Context
Young people play a pivotal role in delivering ambitious climate action and in shaping the way in which they empower other young people. At the same time, there is a need to invest in young people to contribute to developing their capacities in order to unlock youth-led climate action for greater impact on the ground. Capacity-building is key to enabling the potential of youth as agents of change and empowering youth to take a leading role in capacity-building efforts, as the capacity-builders that they are.
The 5th Capacity-building Talk will offer a space to explore the challenges, capacity needs and gaps and exchange knowledge and share best practices with regards to capacity-building initiatives to meaningfully engage youth in climate action and boosting youth-driven climate solutions. The UNFCCC Secretariat, with the contribution of the Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition, has set up the Youth4Capacity initiative to contribute to building the capacities of young people on climate change, while engaging youth as capacity-builders in the process. Through an intergenerational dialogue, youth and capacity-building stakeholders will share recommendations and good practices to building capacities for engaging youth in climate policymaking and action at the national and local level – both as capacity recipients and builders.
Objectives
The 5th Capacity-building Talk aimed to bring together youth, youth-related and capacity-building stakeholders for an intergenerational dialogue to facilitate the sharing of capacity-building needs and gaps of youth around capacity-building initiatives. As well as best practices and recommendations to mobilize and build the capacities of youth to create and implement solutions to address climate change. In addition to providing space for general reflections and perspectives on capacity building for youth, the session specifically considered the following aspects:
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Exploring the capacity needs and gaps identified and addressed by youth-led capacity building initiatives.
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Building on best practices from various capacity-building initiatives that unlock young people’s potential for climate action and focus on retaining young people's capacities.
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Recommendations and opportunities to build synergies and avoid fragmentation in initiatives, including with regard to better targeting, reaching and engaging key stakeholders, and facilitating their access to capacity-building support.
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Segment and Speakers |
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14:00 -
14:05
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Welcome and Introduction
Moderator: Eva Costas, UNFCCC
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14:05 -
14:10
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Setting the scene and presentation of the Youth4Capacity initiative
- UNFCCC ACE Team
- UNFCCC CB Team
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14:10 -
14:50
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Panel Discussion
Moderator: Natalie Mangondo (High Level Champions)
Panelists:
- Bruna Elias (UNGC SDG Innovator Accelerator for Young Professionals)
- Saad Uakkas (African Youth Initiative on Climate Change)
- Hannah Girardeau (NDC Partnership)
- Caterina Vetrugno (ImpulSouth Solutions Lab Alumni, Climate Leadership Programme)
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14:50 -
15:10
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Guided Plenary Discussion
Moderator: Alejandro Kilpatrick, UNFCCC
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15:10 -
15:25
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Open Q&A
Moderator: Xuan Zihan, UNFCCC
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15:25 -
15:30
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Recap of Discussions, Next Steps, and Closing
- Roberta Ianna (MiTE)
- UNFCCC CB Team
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Panelists
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Bruna Elias
Coming from a construction architecture background academically, Bruna cultivated her analytical and creative skills to be a Sustainable Development Goals “SDGs architect” over time. In 2022, she relocated to New York and joined the Global Operations team at the United Nations Global Compact, leading efforts around Business and SDG Innovation. She oversees the SDG Innovation Accelerator for Young Professionals, a development programme designed to foster a new community of emerging leaders disrupting traditional ways of doing business and spearheading change for true SDG impact.
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Caterina Vetrugno
Caterina Vetrugno is an architect by training. She works on international projects related to Urban Metabolism, Circular Economy and vulnerable settlements regeneration. Her goal is putting into practice the experience she gained first in Europe and then in Latin America about systemic design, management and research to contribute to the urgency of climate change adaptation and mitigation and the sustainable development our cities.
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Hannah Girardeau
Hannah is the Gender and Youth Associate for the NDC Partnership. She works to support countries in advancing gender equality and meaningful youth engagement throughout the NDC process. Her work focuses on driving support through progress on the Partnership’s Gender Strategy and Youth Engagement Plan.
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Natalie Mangondo
Natalie serves as the Finance Youth Fellow with the United Nations Climate Change High Level Champions Team. She is an economist who brings more than six years of experience in climate change and sustainability in Southern Africa. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Science in Economics from the University of Zimbabwe as the Southern Africa Climate Finance Partnership Masters Scholar, where her research centres on incorporating climate-resilience into Africa's investments in greenhouse gas mitigation. Additionally, she volunteers her time with various climate justice organisations, and the YOUNGO Finance and Markets Working Group which is the children and youth constituency of the UNFCCC.
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Saad Uakkas
Saad is a London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine public health master's graduate and activist. He is an international trainer, TEDx speaker, Diana award winner, One Young World ambassador, UNESCO young researcher, WHO infodemic manager, Clinton global initiative fellow, and Chevening scholar. He has occupied leadership positions for 3 years in the international federation of medical students associations IFMSA and led global campaigns and coordinated the global medical students' COVID-19 response collaborating with WHO, UNFPA, UNESCO, UNICEF, and other stakeholders. He works now as AYICC North Africa Coordinator and program co-lead of the COP27 children and youth pavilion.
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