eople under the age of thirty make up half of the world’s population. Yet, we are severely underrepresented on a political level. Globally, only 2.6% of parliamentarians are under thirty and young people have limited access to political spaces. The European Parliament shows similar trends. Last year, the European Youth Forum published a report showing there are as many Martins in the European Parliament as MEPs under thirty: six each. The same report showed that in the 2019 European elections the average age of elected MEPs dropped to 49, four years younger than the average in the 2014 elections. This was mainly attributed to the increase in voter turnout of young Europeans, which was the largest since 1994.
The underrepresentation of young voices in the political arena is not matched with the level of real political participation of young people all over the world. We work tirelessly to raise our voices on the issues we care about and that will affect our future. This becomes especially apparent when you look at youth climate movements. Climate change marks the top priority of concern for young people. We have taken to the streets, founded organizations, and kickstarted projects that raise awareness or contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation. While a large part of our demographic is actively participating in the conversation about climate change, the group is by no means homogeneous. Each person comes with their own set of experiences and expertise.
The vast number of young people (half the world!), as well as the individual experiences we have had, make for countless unique perspectives. But in political and international spaces we are often lumped together as a singular “youth voice.” Young people do an excellent job representing their generations and the generations to come. Still, we are often invited to talk about “the youth perspective” as if they are all the same. Additionally, the request for input often does not go beyond a surface level, with questions about why we are motivated to contribute and whether we still have hope for the future dominating the conversation. Most of the time, we are not asked about concrete policy ideas. Additionally, we are often not compensated for our work, expected to participate on a voluntary basis, and sometimes even making costs to ensure we are in the right spaces. Organizers however seem to think they have ticked the box by providing a seat, and don’t make an effort to go beyond this exercise. Youth participants struggle with this tokenism, a lack of resources, and limited access to political spaces, and it often results in a one-dimensional and surface perspective of our ideas.
The annual UNFCCC Conference of the Parties is notoriously inaccessible, expensive, and intransparent. The yearly climate conferences attempt to figure out a global response to the international climate crisis. We have an especially great stake in these discussions, as we will have to live with the decisions and (lack of) action the longest. This year's climate conference hosted a youth pavilion for the first time, giving young people a space to showcase their ideas. Despite these efforts we are often missing from the decision making tables and the spaces the actual negotiations take place. It is also a huge financial burden to attend such a conference, creating further hurdles that especially apply to young people coming from lower income countries.
COPs are a hard place for young people to make their real ideas heard—yet it is the international fora countries use to determine our future. Young European Leadership (YEL) is one of the Brussels based organizations that aims to increase European youth participation at such international fora. Through these activities YEL aims to inspire and enable leaders from all backgrounds to shape their future and the future of Europe. Last November YEL had the chance to send ten young leaders to COP27 with the support of Schneider Electric Foundation, an opportunity we look back to gratefully.
During the summit we had a chance to speak with decision makers, listen to other experts and present our ideas to a large audience. This piece serves as the introduction to a series of articles that showcase the wide range of individual expertise, solutions and bold ideas for real climate action coming from our delegation after attending the conference in Egypt that we hope you will take the time to read and interact with.
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Young European Leaders Reflect on COP27
Photo by Devin Avery on Unsplash
March 2, 2023
Brussels-based Young European Leadership (YEL) sent a delegation of young people to COP27 this year, where they spoke with decision makers, presented ideas, and listened to experts. Diplomatic Courier is publishing a series of reflections by YEL delegates on their insights from COP.
P
eople under the age of thirty make up half of the world’s population. Yet, we are severely underrepresented on a political level. Globally, only 2.6% of parliamentarians are under thirty and young people have limited access to political spaces. The European Parliament shows similar trends. Last year, the European Youth Forum published a report showing there are as many Martins in the European Parliament as MEPs under thirty: six each. The same report showed that in the 2019 European elections the average age of elected MEPs dropped to 49, four years younger than the average in the 2014 elections. This was mainly attributed to the increase in voter turnout of young Europeans, which was the largest since 1994.
The underrepresentation of young voices in the political arena is not matched with the level of real political participation of young people all over the world. We work tirelessly to raise our voices on the issues we care about and that will affect our future. This becomes especially apparent when you look at youth climate movements. Climate change marks the top priority of concern for young people. We have taken to the streets, founded organizations, and kickstarted projects that raise awareness or contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation. While a large part of our demographic is actively participating in the conversation about climate change, the group is by no means homogeneous. Each person comes with their own set of experiences and expertise.
The vast number of young people (half the world!), as well as the individual experiences we have had, make for countless unique perspectives. But in political and international spaces we are often lumped together as a singular “youth voice.” Young people do an excellent job representing their generations and the generations to come. Still, we are often invited to talk about “the youth perspective” as if they are all the same. Additionally, the request for input often does not go beyond a surface level, with questions about why we are motivated to contribute and whether we still have hope for the future dominating the conversation. Most of the time, we are not asked about concrete policy ideas. Additionally, we are often not compensated for our work, expected to participate on a voluntary basis, and sometimes even making costs to ensure we are in the right spaces. Organizers however seem to think they have ticked the box by providing a seat, and don’t make an effort to go beyond this exercise. Youth participants struggle with this tokenism, a lack of resources, and limited access to political spaces, and it often results in a one-dimensional and surface perspective of our ideas.
The annual UNFCCC Conference of the Parties is notoriously inaccessible, expensive, and intransparent. The yearly climate conferences attempt to figure out a global response to the international climate crisis. We have an especially great stake in these discussions, as we will have to live with the decisions and (lack of) action the longest. This year's climate conference hosted a youth pavilion for the first time, giving young people a space to showcase their ideas. Despite these efforts we are often missing from the decision making tables and the spaces the actual negotiations take place. It is also a huge financial burden to attend such a conference, creating further hurdles that especially apply to young people coming from lower income countries.
COPs are a hard place for young people to make their real ideas heard—yet it is the international fora countries use to determine our future. Young European Leadership (YEL) is one of the Brussels based organizations that aims to increase European youth participation at such international fora. Through these activities YEL aims to inspire and enable leaders from all backgrounds to shape their future and the future of Europe. Last November YEL had the chance to send ten young leaders to COP27 with the support of Schneider Electric Foundation, an opportunity we look back to gratefully.
During the summit we had a chance to speak with decision makers, listen to other experts and present our ideas to a large audience. This piece serves as the introduction to a series of articles that showcase the wide range of individual expertise, solutions and bold ideas for real climate action coming from our delegation after attending the conference in Egypt that we hope you will take the time to read and interact with.
