Climate Week Mwanza: an exceptional encounter between our universities and NGOs

We at Enviro Kids cannot have the solution to the climate crisis or fulfill all goals towards a green future. But what we can do is empower young people to recognize their self-agency and act towards that common goal. But how to unleash those green ambassadors?

That’s what we did with featuring Anhalt University and SAUT University during Climate Week in Tanzania. So with our director Carolin, four amazing pioneer Anhalt students decided to travel with us in November to Mwanza, Tanzania.

Their goal: to meet the Tanzanian SAUT team members, implement, and inaugurate the education boards. Our goal: to make the students feel the impact they have been working on. To feel their power for change and have an experience they will never forget.

A whole week of climate and intercultural exchange

The first challenge for the students was to organize a BBQ at our headquarters by shopping for ingredients at the local market. In the evening, we came together for a very delicious BBQ, met, and got to know each other to be ready for Monday. With Professor Lwankomezi from SAUT, we coordinated the program for a whole week based on climate and intercultural exchange.

On Monday, we were welcomed by the Massai school club members, who performed traditional Massai dances in their robes. What began as a performance eventually included us as well, creating an eye-to-eye cultural moment.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we had lectures together. On Tuesday, we held a live “Postcards for the Planet” session with SAUT students, where they drew their daily life initiatives and actions to make their engagement visible to the rest of the world. On Wednesday, we had the honor of visiting a lecture by Prof. Lwankomezi live and in action with first-semester students. It was a unique glimpse into their daily lives in Tanzania.

On Thursday, we inaugurated the boards with great festivity.

On Friday, we prepared something really special: a student exchange, where a German and a Tanzanian student each followed one another throughout the day. What started as online lectures in COIL to record a day in real life, we put into real action. The feedback was amazing: a unique experience where the SAUT students even invited them not only to visit their favorite places in the nearby town but also took them home to show them how they live, study, dream, and enjoy their free time.

On Friday night, at the farewell dinner, we reflected on the climate week and agreed that this was an exceptional encounter between our universities and NGOs — an immersive experience of being thrown into a new culture, creating not only experiences but also friendships that last until today.

And about the impact? Well, this year we welcomed two new members at Enviro Kids alone from this group. They joined because they saw their impact, and we are more than honored to serve as their platform for change.