On Thursday, March 5, 2020, Centre for Citizen’s Conservation (CECIC) conducted a community local screening of several movement-building films at Bright Academy Secondary School in Uganda to raise awareness on the negative impacts of oil activities on communities and biodiversity.

The purpose of the community local screenings was to raise community awareness on the socio-economic and environmental impacts of oil and gas exploitation activities and mobilize students and communities to demand an inclusive and just energy transition.

The screenings conveyed members of the environmental club at the above secondary school to educate them about the role of students, youth, civil society actors and government in reducing the impacts of oil and gas exploitation activities and demanding for an inclusive and just energy transition will be discussed.

The films that were shown were shot in Ecuador and Uganda and they described the impacts oil and gas exploitation activities have had on the environment, communities’ livelihoods, youth employment, community health, and others. The films were screened for the students to build support for a Just Energy Transition (JET) to off-grid clean energy from dirty fossil fuels in Uganda and the African Great Lakes region at large. 

The Ugandan government is currently engaged in processes to exploit Uganda’s oil and gas resources at the expense of off-grid clean energy which has the potential to meet communities’ needs while bypassing the environmental and climatic challenges presented by oil. This is amongst the many activities CECIC and partners are taking on to ensure the generations come to adopt alternative sources of sustainable energy aside from dirty fossil fuels.

By Edwin Mumbere