CFAs: Climate Champions – DOT Climate Program (Rwanda)

DOT empowers youth to catalyze behavior change, drive community-led solutions, and scale impactful climate action across hundreds of communities.

A DOT Climate Champion is a trained youth leader who engages directly with their community to raise awareness about climate change, lead a collaborative co-design process, implement small-scale climate solutions, and inspire lasting behaviour change:

• Through a youth-led, hybrid model, DOT will recruit, train, deploy, and support a cohort of 24 local youth leaders as Climate Champions.
• These Champions will be equipped with DOT’s Climate Curriculum and a Participatory Action Research (PAR) Toolkit, enabling them to engage communities in co-designing and implementing small-scale, locally driven climate solutions.
• With the support of Cisco’s investment, DOT is scaling this impactful program and building a coalition of like-minded partners committed to advancing climate action through youth leadership.

Benefits

• Monthly stipend
• Monthly communication allowance
• Certificate upon program completion
• Opportunity to join a global climate network
• Become a member of the DOT Alumni network upon completion
• Mentorship by local and international climate experts
• Portfolio of climate action projects for career advancement
• Development of critical skills:
  • 21st-century skills (communication, negotiation, leadership)
  • Digital literacy (social media, platforms, research, data)
  • Climate coaching techniques (including indigenous knowledge)
• Visibility at regional/national events to showcase impact

Role and Responsibilities

• DOT Climate Champions will:
  • Complete a 4-week hybrid training (starting June 2, 2025)
  • Conduct baseline surveys & community training
  • Mobilize and coach community members
  • Form and lead a 7-person Participatory Action Research (PAR) working group
  • Gather community insights via participatory methods
  • Co-design and implement a local climate solution
  • Present the project and share learning outcomes
  • Submit reports and engage in continuous improvement processes

Target Audience

• Young leaders with experience or interest in climate issues, digital tools, community engagement, facilitation, or advocacy
• Individuals with a commitment to social change
• Individuals with access to a smartphone and a laptop
• Citizens of Rwanda, with fluency in English and Kinyarwanda

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must:
  • Be aged 18–35 years old by the time of application
  • Be a citizen of Rwanda
  • Be able to attend in-person sessions in Kigali City and virtual sessions
  • Commit to full participation in the program between June–October 2025
  • Have interest, experience, or knowledge in climate-related topics
  • Possesses strong facilitation, leadership, advocacy, and digital skills
  • Be fluent in English and Kinyarwanda
  • Own a functioning smartphone and laptop
  • This role is community-based, meaning you will be working directly within the district you indicated in your application.

Application Requirements

• Please note that the submission will need to include:
  • CV/Resume
  • Higher education certificate (scanned)
  • 1-minute video (max 100MB) introducing yourself and explaining why you want to be a DOT Climate Champion.

For more information, visit Digital Opportunity Trust.