Harrison Ashangwa Attends the International Youth Climate Summit

The International Youth Climate Summit took place on the 7th and 8th of July, 2022 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Organized by the Institute for Health and Environment and the International Youth Health Organization (YHO), the summit which brought together youth climate activists and representatives of various youth environmental organizations across Europe had as aim to build the capacity of young people, youth workers and other relevant stakeholders and mobilize them to become active participants in a dialogue with stakeholders and policymakers, so they can have a say in creating a more sustainable and equitable world.

It was such a pleasure for me to have spoken on the realities of the climate crisis in the Global south and some perspectives towards climate action, North-South Cooperation towards driving climate action and also highlighting the work of the International Student Environmental Coalition (ISEC) around the world.

The two day summit had various sessions, panel discussions and engagement with European policy makers. Some of the sessions which were very interesting and insightful were on the intersection of climate change and health, the impacts of climate change on health, the notion of One health and also the Health co-benefits of climate action.

For policy advocacy, there was a workshop for climate and policy in which participants learnt about various tools they can use to advocate for climate policy, to engage policy makers towards climate action.

Speaking to and engaging with the representatives and youth leaders from youth environmental organizations in Europe was key, especially in highlighting and strengthening North-South Cooperation towards climate action in the Global North and Global South. We are looking forward to more engagements in the future with these organizations and possible avenues for partnerships and cooperation.

The International Youth Climate Summit ended with a youth statement with aspirations and actions to be proposed to European policy makers and stakeholders for a sustainable and just future of our planet.

Author: Harrison Ashangwa

Media Managers: Emily Munanie and Chinonso Nwanevu