GRASSROOTS: Youth Delegates Represent Canada At UN

(Grassroots: Page 9)

By Todd Curran
Participating in this year's United Nations Climate Change Negotiations (COP16) in Cancun, Mexico, from November 29th to December 10th, is a group of 29 Canadian Youth ranging from 18 to 29 years old. As part of the Canadian Youth Delegation (CYD), they are working to represent the voices and views of Canadian youth and promote a global accord that fairly and effectively addresses the defining climate challenge of our time.
The UN climate conferences are the arena in which the world's countries are negotiating to preserve our climate. COP 16 aims to reach an international agreement, allowing the world to unify its response to the accelerating climate crisis. "It's a fantastic opportunity to see the global manifestation of the environmental movement, and to see how the bureaucracy of our political systems deals with the science of climate change. I see my involvement in the CYD and in environmental advocacy in general as a personal responsibility to the future of this planet,” says Lethbridge Youth Deligate Stephen McGlenn.
The CYD group has been selected from every region of the country for their variety of backgrounds, cultures and representation of small rural communities and large urban centres. “This year's Canadian Youth Delegation may be the strongest team we've had yet,” said CYCC's National Director, Amber Church, who leads the team in Cancun. “They are a passionate, talented group of youth, who firmly believe that Canada should be leading the world on climate action and climate justice.”
“It is vital to include the voice of youth in international negotiations as it is our future that is being negotiated around the table,” said Church. “Their energy and dedication will help to bring a sense of morality and urgency to the delegates from around the world, who have been tasked with the difficult role of drafting a fair, aggressive and legally-binding international climate agreement.”
Canadian Youth Deligate Natasha Peters grew up in Calgary and is currently pursuing her political science and environmental studies education in Ottawa. “I'm in Cancun because I hope to connect with and hear the stories of the thousands of people who came to Cancun, whether inside the UN conference or in one of the many side conferences, because they are worried about the disastrous impact that climate change and environmental destruction are having in their communities,” she says. “I hope to bring these moving stories back to Canada.”
We wish her and the other CYDs all the best at the conference. We ALL make the world the way it is.