The discussion will be held in both Arabic and English, with interpretation available on Zoom only.

You can register to attend by following this link. You will receive a Zoom confirmation email should your registration be successful. Alternatively, you can watch the event live here on our Facebook page.

As regional leaders from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) prepare to attend COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, young scholars, journalists, and community leaders are hoping to make their voice heard about the host of pressing climate challenges facing their countries and communities. Among the issues raised by youth activists in MENA are the insufficient action on fossil fuel phase-out, conflict-induced ecocides in countries such as Palestine, Sudan and Yemen, and vulnerable biodiversity. Youth activists have also criticized the COP’s inaccessibility, being hosted at expensive destinations and with little financial support available for underprivileged participants. Therefore, despite the increased involvement from youth activists and marginalized communities in negotiations and side events, the perspective of these groups is not included in COP’s final decisions, raising concerns about tokenization of youth voices. Despite this enduring challenge, the youth in the MENA region have served as a consistent voice of conscience, reminding political and business leaders of their responsibility to place public good before private interests to safeguard future generations.

To discuss the role of youth in confronting climate change in MENA, the Middle East Council on Global Affairs and the Arab Reform Initiative are convening a group of young leaders from the region. Our speakers will highlight the unique youth perspective(s) on the climate crisis, how regional leaders can do more to involve young stakeholders more effectively when confronting environmental challenges, and how the region’s youth can increase their impact on key climate issues.

Our speakers will seek to answer and tackle the following questions:

• In terms of climate action and expectations from COP29, what are young leaders in the MENA region calling for, especially with regards to climate finance and loss & damage?
• The COP is once again in a country with an economy that heavily depends on hydrocarbons, how does this affect your perceptions of the COP?
• Based on your experience, how have Arab governments responded to youth action on climate change in recent years, and how can they improve their engagement with youth voices?
• How can youth activists better integrate social justice issues, such as gender and economic inequality, into their climate advocacy, and what are some examples of successful approaches in the MENA context?
• How have youth activists positioned themselves vis a vis the different conflicts in the MENA? How will they use the COP as a platform to advocate for justice in Palestine, Sudan, Yemen?