World Environment Day: CECOSDA, partner train youth on waste recycling, renewable energy.

The conference held under the theme: “Youth and green entrepreneurship in Cameroon: Recycling and Renewable Energy Sectors”. The exercise, organisers said, was part of activities to mark World Environment Day, today June 5. 

The exercise unfolded under the watchful eyes of the Studies Engineer at the Ministry of Water Resources and Energy, Moiffo Saa Blandine.

The conference brought together students who have benefited from the Future Energy Leaders in Cameroon, FLEC, project from Mfou, Nsam and Mbankomo.

The students had innovative projects in clean energy and green entrepreneurship from the CECOSDA ECOPRENEURS network, CECOSDA’s Green Jobs team. 

Moiffo Saa urged youth to put more interest in renewable energy. She said government is putting in place all to ensure renewable energy is accessible to all.

As Cameroon joins the world to commemorate World Environment Day, today, Moiffo Saa said there is need for everyone to get involved in pushing for a clean environment.

Speaking during the ceremony, the representative of Schneider Electric Foundation, a partner company to the FLEC project, Odile Ngo Nguimbus, said they plan to train 4,000 youths.

In this light, Ngo Nguimbus said they are going to work with CECOSDA to train young people on solar power system and energy transition.

At the level of Schneider Electric Foundation, Ngo Nguimbus said they have projects to assist youth who are school dropouts to integrate in the professional world through skills in renewable energy. The programmes, she said, span between four and nine months.

The partnership between CECOSDA and Schneider Electric Foundation, she said, targets youth between the ages of 16 and 21. Ngo Nguimbus said thanks to the scheme several students in Yaounde have gained knowledge on renewable energy.

Enter participants

Cyrille Ndonkep, an engineer at CECOSDA’s Equitable Energy Centre, said they used yesterday’s event to “present solar generators of power 850 Watt and 1,500 Watt”. 

Ndonkep said they are mainly for family use as “we have households that complain about power cuts”. 

Ndonkep said they can use the generators to watch television and turn the fan as it can also serve small businesses in areas such as hairdressing and tailoring.

Bikang Maxime, a student of Government Bilingual Technical High School Nsam, thanked CECOSDA and its partners for training them.

Bikang told The Guardian Post that: “We have a makeshift project of a residential area that is connected with solar panels”.

As an admirer of renewable energy, Bikang declared that: “I will advise my friends to join the sector”.

He appealed to the government to assist those interested in the renewable energy sector given that equipment are still expensive.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3465 of Thursday June 05, 2025