Youth Leadership Program
Since the 1960s, AWF has worked to foster the best and brightest minds to lead conservation in Africa. We collaborate with like-minded partners to train future conservationists and change agents, engage young people in conservation learning and advocacy, and mobilize youth to demand meaningful conservation action. All these efforts help create new generations of young people using their talent and creativity to protect Africa’s wildlife and essential ecosystems.
Latest News
AWF and WCK Launch ICT Lab to Advance Conservation Education and Digital Literacy in Kenya’s Tsavo Landscape
MAKUENI COUNTY, Kenya — The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), in partnership with the Wildlife Clubs of Kenya (WCK) officially launched a new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) lab at Ngwata Comprehensive School, Makueni County, advancing efforts to strengthen conservation education and digital learning for young people in Kenya's Tsavo landscape.
Established under the Young Conservation Heroes project with support from Bob and Emmy King, the ICT lab is equipped with 21 computers and internet connectivity, giving students and teachers access to digital resources that build computer literacy and enrich classroom instruction—all while preparing them for an increasingly digital world.
These computers are further embedded with a digital conservation-based learning platform and materials, enabling learners to explore wildlife, ecosystems, and biodiversity topics, deepening their understanding of the natural world and their role in protecting it.
The launch marked a key milestone in the transformation of Ngwata Comprehensive School into one of two Centers of Excellence under the project. These flagship schools will also serve as…
How We Engage Youth
The AWF-Wall Youth Leadership Program
The AWF-Wall Youth Leadership Program offers nine-month fellowships along two tracks: international environmental policy and conservation management. Participants receive leadership training, professional opportunities, and intense mentorship and coaching support as they develop problem-solving skills through hands-on experience.
>>Learn more about the fellowships
Youth-Led Enterprises
We support young people to boost their income through enterprises that reduce pressure on biodiversity and increase climate change resilience. This includes a training curriculum with modules on business principles and ethics, business proposals, marketing, recordkeeping, financial management, and more.
>>Learn more about youth enterprise initiatives in Zimbabwe
Internships
We partner with the Africa Leadership University (ALU) to offer three-month internships for students to work with AWF programs at either our Nairobi headquarters or in our country offices. The internships allow students to make tangible contributions to conservation with the experience contributing to their required research capstone.
Kenyan Youth Biodiversity Network Co-Founder Kevin Lunzalu addresses youth participants at the 15th meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity in December 2022
Global Youth Biodiversity Network - Africa
We support the African chapter of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network, or GYBN, by convening workshops and conferences that amplify African youth voices in biodiversity policy agendas.
Since 2018, we have facilitated workshops for country representatives of the GYBN, which is the official youth delegation to the Convention on Biological Diversity (or CBD, an international body of the United Nations that shapes global commitments to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and to fairly and equitably share the benefits of biological life), to help these young leaders prepare for deliberations.
We also co-convene the African Youth Summit on Biodiversity, which is a forum for young people from across the continent to highlight their priorities and organize concrete, youth-led action.
>>Learn about how young Africans are rallying for biodiversity
