Meet our gLOBAL yOUTH Delegation
We are thrilled and humbled to be supporting a 24-person hybrid, global youth delegation, with 12 team members attending events in-person in Glasgow, and another 12 folks contributing and collaborating digitally from around the world. Meet and get to know our teams below!
In-person team
AHMAD YAZAN MIRI
Global Ambassador, West Asia Team
Syria
It will be fairless methodology if we separate social and economical aspects of climate change than the environmental aspects in the global climate negotiations, Yazan says; and this is why he is attending COP26, to raise the awareness about the importance of including all young people’s voices in the climate discussion , especially poor and marginalized communities who had been excluded from the discussion for decades.
AIITA JOSHUA APAMAKU
Education Taskforce Lead
Uganda
Never like before, discussions regarding Nature and Climate Finance will be taking on core spaces at COP26. Joshua draws his priorities into understanding and exploring the possible opportunities that are available for youth from the Global South particularly in Africa; to meaningfully engage in these spheres and consequently derive associated socio-economic benefits from their impact driven initiatives on the ground.
ALA MUSTAFA
Global Ambassador, West Asia Team
Yemen
Climate Action requires government, private sector, and civil society collaboration to force change at the speed and scale needed. At COP26, Ala is looking forward to networking with different stakeholders as well as ensuring that the Yemeni youth and grassroots communities' voices are represented and discussed in such an important event.
EMILY BOHOBO N’DOMBAXE DOLA
Storytelling Director
UK/Spain
Given the context of threats to human wellbeing, increasing climate disasters, accentuated socio-economic injustice, and decision-making inaccessibility, Emily expects COP26 to live up to the high expectations while fearing it might not. Nevertheless, Emily hopes to at least recharge energies by connecting with fellow youth in Glasgow, continuing to co-build a global, hopeful & just climate narrative that centres solidarity, communities and solutions.
GABY BAESSE
Regional Director for Latin America & Caribbean
Brazil
The climate crisis is grounded in an exploratory system, that poison everything it touches, the rivers, the forest, the cities, people and the own humanity. Gaby wants to connect with youth from Latin America and the Caribbean, indigenous, queer people and all those shaken those structures. It is time to decolonize our imaginaries and allow the (bio)diversity to flourish.
KALUKI PAUL MUTUKU
Regional Director for Africa
Kenya
Climate finance for adaptation in Africa, youth representation and meaningful negotiations are a top COP26 priority for Global South countries. Kaluki will be keen to see how these are incorporated in the negotiation and decision-making processes.
MARINA MELANIDIS
Founder
Canada
Nature, particularly “nature-based solutions”, will be high on the agenda at COP 26. It’s critical that these discussions go beyond greenwashing and instead align with justice. Marina is looking forward to taking back the nature narrative by advocating for centering youth, frontline communities, and climate justice in climate and nature decision-making.
OLUWASEUN ADEKUGBE
Managing Director
Nigeria/UK
Concerns for climate change keep rising and affecting marginalised communities at a very high rate. What agenda will COP have for the protection and restoration of ecosystems, rights and justice for indigenous communities and how do we ensure that all voices are heard and unified in decision making- in terms of inclusivity of all stakeholders? I am looking forward to all of these and importantly, how youth actions in Nature Climate nexus will be valued in this space.
RAYAN KASSEM
Regional Director for West Asia
Lebanon
COP26 will be pivotal in reshaping our food systems to transform towards nature-positive food systems and to center nature-based solutions at the heart of systems solutions.
Rayan is also keen on representing the voice of West Asian youth, centering social justice as a key factor in fostering Arab climate action.
RAYSA FRANÇA
Regional Director for Europe & Central Asia
Finland/Brazil
We live in an economic and political system that is built to emit, to extinct and to silence marginalized voices. Nature-based solutions cannot be the trick we use to continue living in this rotted system. Raysa is keen in representing the voice of a Europe & Central Asia youth that believes in the power of justice to build new ways of living that are based on collaboration with nature, multispecies kinship, community leadership and social inclusion.
SARAH HANSON
Regional Director for North America
Canada
VINAMRA MATHUR
Regional Director for Asia & Pacific
Japan
In addition to supporting the wellbeing and learning of the Y4N delegation, Vinamra is excited to learn more about the role of nature in climate change mitigation. He is especially curious about the relationship between the private sector and nature, and the barriers preventing industry from meaningfully engaging with nature as a solution.
