2A gathering for youth formally known as the Conference of Youth (COY) happened in the middle of University of Silesia, Poland. This would be the 14th COY and the focus of the gathering this time would be on the capacity-building process, policy operation and preparation, implementation and climate finance.
This year’s COY had a bit of a twist because they introduced the regional breakout groups before ending the day. The reason why they created the regional breakout groups is to make it easier to discuss mobilization and lobbying issues with a regional focus. These regional breakout groups include a sharing session on how each constituent country can create awareness and a course of action on a national level, as well also focus on the indicators of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).
Action Climate Empowerment (ACE) is another primary element that was discussed among Youth Constituency (YOUNGO) members with the UNFCCC Secretariat through a bilateral capacity-building meeting. The main agenda for that meeting included enhancing the capability of ACE in terms of mobilization and education based on Article 6 of United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (or known as The Convention).
More than 192 NGOs from 72 countries are with YOUNGO to mobilize youth around the world to educate them on climate action and the lobbying process. More than 1,500 youths from all over the world have attended COY’s sessions and are dedicated to ensure change for future generations.
The site for COY was quite hectic and a lot of youths came in and out while participating in the various activities that were available there. There were roughly 20 different activities that covered the focus of this year’s COY. The main hall where the opening speech was held was crowded and fully-seated. The opening speeches were delivered by multiple stakeholders such as Student Government and Board members of the University of Silesia, a Board Member of the Rozdzienski Institute, and YOUNGO Focal Points Yugratna Srivastava and Clara Von Glasow. YOUNGO’s presentations were prepared by their Bottom-lining team.
By the end of the opening speech, there was a presentation on the Local Conference of Youth (LCOY), the national and sometimes regional equivalent of its global counterpart. The presentation and subsequent sharing session covered almost every continent in the world and covered the activities and outcomes of each LCOY.
The first day of the conference was packed with sessions and activities. Everyone was happy with the outcome and the input they received on the first day of the conference itself. Some of the input has been practical for the working groups in the COP Team as well. It’s only just been the first day of the conference though, and there will be another two days before ending the youth conference and the start of the 24th Conference of Parties (COP24). COP24 will take place in Międzynarodowe Centrum Kongresowe (MCK Spodek), Katowice for the next two weeks after the end of COY14..
Written by Shaqib Shahril
Edited by M. O. Denney
