“Youth for Climate Live”: a series of virtual events

The Italian Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with Connect4Climate - World Bank Group and the Office of Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth, as part of the initiatives organized in the run-up to the COP26 (Glasgow, November 2021), in June 2020 launched an ambitious program of virtual and interactive meetings addressed to young people around the world, with a view to the special events that will both take place in Milan same year: "Youth4Climate: Driving Ambition", 28-30 September, and of the Pre-Cop26, 30 September-2 October, to which, for the first time, young people will personally bring a contribution to negotiations.

In the light of the exceptional period imposed by the Covid-19 emergency, the virtual meetings program aimed to keep high attention towards the role of young people in climate change action in view of the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (Glasgow, United Kingdom, November 2021).

The webinars program, entitled "Youth4Climate Live Series: Driving Momentum Towards Pre-COP26", included one meeting per month, from June 2020 to February 2021. The topics were divided into general macro-themes, which aimed to combine the negotiation on climate change with policies for sustainable development at the global level, starting with those promoted by the United Nations agencies, placing young people at the center of the caution. For example, the following topics were discussed: green and sustainable recovery, adaptation, resilience, local action, innovation and business.

Each meeting was hosted on an interactive platform, through which the young participants were able to share information, ask questions and present proposals.

Each event was moderated by two young people: the outgoing President of the International Forestry Students’ Association, Salina Abraham, and the poet and writer, Ahmed Badr.

In particular, each meeting offered a virtual discussion in which three young people presented to two representatives of the international institutions some proposals or ideas to inspire and mobilize other young people on the macro-themes indicated from time to time.  The theme of "lessons learned" was also addressed. 

The novelty of these meetings is  that everyone who connected was able  to take part in the discussion, both through social networks and by interacting through the platform.

Webinars