A community development and disaster risk management enthusiast, Mayokun Iyaomolere is an environmentalist with 6 years experience in promoting climate friendly solutions and actions. Between 2019 to 2021, Mayokun consulted for the United Nations Development Programme and Federal Ministry of Environment in Nigeria, helping to research climate change impacts and produce an environmental implementation action plan for the country which was presented at the UN Secretary General Climate Summit in Abuja, Nigeria. He is the Founder and Executive Director of Plogging Nigeria Club, an organisation dedicated to promoting a culture of responsible waste handling and physical fitness. Through the club, he has built a community of over 1,300 young Nigerians who encourage sustainable interaction with the environment through proper waste management practices. He has bagged an MSc in Environmental Control and Management and is currently running a PhD in same discipline. He’s also one of the young persons trained and certified by former United States Vice President Al Gore as a Climate Reality Leader. Through an initiative called the Green Switch Academy, Mayokun has trained 1,113 people from 23 countries on the concepts of solid waste management, circular economy, global warming & climate change, and locally leading environmental action. He recently completed as part of the 2022 onsite cohort a Leadership in Civic Engagement course at Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, U. S. A. under the Mandela Washington Fellowship of the United States Department of States, and former President, Barrack Obama. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/climate-opportunity/message

This episode provides the groundwork for the rationale behind this podcast, the concept of climate opportunity and what you can expect as the podcast unravels. Drawing from my ignite talk at the University of California Davis I spoke about how the hindsight of the west could be the foresight of Africa. In unpacking the concept of climate opportunity I spoke about how Africa's underdevelopment can become an asset and an advantage in pursuit of the sustainable development goals. I drew inference from Climate of Hope written by Mike Bloomberg and Carl Pope in my closing argument. Read the transcript of my ignite talk HERE The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is the flagship program of the U.S. Government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). YALI was created in 2010 and celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2020. Established in 2014, the Mandela Washington Fellowship has brought nearly 5,800 young leaders from every country in Sub-Saharan Africa to the United States for academic and leadership training. The Fellows, between the ages of 25 and 35, are accomplished innovators and leaders in their communities and countries. Read More about the Mandela Washington Fellowship HERE --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/climate-opportunity/message