AELA AS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF POTENTIAL
"For AELA, out of the many applications that came in I was among the three that was shortlisted, it tells me ‘come on, you are doing right, you are on the right track’."
by Eric Ngang
Eric Ngang is an environmentalist from Cameroon focusing on the link between local knowledge and global problems. He aims to make evidence from relevant Local Indigenous Knowledge and Practices (LIKP) on climate change adaptation available to inform decision-making in Africa. This body of work has earned him the title of one of the runners up in the 2020 Africa Evidence Leadership Award (AELA). This was a significant achievement for him personally and professionally, as he explains:
For AELA, out of the many applications that came in I was among the three that was shortlisted, it tells me ‘come on, you are doing right, you are on the right track’. Personally it gave me inspiration that I am on the right course. And the whole network voted and said that ‘this has got some potential’. I am excited about it. There is a lot of respect in being shortlisted.
It has also opened up a networking opportunity for him as he had come to know about the work, and had subsequently connected with the other runner up, Serge Eric Yakeu Djiam. Eric continues to thrive on the global stage. He has applied for the British Ecological Society Climate Change award, and has used the AELA as a learning opportunity to be able to look at wider opportunities.
