Alongside the 6th AU-EU Summit, the British Council and the Africa-Europe Foundation came together to accelerate shared efforts to reinforce youth voice, agency and leadership at the heart of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP) and the Africa-Europe partnership.
Taking place as part of the EU-Africa Business Forum (EABF2022) during the Africa-Europe week, the ‘Stronger Together’ policy dialogue served as a key moment with young people from both continents and senior decision makers to feed into the Summit and the road to COP27.
This online event brought together young people from across Europe and Africa with policymakers shaping the response of both continents to the challenges of climate change. We believe that young people can offer some of the most creative inspiring and innovative ideas based on their own perspectives around how climate change will affect themselves and future generations.
The event featured presentations and a roundtable discussion focusing on the policy recommendations from young people around COP26 and looking ahead to COP27, including the outcomes of the COP26 Youth Summit in Milan and the results of a series of focus groups made up of young artists, researchers and entrepreneurs.
Both the British Council and the Africa-Europe Foundation (AEF) believe it is imperative that young people’s voices are heard loud and clear in this urgent moment for our collective future. We look forward to your participation in this exciting exchange of views.
Speakers
- Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President, European Green Deal, and Commissioner for Climate Action Policy, European Commission
- Scott McDonald, Chief Executive of the British Council
- Mary Robinson, first female President of Ireland, Chair of the Elders and Honorary Co-president of the Africa Europe Foundation
- Nigel Topping, High Level Climate Action Champion for UN climate talks, COP26
- Lucy Waruingi, Executive Director for the African Conservation Centre
- Amira Saber, Egyptian MP, secretary general of the foreign relations committee
- Saliem Fakir, Executive Director of the African Climate Foundation
- Nathan Meténier, Climate Justice Advocate and United Nations Youth Advisor
- Aya Chebbi, Former African Union Youth Envoy, Diplomat and Chair of the Nala Feminist Collective
The event was moderated by Dharmendra Kanani, Chief Spokesperson at Friends of Europe.
You can watch a video featuring the recommendations from the Focus Groups below and download the Final Reports and Call to Action.