Advancing the engagement of Indigenous youth and youth from local communities in climate policies and actions 

Background 

Activity 8 of the 2nd three-year work plan of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) focuses on the role of Indigenous youth and youth from local communities, and specific ways to advance the engagement of youth in designing and implementing climate policies and actions at all levels, including the UNFCCC process, such as at COP 29.  

Objectives 

The deliverables of Activity 8 include: 

• Knowledge-gathering devoted to intergenerational knowledge-sharing, intergenerational equity, strengthening relevant practices on the ground, and enhancing youth engagement in climate policy development and implementation at all levels with a view to developing recommendations on how to enhance the leadership of Indigenous youth and youth from local communities. 

• Recommendations from Indigenous youth participants and youth participants from local communities, ensuring gender and sociocultural balance, on the promotion of their participation in the activities of the FWG, as well as opportunities to enhance knowledge-sharing, capacity building, and policy for integration under the UNFCCC process. 

In preparation for COP29, FWG co-leads for activity 8 conducted informal consultations with Indigenous youth and youth from local communities. These informal consultations (Session 1 and Session 2) gathered inputs from participants from different regions on effective ways of designing the annual youth round table at COP29. Youth from all UN Indigenous sociocultural regions provided valuable insights on thematic topics for discussions during the roundtable, format of the roundtable and proposed strategies for the FWG to disseminate key messages from the round table. These inputs have been incorporated to inform the overall structure and focus of the annual youth round table at COP 29. 

Thematic Focus 

The thematic focus for this year’s gathering is on advancing the engagement of Indigenous youth and youth from local communities in climate policies and actions. 

Approach 

The LCIPP annual gathering will be designed to feature two sessions. This event regards Part I: 

Part I: Exchange amongst Indigenous youth and youth from local communities Cross-regional knowledge-sharing between Indigenous youth and youth from local communities. 

Dissemination of outcomes and key messages  

The key messages and recommendations from Part I of the discussions will be presented to Parties, constituted body members and other stakeholders during the Part II of the roundtable. An event report, containing these key messages and recommendations will also be published after COP 29. 

Additionally, the FWG is considering several other channels for dissemination of these messages, based on suggestions from informal youth consultations, mentioned above. These include: 

1. Inputs through participation in events at COP 29: Actively engaging and participating in relevant events during COP 29, including youth-led events, presidency events, amongst others to present key messages and recommendations. 

2. Digital and social media campaigns: Utilizing platforms social media channels to share communication materials with a broader range of audience 3. 

3. Collaborating with youth organizations: Engaging with youth organizations and youth groups across the UN Indigenous sociocultural regions to amplify the key messages and extend the outreach.