Hey, movers and shakers! Heard the rumours? They’re saying today is “Official Youth Day.” But let’s set the record straight: every day is children and youth day.
Young voices are not just flashy side acts, they deserve a spot and say at these negotiations. Youth aren’t just social media trendsetters, they hold internationally recognized rights.
Let’s address the elephant in the room: global injustice and the triple planetary crisis. This mess is a result of inequality, colonialism, burning of fossil fuels and exploitation. The most vulnerable bear the brunt of the climate crisis’ impacts, despite having the least hand in causing it.
Here’s the scoop from ECO. Fixing this imbalance needs more than a one-hit wonder—it’s an ongoing orchestra! Youth participation and engagement has to come from the youth themselves, not as a top-down process. They should have the reins in choosing where and how they contribute. Self-organized and democratic youth movements and organizations show what this looks like.
Children and young people are already showing with great commitment and effort what they want. For example, the YOUNGOs Global Youth Statement (GYS) unites over 700,000 voices from 150 countries. Let’s listen and take action based on what children and youth ] demand!
ECO will set the stage with some essential principles of meaningful youth participation at UNFCCC: human rights-based, security, education, and capacity building; access for all; institutional embedding and mandate; designated places and mandates (not just separate processes); transparency; need-based (financial) support; inclusivity; diversity;. Sounds great, right? Well, here’s the reality check: the realization of all these principles is about as common as spotting a unicorn.
It’s time to crank up the volume on meaningful youth participation at UNFCCC. It’s not about making noise; it’s about demanding a rightful place for global youth in all their diversity on the main stage of these negotiations!”