The inaugural First Lady Mazingira Awards (FLAMA) is expected to take place on October 10, where young innovative learners will be awarded for their creativity and innovation in tackling climate change actions.

FLAMA is a learner-centered annual environment and climate change competition that has been rolled out by the office of the first lady of Kenya in partnership with the ministries of education and environment and other stakeholders.

The competition targets 18 million learners spread across 89,000 primary and secondary schools across the country.

For a start, the program will engage learners in primary schools and junior secondary school before it is progressively rolled out to all learning institutions.

Speaking during the FLAMA media breakfast meeting in Nairobi on Thursday, Eng. Festus Ng’eno the Principal Secretary State Department for Environment and Climate Change in the Ministry of Environment said the awards provide an exceptional platform for learners to express creativity in addressing challenges of environment and climate action change.

“The role of our children in shaping the discussion on environmental change cannot be overstated; they cannot be passive observers but must be engaged fully and meaningfully. This competition has enabled learners to become advocates of environmental change engaging the community in discussions about conservation and resilience,” said Ngeno.

The PS said that the integration of environmental education into the curriculum is vital in shaping behavior and lifelong commitment into preserving and conserving environment by involving young learners.

He said that children in the country have firsthand experienced challenges of climate change referring to the recent floods in the country that caused delays in opening of schools affecting about 18 million learners across the country.

The future of environmental conservation he said depends on the actions the country takes today involving young learners who he said are the owners of the future.

"This not just a competition, it is a movement and we are committed as a government that we will work closely with the office of the first lady to achieve the awards goals. Through FLAMA, we are witnessing the seed of change being planted making our young learners the cornerstone of environmental change in Kenya,” he said.

Speaking at the event, Florence Samoit, the Secretary Administration in the State department for Basic Education who was representing her PS Dr. Belio Kipsang in the Ministry of Education said that the wards provide a platform that recognizes and appreciate young people making significant contribution in addressing climate change through creative expressions.

She said the Ministry of Education has been part and parcel of designing the award scheme right from its conception to its implementation.

“We have issued letters of authorization in line with the ministry’s mandate and also used existing structure to support and popularize the awards in our primary and junior secondary schools,” said Samoit.

The program she said is learner-centered in its approach and design as it involved the young learners’ right from the beginning including the designing of the logo for the competitions.

She added that the program has been integrated in to the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) whereby using a UCI cord, Nemis will be used to identify authenticated schools to take part in the competitions.

“The focus of the awards scheme aims to nurture and empower learners as agents of change for environmental conservation and climate action. Children are more vulnerable to climate change effect as we have witness before the disruption of the school calendar due to flooding and some children in arid and semi-arid areas missing classes due to drought and hunger,”

"This program empower learners to be critical thinkers, problem solvers and effective communicators and therefore by supporting and promoting flama we are investing in our future and ensuring sustainability as we move forward,” she said.

Elizabeth Kosgei, the chief executive officer of Mama Doing Good environmental organization underscored the need to amplify the voice of preservation of the environment.

She stated that climate change was no longer an abstract issue but a new reality especially for young learners and children.

She implored on the media to be at the forefront of being the change agents the country requires in changing the narrative on climate action change.

"The media influences how the masses view environmental conservation and climate change. It is through you that the message of climate action can resonate across Kenya, regionally and throughout the world,”

“Through your lenses, words and platforms, it influence how we as a society view climate change action,” said Kosgei.

Flama she said is not just a competition or an award ceremony, but a platform for real hands on engagement through creative expression.

Through its alignment with the curriculum, the competition she said provides children the opportunity to learn by doing including to plant trees, conserve water and develop sustainable solutions to protect the environment.

“By empowering our learners we are nurturing a generation that values and protects the environment,” she said.