Hamish Laing: AYLI @ COY11

It’s the final day here at the Conference of Youth (COY), actions are being planned, policy being written, connections continuing to be made and everyone is eager in anticipation of COP kicking off on Monday. The AYLI delegation have been at COY since Thursday immersing ourselves in the world of youth climate activism. 

Youth from all over the planet have gathered to collaborate on climate issues and the atmosphere has been buzzing. There is something powerful about so many like minded people coming together and attitudes are overwhelmingly positive. A key aspect for the AYLI delegation has been networking, with old friends reuniting and plenty of new ones being made. 

The conference has been split into four different spaces: introspection, inspiration, training and production with the group hanging out mostly in the latter. The production space is where the working groups for YOUNGO (the collective youth climate body) are based and thus where most of the planning is going on for those of us lucky enough to have access to COP for the next couple of weeks. 

These working groups basically aim to facilitate youth discussion about different areas of the negotiations which youth feel strongly about such as Intergenerational Equity, Loss & Damage, Long term goals and more. Many in the delegation are looking to stay involved with these groups looking at policy,  actions and comms throughout the negotiations.

This last picture helps to sum up the organic, chaotic and occasionally bizarre nature of COY.  

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All posts by Institute delegates reflect their own thoughts, opinions and experiences, and do not reflect those of the Institute.

Posted on November 28, 2015 and filed under UN Climate Talks 2015.