On 5 June 2026, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, hosted its 3rd child-led conference under the auspices of the Global Campus for Human Rights child rights project. The theme of the conference was education and climate in Africa, while the preceding 2 conferences focused on a child’s rights based approaches to climate action in Africa and mental health in schools in Africa. The conference was attended by children from Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The conference sought to highlight 3 main issues:
- the Centre’s long-term campaign to address the impact of climate change on the protection and fulfilment of human rights in Africa;
- the Centre’s work on advancing child participation on various issues including climate change; and,
- to spotlight the growing prevalence of the effects on climate change on the right to education.
In 2024, it was recorded that climate-related disruptions put more than 20 million children at risk of dropping out of school. This number continues to grow, alongside the surge in climate-related hazards, such as floods, cyclones and intense heatwaves. The conference sought to strengthen the participation of children in advancing protection from the adverse impacts of climate change, promoting child participation in climate change discourse, and building children’s capacity to engage meaningfully on the impact of climate change on their education , and to explore child-centred remedies for climate disasters.
In his opening remarks, Dr Sabelo Gumedze, Assistant Director, noted that climate change is a present reality that determines whether children can go to school, stay in school, or even dream beyond survival. He also noted that children are active voices, thinkers, and leaders, and they ought to be at the centre of the conversation on climate change. He noted the significance of the fact that the conference was not about children but rather child-led, consistent with the right of children to be heard.
Professor Elvis Fokala presenting on the effects of climate change on the right to education, emphasising the intrinsic link between the environment, climate change and education, particularly because the right to education is a pathway for the enjoyment of other rights. Liesl Muller presented on climate justice and the duties of states to protect children from the impact of climate change. She highlighted child and youth leadership worldwide on campaigns to end climate injustice, relying on their self–assumed agency to claim rights. She also provided practical examples of child-led litigation on climate change across the world, including the request for an advisory opinion on the obligations of states with respect to the climate change crisis, and the impact the advisory opinion is likely to have on children’s rights in Africa.
Azwikonisaho Ramavhuya, a former Child Leadership Team member and now a member of the Global Campus Youth Advisory Group, led the conversation on the ongoing climate crisis across the African region which then ushered the panel discussion by a diverse group of children, from Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, who shared their experiences on navigating access to education during periods of flooding, extreme weather conditions and droughts.
The conference was important because in addition to addressing the impacts of climate change on the right to education it sought to advance child participation ensuring that children, who are the most affected by the issue of climate change and education, are at the forefront of such discussions. Climate change is already reshaping the future of African education, forcing a choice between passive vulnerability and active resilience. The child-led conference moves beyond traditional talk to put the continent's most vital stakeholders—its children—at the steering wheel. Investing in their firsthand solutions today is the only way to drive regional climate action, safeguard our educational systems and ensure the next generation is equipped to survive and lead in a changing world.
For more information, please contact:
Childrens Rights Unit
Tel +27 (0)12 420 6209
rotondwa.mashige@up.ac.za
Tel +27 (0) 12 420 3587
mmanoko.masipa @up.ac.za
