The creativity of youth is changing mindsets on climate change

All over the world people are coming together to build a better future for their communities and themselves, despite challenging situations. Their experiences don’t hit the headlines, but offer some ideas about how humankind can live in a modern world and counter the neoliberal, capitalist system. These solutions – many of them coming from the global majority – can help us to reimagine an alternative future where we are inspired to work together on solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises, so that everyone can live a healthy and dignified life.

The Eco Elixirs team Angel Chukwudi-Denis, Fortune Mmesomachukwu and Favour Chinecherem © Ifeanyi James Uzochukwu (Fasty Gist)

With the largest youthful population of any continent, the wisdom of the saying “The future of the world belongs to the youth of the world” strongly resonates in Africa. Despite daunting environmental challenges, young people are not afraid to move with the times and channel their creativity using modern technologies to tackle these problems.

In 2022, three young women from Nigeria, Angel Chukwudi-Denis, Fortune Mmesomachukwu Somuadina and Favour Chinecherem Chibuike were senior regional winners at the Technovation awards for developing an App called EarthExp, which sets out to create awareness about the devastating effects of climate change, combined with a call for environmental care and sustainability.

From climate disaster to action

According to Angel Chukwudi-Denis, App Developer, VR developer and designer, the invention of the app was motivated by seeing the effects of climate change on the people around them.

“Last year, there was a massive flood in Kogi state, Nigeria. My cousins who live in Kogi were trapped in their houses. Much of their valuable property was either damaged or tampered with by the flood. People had to move in canoes and worst of all they couldn’t attend school for months due to the flood. I was touched by that … So, I did my research on what caused flooding and I found something interesting. Flooding mostly occurs because of clogged gullies, which is improper waste disposal,” Chukwudi-Denis says.

Nigeria experienced the worst floods in a decade, affecting 27 states and displacing more than 1 million people. © Yasuyoshi Chiba / Getty Images

Together with her friends, Fortune Somuadina and Favour Chibuike – collectively known as Eco Elixirs Nigeria – they began researching further on ways to solve the problem of flooding, which had become a perennial challenge in Kogi.

“We discovered very devastating facts. Our reliance on plastic is a dilemma for the environment”

They learned that 13 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year meaning that by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish. Along with climate change, plastic waste has also contributed to severe floods in Nigeria, which have affected 1.9 million people, destroyed 82,000 houses, displaced 210,000 people, and devastated crops and livestock. Nigeria also has the highest rate of deforestation, at 3.5 per cent annually. 

“All these findings led to the innovation and brainstorming that gave us the drive towards solving the issue of climate change by the invention of EarthExp.”

The app aims to evoke behavioural change in its users. She adds that “We believe in behavioural change, not just impact. Behavioural change of people will eventually translate to environmental change and impact that would last.”

Imported waste, and most of the waste generated in Nigeria ends up in dump sites, rivers, drainage system and farmlands. Olusosum dump site, Nigeria. © Greenpeace / Kristian Buus

The app combines information about environmental trends with social networking and games, consisting of persuasive approaches, a 3D game and a VR interface entertains and educates users and aims to change their mindset as they play the game or go through the interface. In the app, users create a city but gradually learn how to consider how the ecosystem is affected as the city grows, by making wise financial decisions, growing plants to capture carbon, conserving water, using AI to calculate the climate impacts of commonplace items and earning in-app currency for positive actions. 

“We decided to get people not so fully stuck on our app, but stuck on our app enough to be able to develop a sense of action towards climate change, like developing or thinking of the fact they can do something to relieve climate change,” Fortune says.

“So, it is basically to use a persuasive strategy to induce a behavioural change in our users and in return we get a positive feedback towards climate action,” adds Favour Chibuike, “In the game we also have a feature where if you cut one tree, you will have to plant three more trees …if you do not take care of your environment and all that other stuff, you will notice that it will affect the way you will behave around your surroundings.”

Inspiring solutions to the crisis

The development of the EarthExp app by these three young women is amplifying the work of other young people in Nigeria – and across Africa – who are advocating for a better future for the world at large and for community based home grown solutions.

For example, in Bonny Island, Rivers State, climate change activist, Chisom Asoegwu works with women and young people on reusing waste from overflowing landfills to create green spaces, and says that the positive effect of the EarthExp is helping her take climate change advocacy to the people where it matters most and imbuing them with the mindset to care for the environment. Also in Bonny Island, Mirabel Brown, a youth volunteer, highlights the devastating impact of oil extraction on local communities, especially gas flaring but also oil spillages into rivers which have badly affected fishing, a major source of livelihoods. Like the EarthExp app, she sees her work with local communities as targeting behavioural change, and letting those responsible know how devastating gas flaring can be to the environment.

Kora oil field, Nigeria. © Tim Lambon / Greenpeace

In the words of Olumide Idowu, aka “Mr Climate”, a well-known Nigerian climate change advocate, climate change is really affecting young people; the EarthExp app is not just educating young people on climate change issues, it is also creating investment opportunities for them to create innovations for solving climate change challenges.

As for the teenagers behind the EarthExp app, the Technovation award is helping them to upgrade the App and back it with better research and implementation –  but as an independent initiative Eco Elixirs is still looking for financial support or sponsors  to make it available in an app store and accessible  to a wider audience. Chukwudi-Denis urges future generations to be the change they want to see; “When people’s mindsets are changed we become unstoppable, because we are united to fight against this problem. We have no planet B, we only have Earth and we have to take care of her. Let us all take the first step, Eco Elixirs can’t do it alone, be the change you want to see.” These young people are already seeing the devastating impacts of climate change and waste in their communities but are determined to act to bring a new future into being. They’ve recognised that changing mindsets is key to this, and are using their imagination together with modern technologies to put people and planet before profit and growth as well as build resilience and communities which are more able to meet the challenges that the future will bring.

Renata Nitta is a campaign strategist at Greenpeace International for the Alternative Futures project and Fabian Ogochukwu is a journalist based in Nigeria.

Follow the EarthExp App team Angel Chukwudi-Denis, Fortune Mmesomachukwu and Favour Chinecherem on Instagram for news and updates.