Africa is one of the continents most affected by the impacts of climate change. Morocco and other African countries are facing this challenge and have developed national adaptation strategies. So far, however, civil society has hardly been involved in this transformation, although its participation could sustainably strengthen the process. Against this background, the Heinrich Böll Foundation Morocco launched the four-year transformAfrica programme to support civil society initiatives and networks in Morocco and Africa. The programme kicked off in November 2017 with the international conference on “Social-Ecological Transformation in Africa”, which was held in Rabat. For 2018, working groups with participants from Morocco, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia will carry out various projects, including on the topics of energy, agriculture and waste management, which support a socio-ecological transformation in Africa from a civil society, scientific and artistic perspective. In this context, the study “10 reasons for a participatory energy transition” was produced.

Working groups and projects:

  • 1) Natural resources: Raising awareness of the protection and intelligent use of natural resources.
  • 2) Energy: Promote a public debate on energy efficiency, energy policy and transition.
  • 3) Urban development: Pilot project on the challenges of peripheral urban regions.
  • 4) Agriculture: documenting the impact of climate change on women-led agriculture.
  • 5) Waste management: Pilot project to improve waste management in selected African cities.

The nexus Institute supports the Heinrich Böll Foundation with its expertise on socio-ecological transformation, accompanies the work of the groups and the scientific advisory board and moderates conferences and workshops of the project.

Duration: 10/2017 – 12/2018
Client: Heinrich Böll Stiftung Rabat
Team: Dr. Carsten Herzberg (Project manager), Dr. Thomas Blanchet