After a downhill walk from Vinxel to Oberkassel, Lhavanya and I were headed to IGS (the Red School) for COY. We had a little problem getting around because we were still confused by the transportation system in Bonn. But in the end, we still managed to get to the IGS safely. We got our tags and bought a meal chip for lunch as well as a transportation ticket for the period of COY. I have been mentioning quite a bit about COY, so now we will get into the details of it.
Conference of Youth (COY)
Opening Ceremony of COY13
The Conference of Youth (COY) is an official event of YOUNGO, the official youth-constituency to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It gathers youths from all around the world (this year COY receives participants from 123 nationalities) talking about environmental and climate change thematics. Held over the weekend, it takes place before the UNFCCC annual Conference of Parties (COP) and therefore, preparing youths to attend COP.
A COY is envisioned to have the following objectives:
Provides capacity building and policy training to prepare youths for their involvement in the upcoming climate negotiations
Facilitates the sharing of knowledge and experience in the broader context of climate change between the participants
Builds and enhances youth networks and movements
As we enter the building, it wasn’t hard to notice how the participants are predominantly from the Global North.
The divide between the participation of the Global North and South has long been a problem for COY (and COP). Considering the exorbitant price the Global South needed to pay just to attend the conference, it is no wonder that YOUNGO started the Global South Scholarship to encourage more people from the South to participate in COY and COP. However, even with the initiative, the participation from the Global South is rather disappointing.
The North & South Divide
The Global North is commonly recognized as the more developed societies and economies of the world, whereas the Global South mainly comprises the developing countries as well as the middle east. The standard measurement for the divide is the Human Development Index, emphasizing the importance of the people’s standard of living and capabilities.
Blue: Global North; Red: Global South
The divide between the two groups is obvious and are constantly being reminded of because it affects a country’s ability to participate in international negotiations and make their voices heard. The economic strength of the delegation from the Global South would generally be lower than that of the Global North. When the countries from the Global North could send a large delegation to attend international negotiations, countries from Global South would face substantial difficulties in doing so. As there are many smaller breakout meetings happening concurrently at a conference, the size of delegation affects a country’s representations in all the topics and subtopics where they need their voices to be heard. Ultimately, it tones down the severity of many issues as the people, who are affected the most (developing countries from the South), are not able to be fully represented in the discussions.
The north-south divide in COY may be insignificant compared to that of COP, but more work still needs to be done to encourage more participation from the South. However, it is good to see that the YOUNGO working team has a good balance of the North and South.
Logistics vs Accessibility
Some may question the decision of the Fijian presidency holding the conference in Bonn, Germany instead of having it in another country in the South. Although it is easy to explain that it is because the UNFCCC Headquarters is in Bonn, and there already are facilities for all the sessions, having the conference in the North will still be a problem for delegates from the South to attend. The problem of accessibility and lack of representation is still not solved. Having the conference at the South will also create more awareness and pressure around the issue.
However, on the other hand, organizing the conference at a country from the global South will inevitably bring massive financial burden for the hosting countries (if the country does not already have available facilities and needs to build it from scratch). And the building of new facilities is not only a financial stress but also an unsustainable action considering that there already exist many venues that could be used.
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Syaqil Suhaimi
An Environmental Science student at Nottingham Malaysia campus, Syaqil Suhaimi was introduced to the Malaysian Youth Delegation through Emily whom he initially met at a Power Shift Malaysia workshop in 2015. There are two major reasons as to why he embarked on the MYD journey: the first reason is self-actualization – by pursuing this environmental cause, he believes he will fulfill his potential as a global citizen in trying to preserve and/or better manage the environment through intervention and sustainable development related practices. The second reason, as cliché as it sounds, is to give back to society as he believes that there’s no better way to contribute than by ensuring that Earth is in a healthy state for future generations to come.
Lhavanya
Lhavanya considers herself a jack of all trades and believes that skills from different disciplines and areas of interest can be translated and used in other areas and discipline. Which is why she is doing a degree in International Relations, is heavily involved in journalism and wants to use the skills and experience she has to fight environmental and wildlife related problems in the communications and policymaking arena. In addition to that she also loves hiking and really, really hopes that the pristine beauty of all hiking areas can be preserved and managed for everyone and future generations to enjoy.
Mike Campton
Mike has not always been environmentally-aware. All the way up until high school, he never really cared about waste management, air and water quality, greenhouse gas emissions or any other environment-related issue. What really flipped the switch and helped Mike expand his worldviews on these environmental issues and other social issues was studying abroad. In 2013, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a BSc. in Environmental Science and has since kept a passion for climate science and environmental responsibility. By being a part of MYD 2017, Mike hopes to gain knowledge around international climate policy, to ultimately dedicate his life to environmental research, policy and management.
Muhhammad Azamuddeen
Before 6, he was already catching scorpions, bugs and lizards. Exploring nature has become a hobby which he loves to do every free time. As he grows up, he would often sketch animals and plants which appeal to his curiosity, before advancing to photography. He would observe tiny details of their pets – cats and fish to little insects. His passion towards nature is so natural that he was determined to study environmental science. Unlike other teenagers, he spends a lot of time in the woods studying plants and small animals in there. Indeed, this is one true nature lover and enthusiast.
Xiandi Ooi
A proud Penangite, Xiandi has no qualms on “No Plastic Day” because every day is a no plastic day to her. Spoiled by the greens along Penang’s Kelawai Road, she dreams for a greener urban landscape. Xiandi believes that environmental policies can bring collective change and youths need to be involved in the advocacy process. She hopes for an accessible sustainable future and thus joined forces with other youths in MYD to fight for a #green future. As a social media addict (okay, maybe not addict enough to be an addict), she’d love to see her timeline flooded with environmental-related posts because she knows that “sedikit-sedikit, lama-lama jadi trending”.
One of the Malaysian Youth Delegation’s objectives is to engage with our national government, specifically the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) the focal point of UNFCCC negotations for Malaysian.
During a meeting with the NRE Minister in September, we put forward a request to have a pre-COP briefing on Malaysia’s position at the 23rd Conference of Parties (COP 23).
The request was granted and on the 16th of October, the NRE hosted a pre-COP preparatory meeting to discuss matters in regards to the upcoming COP 23 in Bonn, Germany later this November. In attendance were Malaysian environmental CSOs such as Third World Network (TWN), along with Malaysian Climate Change Group (MCCG) organizations, Malaysian Youth Delegation (MYD), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Global Environment Centre (GEC).
We thank the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for hosting a crucial meeting for Malaysia that allows the CSOs and NRE to act in solidarity during COP23. It shows how Malaysia is clear in its goals to help combat climate change and acknowledges the importance of different stakeholders to make a change.
With COY13 and COP23 just a week away, MYD17, as always, will strive and persevere to make the best out of the event to align with its ambitions.
Syaqil Suhaimi
Jasmin Irisha
Lhavanya Dharmalingam
Mike Campton
Muhhammad Azamuddeen
Xiandi Ooi
Thomas Lai
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