This year, for the first time, we went to COP26 to meet with stakeholders and to host a side event helping the audience connect the dots between human rights and climate change. While at COP, we met and talked to young people from all over the world, representing various organisations or representing themselves, to find out more about what they are thinking; why they are at COP and what they expect that this year's summit will bring.
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We met with youth organisations and young people, and asked them why they were at COP and what they hope would come out of the summit.
Fierle Engel, Netherlands
"We should do everything we can to make the fact known that climate crisis is a colonial crisis"
Fierle from the Netherlands represented the Dutch branch of Young Friends of the Earth at COP26
Freeman Oluowo, Nigeria
"You have young people ready to speak up, young people who are now being called advocates. But the reality of this is that young people are not in the decision making tables."
Freeman Oluowo is from Nigeria and represented the Africa Center for Climate Action and Human Rights Based Initiative.
Jasper Jan, China
"I want to connect with young people to strengthen youth' empowerment. I am also here to facilitate the process of capacity-building, that is key for small business and states in developing countries; to help strengthen their political will."
Ayman Cherkaoli
"I am here to strengthen awareness, increase capacity-building and network around the important issues of environmental education."
Jeffrey, TWYCC, Taiwan
"We expect COP26 to be inclusive of people of all ages and all places in the world. We want COP26 to keep world leaders accountable."
Nashna Wallander
"I am here in my role as a climate activist. My greatest passion is climate issues and it is therefore great to be here to take part in various events."
Timothy Arwan
"This is my 2nd COP, I attended COP24. I am here with my team today to work on climate law. There are very many exciting sessions going on here and I am looking forward to several of them."
Tejas Rao
"I am here because we are hosting Climate Law and Governance Day on Friday at the University of Glasgow."
Tejas Rao is a research assistant to avisting professor at the University of Cambridge.
Priscilla, Hongkong
"I am here as a youth delegate from HongKong and I am here to learn and spread how we can all raise the climate ambitions. I will bring back learnings to HongKong; learn and share best practice so that we can inspire each other."
Omar Farhat
"I here as an observer, as an agriculture student to network with other students sharing the same ambitions regarding climate change, mostly related to agriculture."
Omar Farhat, Morocco
Miguel Vindas, Costa Rica
"I am here, since I belive that NDCs and climate justice are important."
Nina, Indonesia
"I am here as a Youth Delegate from Indonesia . I am here as an observer, not only of the negotiations but also in the Indonesian Pavilion. Also here to gather inspiration to bring back to Indonesia, to build collective imagination on how we can tack this climate change together."
Blaire Ho, Hongkong
"I am actually a Programme Officer at an NGO called CarbonCare InnoLab. We are engaged in different kinds of projects. My focuses will be climate education and climate justice."
John Baki
"I work for the Women International Programme, a women-led, non-governmental organisation that advocates for the right of women on issues of environment and issues of governance. We are here at the COP26 (...), because we would like to see how the Heads of State will decide on the Paris Rulebook (...). We are interested in how the issue of loss and damage is addressed."
Lula, Sweden
"I a student of Marine Biology, currently studying in Scotland. I decided to go to COP, since I think it is important. So far, there is a lot of talking. You hear a lot of fancy words, but it feels like you have heard them before."
Marius Wallstein
"I am here with my student association. We are looking forward to advocating voices from the youth and emphasising that the young generation think, our generation and the generation to come, that really are the most affected by the climate crisis. We really want to put forward that perspective, as we think that this group is not represented well enough. "