Youth Climate Dialogues

Global Projects

Young people will be the most affected by the climate crisis and need the knowledge and skills to tackle it. Our Youth Climate Dialogues provide a platform for young people to discuss climate change with other young people in other parts of the world. Held via videoconference, the dialogues focus on how young people perceive climate change, how it affects their lives, and what actions they prioritize in their own contexts.

 

 

Key Results

  • 900 students participated
  • 50 schools or universities engaged
  • 26 countries covered

We launched the Youth Climate Dialogues in 2015, in the run-up to COP21. Since then, we have facilitated 39 dialogues in 26 countries.

The dialogues have brought together students from countries as diverse as Switzerland and Malawi, Sweden and Mongolia, Bolivia and France, and Zambia and China. Through the dialogues, young people have been able to hear directly from other young people, increasing their understanding of each other’s perspectives and realities.

We have learned four key lessons from our experience convening the Youth Climate Dialogues:

  • They provide a space for young people to voice their own views, perspectives and experiences on climate change, based on what happens in their communities. This enriches and expands the ‘one model-one science’ climate science.
  • The dialogues offer a platform for North-South exchange and explore how young people in different parts of the world are affected by climate change.
  • The dialogues’ peer-to-peer format creates a space for interaction on an equal footing. Instead of the usual ‘top-down’ transmission of information, this format helps break down walls and fosters better interactions. Despite cultural differences and vast distances between them, participants are able to learn from each other.
  • Taking part allows students to reflect more deeply on the link between climate learning and climate action. Past participants have said that they felt motivated to change their habits following a dialogue. Many have also become agents of influence and change in their families and among their friends.

If you or a student or teacher interested in running a dialogue, contact us at [email protected]. You can also check out our guide on how to prepare a Youth Climate Dialogue:

Curious about how the dialogues are run? View a playlist of videos made by Youth Climate Dialogue participants and watch the teaser below.

Want to know more? Read short summaries of past dialogues.