By Laudato Voices | Climate Change Education | November 22, 2025
The Laudato Youth Initiative is thrilled to celebrate a major leap forward for climate-change education in Uganda! This week, our nation launched a UGX 1.7 billion programme aimed at strengthening climate-change education, research, and innovation at Ndejje University and Soroti University. This development marks a powerful step toward a future where young people are fully equipped to lead in climate action. Its also a double benefit because it enhances invilvement in team education STEM and its related fields, thus identifying best practices for implementation. From Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), popularly known as the Global goals of action which are designed to end poverty, protect the planet to giving importance to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) this move will be a driving forces of economic growth. This will also advance Uganda’s development through applied science, technology, and value addition.
A National Commitment to Climate Resilience
According to Nile Post, the new programme; formally known as STRCUU (Strengthening Teaching and Research for Climate Resilience Capacities in Newly Established Universities) — is supported by the European Union along with several international partners. It focuses on empowering universities located in Uganda’s climate-vulnerable “cattle corridor,” where communities face recurring droughts, heat waves, floods, and shifting weather patterns.
By investing heavily in higher education, Uganda is sending a clear message: the future belongs to educated, empowered, and innovative young people who can respond to the climate crisis with bold solutions. This shift in paradigm will move Uganda toward manufacturing, innovation, and self-reliance that eco smart and create train green job creators. A big step towards sustainabilty and youth empowerment.
Why This Matters to Us as Laudato Youth
At the Laudato Youth Initiative, we believe that the journey toward ecological justice begins with education. This programme aligns beautifully with our mission to form young leaders who understand climate science, value creation, and work for the common good.
Here’s why we celebrate this milestone:
1. It elevates youth voices in climate research.
If this goes well students at Ndejje and Soroti Universities will now have greater access to the tools, training, and mentorship they need to innovate climate-resilient solutions directly relevant to their communities.
2. It bridges science, values, and community action.
Our initiative calls for an integral ecology — one that brings together scientific knowledge, moral responsibility, and local wisdom. STRCUU could strengthen that bridge by ensuring universities engage in research grounded in real-life community needs.
3. It supports homegrown climate technologies.
Through collaboration with the Research and Education Agency (REA) and the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), the programme will help students design, test, and scale practical solutions such as green-energy systems and climate-resilience technologies. This excites us.
4. It builds long-term institutional capacity.
For years, environmental education in Uganda has needed more formal integration. With STRCUU, climate studies move from the margins to the mainstream of university teaching and research.
A Moment Filled With Hope for the Laudato Youth Initiative
As Laudato Youth, we have long been looking forward to see these kinds of reforms in our Country’s education system. This as more than just an educational reform — it is a sign of renewed hope for our country. It affirms that young people are not only participants but leaders in building sustainable communities. It reflects a deepening understanding that the climate crisis demands not just technical fixes, but a transformation of hearts, systems, and priorities. We pray that more is done to look into the whole education curriculum from the grassroots and also consider community programs that enhance environmental protection and green job creation for the youth.
This is precisely the kind of long-term, justice-centered change Pope Francis envisioned in Laudato Si’, where he calls all of us to an ecological conversion. Through this programme, Uganda is taking concrete steps in that direction. We thank all involved in bringing this effort to realization.
Our Commitment Moving Forward
In celebration of this exciting development, the Laudato Youth Initiative will also enhace it efforts by:
• Amplifying the stories of students and researchers who believe in the power of Climate Change Education and Innovation building resilience through our MAST Model.
• We will encourage our Laudato Youth in universities engage with their Laudato Si’ Clubs and do more for their innovative youth-led projects.
• Raise Voices for the expansion of climate education in Uganda’s institutions of Learning, and Grassroots Communities.
• Creating platforms for young people to collaborate on green solutions, unite for climate action, and ecological spirituality.
Together, We Rise
This moment reminds us that when governments, universities, communities, and youth come together with purpose, we can build a more just and sustainable future. Let us continue to rise as young leaders rooted in faith, informed by science, and driven by hope.
