Putting Climate Justice into Play:
GenCGov Brings Climate Stack to AIC 2026
On 11 June 2026, GenCGov brought a different kind of climate conversation to the African International Conference at the University of Bradford, one built around participation, collaboration and play.
The second African International Conference was convened under the theme, African Renaissance: Reclaiming Narratives and Advancing a Shared Future. It brought together scholars, practitioners, policymakers and innovators to examine critical issues affecting Africa, including governance, human rights, technology, health, Indigenous knowledge and environmental sustainability. Learn more about AIC 2026.
Within this multidisciplinary programme, GenCGov was allocated a dedicated 45-minute session for the Climate Stack game. Held in the Student Union Building and led by Dr Pedi Obani and the GenCGov team, the session placed interactive climate learning firmly within the conference agenda.
Conferences like these remind us that knowledge exchange is strengthened by the relationships and networks we build along the way. – Dr Erebi Ndoni
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More Than a Game
Climate change is often communicated through reports, statistics and technical presentations. Although these remain important, they do not always make the difficult questions surrounding climate governance accessible to wider audiences.
Climate Stack offers another way into the conversation.
Through play and collaboration, the game encourages participants to work together and engage with questions concerning fairness, people and the planet. It creates an accessible setting in which complex climate issues can be discussed, different perspectives can be considered and the connections between climate decisions and people’s everyday lives can be better understood.
The activity demonstrated that serious learning does not always have to begin with a lecture. A game can also create space for reflection, dialogue and shared problem-solving.
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A Dedicated Place for Participatory Climate Learning
The Climate Stack session was not simply an exhibition placed at the margins of the conference. It formed part of the official AIC 2026 programme and was given a dedicated place at the close of the first day’s substantive sessions.Â
By making space for an interactive climate game, the conference recognised the value of participatory approaches alongside conventional academic presentations and panel discussions. Participants were invited not only to listen to ideas about climate action but also to engage with those ideas collectively.
The session reflected GenCGov’s belief that effective climate education should be understandable, inclusive and capable of reaching people with different levels of knowledge and experience. Climate governance affects connecting climate action with the African renaissance for everyone; opportunities to understand and contribute to it should therefore not be limited to specialists.
Connecting Climate Action with the African Renaissance
The Climate Stack session also aligned closely with the conference theme of reclaiming African narratives and advancing a shared future.
Africa’s climate future cannot be shaped through technical knowledge alone. It also requires approaches that value participation, encourage cooperation and recognise the lived experiences of communities. It requires people to ask who participates in climate decisions, whose knowledge is recognised, who bears the consequences of environmental harm and how responsibility for climate action should be shared.
These are not abstract questions. They are central to building climate governance systems that are effective, equitable and responsive to the realities of women, marginalised groups and climate-vulnerable communities.
By bringing Climate Stack into an international academic conference, GenCGov helped connect research with public engagement. The session showed how creative tools can make climate knowledge more approachable while still opening conversations about justice, inclusion, responsibility and collective action.
Building Climate Understanding Through Participation
GenCGov’s participation at AIC 2026 reinforced an important principle:
people are more likely to engage with complex challenges when they are given meaningful ways to participate.
Climate Stack creates such an opportunity. It transforms climate learning from a one-directional exchange of information into a shared experience. Participants do not remain passive recipients; they become part of the conversation.
For GenCGov, this is central to the wider work of advancing gender-inclusive climate governance. Policies and institutions remain essential, but lasting climate action also depends on informed and empowered people who can recognise the issues, discuss possible responses and contribute to decisions affecting their communities.
The dedicated Climate Stack session at AIC 2026 was therefore more than an opportunity to play a game. It was a practical demonstration of how climate education can become more accessible, collaborative and engaging and how shared learning can help us imagine and build a more inclusive climate future.
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