arrice
Advancing Climate Change Education in Africa
Young people need more than climate awareness – they need the skills to act. ARRICE (African Regional Resilience Initiative on Climate Education) strengthens Climate Change Education in Kenya, Senegal, and Mauritius by empowering teachers, supporting schools, and embedding climate learning into formal education systems.
Together with local and international partners, ARRICE helps build resilient communities through education and pave the way to a sustainable future.
Climate resilience starts with education
ARRICE is a regional initiative for Climate Change Education (CCE) in Africa coordinated by the Office for Climate Education (OCE), together with partners including Siemens Stiftung.
It is based on one simple conviction:
Climate resilience needs more than awareness.
Climate change already affects everyday life across many parts of Africa. Droughts, floods, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity shape how young people live, learn, and plan for the future. At the same time, many schools still lack trained teachers, climate-related learning materials, and institutional support for Climate Change Education to address this important topic in ways that are meaningful for learners. ARRICE addresses this gap by strengthening Climate Change Education in formal school systems.
ARRICE lays the foundation for climate action.
ARRICE supports teachers, schools, and education systems to foster climate related education through:
- Open Educational Resources (OER) aligned with local curricula
- teacher development using active, learner-centred methodologies
- school- and community-based climate projects
- scalable and adaptable models for the integration into education systems
By connecting climate science with local realities and everyday learning, ARRICE helps young people to:
- understand the complexity of climate systems
- respond constructively to climate-related uncertainties
- develop practical solutions for mitigation and adaptation
- take action in their communities
Turning knowledge into skills and concern into action for resilient and sustainable futures.
From pilot projects to national policy
The initiative is designed as a multi country program implemented in Kenya, Senegal, and Mauritius, enabling regional learning and scalability while remaining deeply anchored in national education contexts.
The initiative follows a bottom-up, context-sensitive, and research-based approach. Innovations are first tested in pilot schools and classrooms before being scaled into national frameworks through a pilot-to-policy model that supports relevance, credibility, cost-efficiency, and long-term sustainability.
ARRICE contributes directly to:
- Implementing the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
- Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement
- SDG 4 – Quality Education
- SDG 13 – Climate Action
Regional collaboration, local impact
ARRICE is coordinated by the international Office for Climate Education (OCE), with support from Siemens Stiftung and the Fonds Français pour l’Environnement Mondial (FFEM), in partnership with organizations including KOEE, ENDA, MIE, and Reef Conservation.
Siemens Stiftung's role in ARRICE
Siemens Stiftung supports the ARRICE initiative across the region with:
- long-standing experience in Climate Change Education
- expertise in the development of Open Educational Resources (OER)
- innovative, competency-based learning approaches for STEM education
- strong regional partnerships in Africa
- practical experience from Climate Change Education initiatives in Latin America
Practical climate learning models in Kenya
In addition to supporting ARRICE at regional level, Siemens Stiftung works closely with KOEE, the Kenyan Ministry of Education, and the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development to support the integration of Climate Change Education into Kenya’s new competency-based curriculum.
At school and community level, Siemens Stiftung supports hands-on educational projects that connect climate science with local realities and everyday life. Through learner-centred approaches, teachers and young people develop practical solutions and take action within their communities.
Project lead ARRICE at Siemens Stiftung
Badin Borde
badin.borde@siemens-stiftung.org
Project lead ARRICE in Kenya
Rebecca Ottmann
rebecca.ottmann@siemens-stiftung.org
