By Ijeoma Okwor, 1st year MDP student
My name is Ijeoma Okwor. I am a 1st year student of Master’s in Development Practice: Indigenous Development (MDP). I am from the Igbo ethnic group of Nigeria.
This is my first placement, and I am grateful for the opportunity to experience it with the Climate Action and Energy Innovation office, Government of Manitoba, where I work with the Stakeholders Relations and Reporting unit. I am currently providing support to three projects – the ‘Merit’ project under the Federal Low Carbon Economy Fund; Mobilizing Municipalities Project under which we mobilize Manitoba Municipalities to achieve Climate and Green Plan Goals; and the Adaptation project under which we support and facilitate communities’ preparedness in the event of climate change such as heat wave, drought, flooding etc. Under the Merit project, I provide support with contractual process for new grantees while for other projects, my role is mainly around research and strategy development for effective implementation of the projects. I have also developed a community of practice framework which we hope to explore in engaging municipalities to ensure more coordinated engagements.
This placement is an opportunity to learn new things, test some of the learnings from my ‘Environmental and Sustainability’ course, and experience what it feels like to work with a provincial government. I have been able to settle in smoothly, enjoyed huge support from the team during my onboarding process and leveraged the friendship of two wonderful colleagues from the University of Manitoba.