Digital team
BULIMO PETER
Global Ambassador
Kenya
Bulimo expects world leaders at COP26 to take a pragmatic rather than (an overly) ambitious approach to solving the climate crisis. All along, we have witnessed a pattern of maximum pledges and minimum action to reflect the same. The UN estimates the updated NDCs only take 7.5% off predicted 2030 emissions, while 55% is needed to meet the 1.5% Paris goal. Even so, there still exists doubt whether the 7.5% pledge will be delivered in its entirety. These are extremely dangerous sports with potential for setting up the planet for a climate disaster.
EMMA THORNTON
Private Sector Taskforce Lead
USA
Emma is looking forward to following discussions on the energy transition and understanding how world leaders intend to advocate for natural solutions. She’s also interested in understanding the role that the private sector, especially multinational corporations, intends to take.
ESTEBAN ARENAS-PINO
Global Ambassador
Colombia
After almost 2 years since the last COP, I hope to see world leaders embrace more bold and creative solutions that center people and Nature in the process. The pandemic taught us what happens when we place short term benefits over the wellbeing of people and the planet. The death toll, the vaccine and health inequities, and the impact on the planet. It also taught us how science based policy and community led decisions can do to affront a crisis. My question for all attendees will be: "what have we learned from this health crisis to fight the climate crisis?"
IBRAHIM INUSA
Global Ambassador
Nigeria
Ibrahim is looking forward to the coming negotiations and consensus among parties and believe that Nature must be part of outcome of COP26, Putting people at the heart with very high ambition from the so called most developed countries and big emitters seeing them funding youth Climate action and financing for adaptations to the so called developing countries to build back better.
JULIA BETHE
Policy Taskforce Co-Lead
France
The decision-makers will be very much in demand for this COP as they should be. Julia hopes that the pressure from civil society, youth, indigenous people and local communities, and any other so-called minorities, will be heard, understood and considered when they ask for it and that accountability will be at the core of the coming weeks, without tokenism and finally leading to the right actions for both nature and climate.
LEONARD IYAMUREME
Global Ambassador
Rwanda
There were 25 COPs that happened and now COP26 is here. Leonard has hope that COP26 is going to be different from the others. He hopes that leaders will priotise implementation rather than discussions and agreements. We see climate crisis, loss, and damage increasing globally. Agreements are there, but we are seeing very low implementations from parties. This COP26 may have changes to bring, that's all I hope. Leonard's question to global leaders is "How many COPs will we have for things to be done, from agreements to actions?"
ODHIAMBO OTIENO
Global Ambassador
Kenya
Odhiambo is looking forward to lots of learning at COP 26. This opportunity grants him exposure that he's been yearning for. He want to understand how high end negotiations take place, the place of young people in these negotiations and the impact it has to the World
ORIENY JAPHETH ODHIAMBO
Global Ambassador
Kenya
Climate finance has proved to be an issue especially for the countries from the Global south, Orieny is looking forward to fruitful negotiations that will enable youths across the globe, especially in marginalised and vulnerable communities to engage in on the ground restoration activities that are centered around Nature-based solutions. He is also keen on how COP26 will address Climate justice, including what the new NDCs mean for communities, especially those negatively affected with the government projects.
RACHEL BOERE
Communications Director
Canada
At COP26, Rachel is looking forward to connecting with and learning from other youth climate leaders from across the globe. Rachel believes that solutions to our climate crisis are on the ground and with communities. She is prepared to be curious, to be collaborative, to be creative, and to hold space for care and rest in this often challenging and unsafe space.
RAHEEM SMITH
Global Ambassador
Grenada
A moment like COP26 is the final chance the governments of the world have to make key political decisions to save the planet. After that chances are slim. The issues are clear. The road is straight ahead. This COP is a life comfortably or suffer inextricably situation
STUART MCKELVIE
Media Director
Canada
The "business as usual" approach to the climate & ecological crises has never been good enough. We have the solutions, all we need now is for governments & corporations to actually take action. We shouldn't have to associate compassion & responsibility with "bold action" but that's where we find ourselves in the lead up to COP26. Stuart is curious to see who of our elected leaders will action their commitments once the media spotlight is no longer on them. He is adamant that failing to commit to real change will be called out by the incredible, amazing youth around the world who can no longer just "wait & see."
TOMIWA OLUWAJUWON
Global Ambassador
Nigeria