InfoPoint conference: Voices from the Future - Testimonies from Youth Advisory Climate Councils ambassadors - European Union

InfoPoint conference: Voices from the Future - Testimonies from Youth Advisory Climate Councils ambassadors - European Commission

Where will we be in a decade without strong climate action?

Young people, all over the world, have been raising their voices to demand stricter and more commitment towards action against climate change. Since 2020, the People & Planet (P&P) project – funded under the DEAR Programme - has been raising awareness and prompting action on climate change and water scarcity. With its Youth Advisory Climate Councils, the project has been promoting the exchange of ideas and cooperation between young people and local authorities in Europe and Africa, that can promote and implement a more sustainable development.

Is this a dynamic that can really make the difference in topics such as the Climate Action, the pursuit of Social Justice, or the promotion of Human Rights and Active Citizenship? What are the successes that this work relationship is bringing, and where is more progress needed?

- the EU's international role | international cooperation
- Thursday 22 February 2024, 14:00 - 15:30 (CET)

Practical information
When Thursday 22 February 2024, 14:00 - 15:30 (CET) Where InfoPoint and Webex Meetings Languages Organisers

Description

The People and Planet project intends to raise awareness among European young citizens about the challenges and consequences arising from climate change inside and outside Europe and, in this way, encourage them to take the lead in adopting more sustainable lifestyles. Simultaneously to the mobilisation of European young citizens, the People and Planet project also focuses on strengthening local decision-makers capacities to design and implement better sustainable development policies, while deepening their capabilities to understand the intertwined relations at the glocal level.

The P&P project strategy, through participatory methodologies, aims at mobilizing European youngsters and at calling them to become key actors in the development and dissemination of campaigns about sustainability. This mobilization strategy also takes into account the role of local decision-makers as key actors in the dissemination of sustainable values among their citizens.

To this end, the P&P project has contributed to establish 17 Youth Advisory Climate Councils (YACCs) in local authorities in 7 EU countries and in Cabo Verde to enhance the opportunities for youth to actively participate in policy-making processes at local level.

To think about the main challenges YACCs are facing, and how these will affect their future, we will have 4 Young European Citizens (YECs) representing YACCs in 4 project countries – Portugal, Spain, Italy and Germany – sharing the work done within the People & Planet Project on topics such as active youth citizenship, localization of the SDGs, and others. They will outline how they expect things to develop in the period that lies ahead, and how they envision the current policies’ impacts on their lives and on the planet.

By identifying common trends and challenges among the different countries, the sharing of ideas will also allow for a discussion on possible solutions and ways of addressing youth’s main concerns and to effectively respond to their legitimate aspirations for a better future.

Speakers

- Thaïs Leray, Head of Youth Sector, INTPA G3
- Pedro Cruz, People & Planet Project Coordinator
- Arianna Fracchiolla, Ambassador for the Umbria Youth Advisory Climate Council
- Marta González, Ambassador for the Galician Youth Advisory Climate Council
- João Brás, Ambassador for the Portuguese Youth Advisory Climate Council
- Paul Hefler, Ambassador for the German Youth Advisory Climate Council

Language of conference: English

Language of Q&A session: English, Italian, German, Galician, Spanish, Portuguese