REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: ENHANCING ADOLESCENTS GREEN SKILLS TO RESPOND TO AND PREPARE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH INNOVATIVE APPROACHES

1. BACKGROUND
Lesotho is grappling with a complex web of challenges, necessitating immediate and multifaceted humanitarian interventions. Climate change poses a significant threat to Lesotho, particularly affecting agricultural productivity and food security. Erratic weather patterns, droughts, and floods disrupt farming activities, leading to poor harvests and widespread food shortages. Rural populations, who rely heavily on agriculture for their livelihoods, are especially vulnerable to these changes. While children and young people are often the most vulnerable to climate impacts and disaster shocks, they are also powerful agents of change. With the right skills and opportunities, they can play a transformative role in building climate resilience and driving sustainable development. Over 60% of households in Lesotho have reported reducing food consumption as a coping mechanism (LDHS, 2024), highlighting the dire economic situation and severity of the crisis. In addition to food insecurity, children and adolescents are also facing increasing risks of educational disruption. Therefore, addressing these urgent issues requires immediate and coordinated interventions. To succeed in a world that is being transformed by climate change, adolescents need new skills for disaster preparedness, climate mitigation and adaptation, and advancing the green economy. However, access to such learning opportunities remains limited, especially in underserved and rural communities.
 

To address this gap, UNICEF is seeking a consultancy to support the design and implementation of a green skills development programme tailored for adolescents in Lesotho. The overall goal is to empower adolescents in Lesotho to become active participants in climate action and leaders in the country's green transition.

2. SCOPE OF WORK
The purpose of the assignment is to engage an organization that has the resources, including already existing training materials, and relevant experience to provide their professional services in strengthening the capacity of adolescents in green skills to be able to mitigate climate effects. The project will be implemented in two approaches targeting younger adolescents in selected secondary schools of Mohale#s Hoek and Quthing which are among the districts that are hardest hit by the effects of drought as well as older adolescents who have completed secondary school. The project aims to promote climate education amongst adolescents leveraging technology and digital platforms, such as UNICEF#s flagship platform Yoma1, to expand access and provide adolescents with environmental knowledge, climate awareness and green skills. The aim is to create spaces for adolescents to practice and exercise their climate action. The assignment will also involve integration of a rewards system for completed climate-related tasks on Yoma so that the skills gained by the adolescents are also demonstrated practically through impact tasks such as school greening initiatives, community clean-ups, and wetlands restoration activities. The ultimate reward for the older adolescents will include enrolment in a drone training programme for a select group of adolescents who demonstrated exceptional commitment, creativity, and leadership in applying their green skills.