The Embassy of Sweden has brought its Sweden on the Road initiative to the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), convening a youth-centred dialogue on the intersection of climate change, gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and human rights.
The Sweden on the Road: Gender-Responsive Climate Action Edition was hosted at UKZN’s Westville Campus and brought together parliamentary leaders, diplomats, academics, researchers, students and development practitioners to explore how climate change affects communities and how more inclusive and resilient responses can be developed.
Thoko Didiza Highlights the Role of Young People
A key feature of the programme was a keynote address by National Assembly Speaker Hon. Thoko Didiza, who addressed the relationship between climate change, gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Her participation placed parliamentary leadership alongside youth voices, academic perspectives and diplomatic engagement, creating an opportunity for participants to examine the policy and social dimensions of climate action.
The dialogue also emphasised the importance of young people participating actively in discussions that shape responses to climate change and its impact on communities.
Connecting Climate Change with Health and Gender Equality
The discussions explored how climate-related challenges can affect more than the environment.
Floods, droughts and other climate-related disruptions can affect livelihoods, healthcare access and essential services. These impacts can also deepen existing inequalities, particularly for women, girls and other vulnerable groups.
The dialogue therefore considered climate resilience alongside health, gender equality, human rights and access to sexual and reproductive health services.
This approach highlights the importance of ensuring that climate policies take into account the social and human consequences of environmental change.
Youth Voices Contribute to Climate Action
Students played an important role in the dialogue, contributing recommendations aimed at strengthening climate-resilient health systems and informing South Africa’s engagement ahead of COP31.
The participation of students and young people provided an opportunity for their perspectives and experiences to form part of broader conversations involving policymakers, diplomats, academics and development practitioners.
Youth participation is increasingly important in climate discussions, particularly as younger generations will experience many of the long-term consequences of decisions made today.
Sweden Takes Diplomacy Beyond Pretoria
The UKZN engagement forms part of the broader Sweden on the Road initiative, which seeks to take diplomatic engagement beyond Pretoria and create opportunities for interaction with communities, universities, young people and other stakeholders across South Africa.
Through initiatives of this nature, diplomatic missions can create spaces for direct dialogue on issues that extend beyond traditional government-to-government relations.
The engagement in KwaZulu-Natal also creates opportunities to explore areas of cooperation including climate action, gender equality, education, skills development, innovation and trade.
Strengthening Dialogue Ahead of COP31
The UKZN dialogue comes at a time when climate action is increasingly being considered alongside questions of development, health, equality and human rights.
For South Africa, discussions involving young people, policymakers, researchers and international partners can contribute to broader conversations about building climate-resilient communities and institutions.
The event provided a platform for participants to consider how climate responses can better reflect the realities, needs and voices of communities affected by climate change.
Through Sweden on the Road, the Embassy of Sweden continues to create opportunities where diplomacy, Parliament, academia and youth voices intersect, highlighting the importance of inclusive dialogue in developing responses to some of the most pressing challenges facing society.
