The United Nations Youth Conference (COY18) 2023 has kicked off on Sunday, November 26. The event was organized by the Arab Youth Center in Abu Dhabi in collaboration with the Green House Research Center affiliated with the American University of Sharjah (AUS) and New York University Abu Dhabi.
The 18th edition of COY18 will continue til November 28 at Expo City Dubai. Most notably, more than 1,000 young people from around the world gathered in Dubai on Sunday for this youth conference to amplify their voices on climate change.
About conference of youth (COY)
YOUNGO officially manages the Conference of Youth (COY) to empower youth and promote climate change policies as the UNFCCC’s official child and youth constituency. Global COY is the largest youth conference related to the multilateral UN climate process. This conference was first started in 2005. GCOY serves as a venue for capacity building and policy training to prepare youth participants here. GCOY also collects all collected inputs, which directly feed into the climate discussion through the official Youth Policy Paper.
The UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, delivered a speech about the conference. she said that the UAE always believes in the power of youth. Youth benefit from this initiative in training and upskilling United Nations child and youth workers. They will be positively impacted by COY18 and COP28.
She referred to the youth as ‘agents of change’. Sharing stories and your innovative ideas is vital to solving climate change, Almheiri said. According to him, the youth of all countries should come together in action to fight climate change so that a future can be built that is secure and sustainable.
Almheiri remarked, “When it comes to empowering young people for a resilient future, our vision is three-fold. The first is to give young people access to climate information and a better understanding of the issues facing the planet. Then we provide them with the best action to take.”
Organization of the conference
The opening ceremony was attended by Shamma bint Suhail Al Mazrui, Minister of Community Development and Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Digital Economy. Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimi, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Chief Executive Officer of Expo City was also present there.
According to media reports, the sessions will cover various topics held under the theme of climate equity and justice transition.
Also networking through roundtable discussions, focus groups, fun activities and meetings with decision makers; and will organize capacity building through workshops, trainings, courses, and plenary sessions on discussions, leadership, policy, fundraising, media training and advocacy.
The Climate Center is organizing a capacity-building workshop as part of the conference titled “Whole Food”, which addresses growing health concerns and the urgent need to address climate change. The session will encourage individuals, communities and organizations to integrate sustainable and health-focused practices into their daily lifestyles and activities.
COY18 Steering Committee Principal Representative and Media and Communication Opportunity Lead, student Janhvi Doshi said, “Youth engagement in climate change action is not symbolic but instrumental in driving meaningful change and fostering collective commitment to environmental stewardship. As students, we are extremely proud of our role on the world stage, Actively contributing to the development of climate change policies aligned with the UNFCCC.”
Amy E. Pope, Director General (DG) of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), has guessed that this year would be the hottest year in human history.
“The UN agreement has all the elements. We have all the information and tools we need to make real change, and change isn’t happening fast enough. Climate change is one of the greatest problems of our time and for many of you in this room, it will be the defining challenge of your future,” the Pope said.” Pope said.
“But we need the voice of youth,” He emphasized.
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