The GLOBAL INDIGENOUS YOUTH SUMMIT ON CLIMATE CHANGE (GIYSCC) is being convened by, for and among Indigenous youth (in contrast to Elders), who will participate in designing the agenda and invite the participants from three 8-hour time zones, in a 24-hour period, on 9th August 2023 (United Nations International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples). In a complementary context, the Summit will precede the United Nations International Youth Day on August 12th.

The Summit is being coordinated by Prof. Paul Arthur Berkman, who has been convening global dialogues since the Antarctic Treaty Summit in 2009 “with the interests of science and progress of all mankind.” He is the Lead of the Thematic Network on Science Diplomacy.

The Summit will involve online and hybrid sessions by design of Indigenous youth teams who are stimulating the South-North dialogues within and between the three 8-hour regions. Considerations of digital access are explicit from the start: seeking to identify local communication hubs within regions; taking advantage of remote satellite linkages where possible; and pre-recording where online access is unavailable. It is anticipated that one of the hybrid sessions will be hosted at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, enabling Indigenous youth to interact directly with the United Nations.

The following cross-cutting topics will be included for the agenda within and across the three 8-hour regions:

  • Climate Change Impact Perceptions / Knowledge by Indigenous Youth;
  • Indigenous Climate Change Adaptation / Resilience Strategies;
  • Climate Change Communication;
  • Current Realities on Climate Change;
  • Future Perspectives on Climate Change.

The Global Summit main objectives are, namely: 

  • Providing a ‘one of a kind’ platform to accelerate global engagement with Indigenous youth communities, cultures, languages, ethnicities, countries and continents across the world;
  • Sharing youth perspectives, approaches, observations, concerns, interests and strategies to address the local impacts of climate change across Indigenous communities on Earth;
  • Stimulating lifelong learning among Indigenous youth to contribute with knowledge and skills in the evolution of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and related global agreements that have regular Conferences of the Parties;
  • Enhancing intergenerational synergies in view of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and other Indigenous declarations;
  • Inspiring Indigenous youth leaders to think short-to-long term across their lifetimes into the 22nd century to empower progress with sustainable development at local-to-global levels.

Learn more and sign up here.