Conference of Youth; Here at Last!

On the weekend before COP15 begins, a conference is held for the youth delegates attending COP. The Conference of Youth, or COY, is in part a training ground for delegates, in part an information sharing forum and in part a place for delegates to meet and network before COP commences.

A number of workshops were held on subjects such as UNFCCC processes, Emissions Trading Schemes, the Kyoto Protocol and Long Term Cooperative Action, how to use a day at COP15 effectively, and Youth Media. As a delegation, we split ourselves across the groups so that we could share information between ourselves and gain as much from the workshops as possible. The workshops were very informative and, I think, have put us in good position for the beginning of COP15.

In the afternoon there was an ‘open space’ for discussing the role of Youth at COP15, our expected outcomes for the conference, and whether we could use any perceived failures to our advantage. For this open space we talked as a delegation, along with other youth, to brainstorm on these subjects. This was instrumental in further developing our own agenda, as a delegation, for COP15.

Finally, at the end of the day, we were split into working groups, such as policy and media. This was a great opportunity for deepening our understanding of issues that we will be focusing on at COP, as well as for meeting delegates who will be working in similar areas as ourselves.

Overall, COY was a success and the TYN delegation gained much from the experience. The knowledge and contacts gained from this conference will put us in good stead for COP15.