media in December 2023. The campaign aimed to spark youth interest in adaptation by sharing some high-level information describing the NAP and proposing some concrete actions to engage in adaptation action.
To reach youth, the government partnered with two national bloggers associations: Association des Blogueurs de Côte d’Ivoire (ABCI) and the Union Nationale des blogueurs de Côte d’Ivoire (UNBCI).
The bloggers created various media to appeal to their diverse audience, including visuals, videos, vlogs, articles in the digital press, a podcast, and a livestreamed conference on the NAP.
The MINEDDTE will soon set up a coordination committee to follow up the strategy by agreeing upon a detailed work plan for 2024 and engaging in activities to build on the success of the digital campaign. Communicating on adaptation globally and on the NAP process itself—that is, its content, progress, and areas of improvement—cannot be considered a secondary priority. Effective communication and information sharing raise the question of transparency, a way to guarantee public engagement and, ultimately, the success of the NAP.