Photo by Smallsteps Everyday: Paul, Adeline, Christianne, Hemavathi, Ineza, Hyacinthe, Eva, and Kevin (8 of 11 members of the council at COP27)

About the Council

The Loss and Damage Youth Grantmaking Council (LDYGC) is a collaboration between Climate Justice Resilience Fund (CJRF) and the Loss and Damage Youth Coalition. The LDYGC is made up of eleven members from the Loss and Damage Youth Coalition all below the age of 35 from different regions

Members of the Council

The youth grant-making council is made up of 11 members from Asia, the Pacific, South America, and Africa. Here are the names of the council members and their countries of origin

1. Ineza Umuhoza Grace, Rwanda
2. Adeline Cyuzuzo, Rwanda
3. Paul Chukwuma, Nigeria
4. Kevin Mtai, Kenya
5. Hyacinthe Niyitegeka, Rwanda
6. Mamadou Sylla, Senegal
7. Eva Peace Mukayiranga, Rwanda
8. Xiomara Acevedo, Colombia 
9. Selita Pulini Tikoibua, Fiji
10. Christianne Zakour, Trinidad and Tobago
11. Hemavathi S Shekhar, India

What We Do

• Determine and develop the application guidelines for Loss and Damage Grants
• Open the call for application
• Review applications
• Announce the winners

Why the Council is Important

• Achieve participatory grantmaking 

A diversified participatory board on grant-making is effective because it enables stakeholders with an understanding of diverse issues and the best solutions to be a part of the process.

• Advocate for youth to have an important role in the decision-making 

Funders and donors should include youth in the process as they are impacted the most yet have been largely excluded. They are also effective,  just like the Youth Loss and Damage Youth Grantmaking Council

• Support Climate Justice 

It is important to let communities define the term climate justice and action to address loss and damage from their own perspectives

The Council’s Grant Projects

• The 2022 Loss and Damage Grant: The Council in collaboration with the Climate Justice Resilience Fund launched the Loss and Damage grant in September 2022. The grant awarded a total of $150,000 to 11 organizations to address Loss and Damage in their community.  There was one large grant of $50,000 and 10 small grants of $10,000 each.