About Us
Surge Africa design and implement innovative measures that improve approaches to climate adaptation through policy, media and resilient development.
We acknowledge that climate change is multifaceted and must be tackled by anchoring strategies using a multi-layered approach towards various levels of our societies, which is why our programs are tailored to strategically advance climate resilience by influencing and advancing an inclusive decentralization of people, energy, economic and landscape governance.
Surge Africa has a regional presence in Africa with a footprint of operations in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa through numerous programs and initiatives. Through our media work, we saw it necessary to bridge regional gaps, by initiating programs in Latin America to promote our shared values for justice and equality in climate justice advocacy.
Guiding Principles
Deeply Rooted in local struggles
We develop and center our thinking and programs around urgently responding to emerging issues as they affect frontline and local communities.
Network and Alliance Building
We leverage the power of people and movements to strengthen the scope of our approach to reach and impact more people .
Use data and research to amplify policy and diplomacy
We experiment with systems thinking approaches to address diverse and multi-sectoral issues through public engagements with decision makers as a priority to ensure change happens.
Weaving intersectionality across people, systems, and regions
We are driven by the belief that solution driven initiatives must scale across people and issue areas, and that is possible only by creating understanding of interlinkages of the crisis to create a new paradigm shift towards positive actions.
Vision
Situate and influence climate governance that advances fair and inclusive climate adaptation and resilience that is rooted in the integration of the people through inclusive development, fair transition, equity in diplomatic relations and accountability in political and corporate practices.
Mission
Protect people and the planet by creating a pathway to development that embodies inclusive participation, equal opportunities, and progression for all.
Programmatic Approach
Policy
Surge Africa promotes system change and climate governance in areas of climate and the environment through public engagement, policy advocacy and diplomacy. Our Policy work has three streams; Energy and Finance, Adaptation and Resilience, and Climate Security.
We conduct research, policy analysis, capacity building and convene a community of practices in an effort to review, analyze and recommend innovative political and diplomatic measures to be taken to respond to the climate crisis.
Media
Through impact storytelling, co-creation, and alliance building, Surge Africa promotes narrative shift on key social and environmental justice issues by convening spaces that bring media practitioners, storytellers, and activists together to develop concepts and ideas on strategic and impactful ways to leverage media and storytelling for social change. The work is streamlined through toolkits, visual stories, and media labs hosted in different regions.
Resilient Development
Surge Africa coordinates programs such as training, advocacy campaigns, dialogues and capacity development aimed at scaling local action and participation of frontline communities in both adaptation practices and decision making. We also engage stakeholders on governing urban development, working alongside partners to develop frameworks aimed at advancing resilience of cities to withstand and respond to climate shocks by supporting governments to build institutional capacity, enabling them to implement resilient frameworks.
Our Story
Founded in 2017
We started out as a grassroots organization, centering our role as local champions of change. Our earliest projects were around climate education and landscape restoration, extending to community engagement on sustainable practices as it intersects with indigenous knowledge, practices and values.
ReScoping in 2020
As we engage more with people and organizations within the climate and movement building space, we expose ourselves to advocates and groups from different regions, facing different struggles but a shared goal for social, economic and environmental justice. We begin to revisit our mandate to restructure ourselves towards a forward thinking approach, seeking to address and counter existing and emerging socio-economic and environmental challenges.
2024 forward
As we continuously evolve, grow and reinvent ourselves, we’ve rooted our thinking, belief and program approach in pursuing justice, inclusivity and equality for people, communities and regions most affected by the multidimensional effect of climate change; these are frontline peoples who are most vulnerable to the climate impact, and most likely to be left behind.