Climate Justice Partnership Linking Universities and Community Organizations in Toronto, Durban, Maputo and Nairobi

This paper describes a project based at York University in Toronto, funded through the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa program of the International Development Research Centre and the UK Department for International Development (DFID), which is working to increase the participation of marginalized groups, especially women, in urban water governance.Students and faculty members from the University of Nairobi, Kenya; Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, Mozambique; and the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa are working with civil society organizations in the three cities and with York University researchers to show how organizing in local communities can help the vulnerable to deal with climate change.As people in marginalized communities begin to address collectively the impacts of climate change, this summons political attention and allows those with direct experience to influence government policy. Civil society organizations, with support from local and international faculty and students, facilitate and focus this activism. University students help to document the NGOs’ work during internships with the NGOs. They also learn community development skills and make contacts. Faculty members publish and disseminate ideas about grassroots climate change adaptation and resulting political responses through presentations, publications and the project’s website (www.ccaa.irisyorku.ca)