Youth4Nature went to the UNSG Climate Action Summit

our future started in new york

On 23 September 2019, the Secretary-General of the United Nations hosted the Climate Action Summit in New York. The objective: to boost ambition and rapidly accelerate action to implement the Paris Agreement.

The Summit has been structured into nine interdependent, thematic tracks. One track focused on Nature-based Solutions, and another on Youth and Mobilization.

Youth4Nature is excited to have hosted a delegation of 12 international youth representing all 5 UN Regional Groups to the Climate Action Summit, where we shared our stories and mobilized our network to help kick-start a youth-led movement that is planning, implementing, and advocating for Nature-based Solutions. We worked to connect both the Youth and Nature-based Solutions track while also supporting youth engagement more broadly.

For a full recap of our time, please see our New York blog.

Meet the Youth4nature Storytelling delegation!

Alongside our Regional Coordinators and Project Coordinators, our New York delegation featured the following youth leaders who shared their stories of nature and climate.

Elujulo Opeyemi, Africa Region | Nigeria

Elujulo is a Nigerian climate and conservation actor. He is the Founder of Youth for the Environment Nigeria, a youth-led initiative that connects youth with nature, and promotes youth participation in environmental sustainability. He also sits on the board of World Ecological Concepts as a Director, and represents Young Volunteers for the Environment, Nigeria as Program Officer. He holds a B.Sc Degree in Zoology, and M.Sc Environmental Control and Management in view from Obafemi Awolowo University. Elujulo is particularly interested in nature conservation, and hopes for a world where human and nature coexists in harmony

Laura Malikova, Asia-Pacific Region | Kazakhstan

Laura is a young, enthusiastic environmental professional and trainer that actively promotes environmental issues and proposes solutions to environmental problems, including nature-based solutions. She has an MSc in Chemical Engineering for Energy and Environment from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). Laura is also the Co-Founder of the Association of Practicing Ecologists where she conducts environmental trainings for ecologists and participates in the development of environmental laws and by-laws. Laura often serves as a bridge between ecologists in the enterprises, environmental activists and governmental organisations, actively promoting nature-based solutions during development and review of national environmental laws and by-laws.

Iris Del Sol, Eastern Europe Region | Ukraine

My name is Iris Del Sol, I am 23 years old. I was born in a small village in Carpathian mountains and I always was close to the nature, as I am living in a passive wood house in middle of the forest. I studied environmental law in Law Faculty of Ivan Franko National University (Ukraine). While I was studying my friend called me and asked for help. In his village a project of a huge ski resort was announced. In 2017 with a group of friends we created an environmental movement, called Free Svydovets, for protect a wild mountain range in Carpathian mountains. Now, I have the honor to study environmental law at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne to protect nature for the next generations.

Danilo Ignacio de Urzedo, Latin America & Caribbean Region | Brazil

Danilo Urzedo is a forester passionate about community-based natural resources management. He is a PhD candidate and tutor in Environmental Geography at The University of Sydney. He has worked within seed networks and restoration projects in the Brazilian Amazon and Savanna to promote local opportunities for indigenous, traditional and rural communities. His research and teaching focus on political ecology, forest landscape restoration and community forestry.

Amanda Krijgsman, Western Europe & Others Region | Netherlands

Hi, I' m Amanda. I am 26 years old and I work as a Junior Researcher Nature-based Solutions at Wageningen University & Research, in the Netherlands. My hobbies are cycling, ballet and running (not too fanatic, more as a social activity), traveling, gardening and cooking. I learned about Nature-based Solutions (NBS) during my BSc & MSc International Land and Water Management. NBS involve people in climate change adaptation in a beautiful way. I believe that NBS elegantly encourages people to think about their environment. Growing awareness may develop and flourish in pro-environmental and climate responsible behaviour. I feel grateful to be selected by Youth4Nature to share my experiences with NBS and learn from you! Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions and keep up the good work!

Read up on our activities in New York here:

You can also follow along on social media as we post updates on our delegation, the events we plan to host, and the other incredible youth groups we aim to connect and collaborate with to advocate for both nature and climate.