Sowing the Seeds of Climate Leadership: Cabo Verde’s Academic Response

Nearly 4,000 students from the University of Cabo Verde (UniCV) are taking part in climate literacy initiatives; a number which represents nearly 1% of Cabo Verde’s resident population. This kind of reach underscores the transformative power of higher education in building a more conscious, resilient, and climate-ready society. 

This is exactly the spirit behind the project “Climate Action in Higher Education: Sowing Climate Awareness”, implemented by UniCV with support from the Luxembourg Cooperation through the Luxembourg Development Agency, LuxDev. With a total funding of €75,000, the project aims to train young professionals and raise awareness among students at the very start of the academic year. 

The first edition of the introductory course “Climate Action for Beginners”, launched on 15.10.2025 marked the beginning of an empowering journey. Cabo Verde is experiencing the direct impacts of climate change, whether from prolonged droughts affecting agriculture and food security, or extreme weather events like the recent Tropical Storm Erin. But this course is not about fear. Instead, it turns knowledge and attitude into transformative action. 

The training combines exact sciences, humanities, and social sciences, promoting a multidisciplinary approach that values not only technical knowledge, but also justice, culture, communication, and community engagement. Students explore these themes through exhibitions, climate cafés, theatre, flash mobs, and debates, making climate action a dynamic and transformative experience.

Key Deliverables of the Project include:  

• introductory Climate Action Course: 8-hour modular course with participatory methodology and certification;

• climate Ambassadors Training: Students trained to replicate the course and lead awareness activities;

• multidialectal Climate Glossary: Produced in Cabo Verdean Creole, with translations into Portuguese and English; 

• climate Olympics: challenges students to think critically, compete creatively, and propose bold solutions to real climate challenges — turning academic engagement into climate leadership;  

• UniCV Contingency Plan: Institutional document with preventive measures and rapid responses to climate risks for the various campus;

• international Scientific Article: Result of action-research conducted with students and faculty;

• final Workshop and Dissemination Event: Featuring conferences, debates, and official launch of project materials. 

The course will be integrated into UniCV’s curriculum, ensuring continued climate literacy across future generations. Alongside this, the newly formed Climate Ambassadors will remain active as internal facilitators, and all produced materials will be institutionalised and replicable across higher education institutions. 

The participatory and digital approach ensure that activities can be adapted and reused without external funding, promoting institutional autonomy and long-term impact. 

Climate literacy is not just a technical skill; it is a fundamental tool for citizenship, justice, and social transformation. By engaging thousands of students from the very beginning of their academic journey, Cabo Verde is cultivating a generation that is more aware, more critical, and ultimately better equipped to lead sustainable solutions. 

UniCV is wielding that powerful weapon to change not only the future of its students, but the climate destiny of an entire nation.

The Climate Action Programme is funded by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and implemented by LuxDev, the Luxembourg Agency for Development Cooperation.