Inside a youth activist meeting at COP27 — Assembly

On a warm afternoon in Sharm el-Sheikh, Malala Fund-supported youth climate activists met up to relax and connect over their experiences at COP27.

COP, the U.N.’s annual global conference on climate change, is not always a welcoming space for youth activists. From the high cost of travel to tokenistic representation on panels and lack of progress made on issues that determine their futures, young women who’ve attended the conference report frustrations with their experience at the conference and say burnout among their peers is extremely common.

That’s why it’s so important for young people in attendance to find time to connect with one another over shared experiences and reenergise for the work ahead. On a warm afternoon in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, the host city for this year’s COP, activists from Malala Fund, the Nala Feminist Colective, the Rise Up Movement Africa and Fridays For Future met at the The Civil Society Climate Justice Hub, a collaborative space where members of civil society at COP27 can gather to formulate their demands and strategise for their advocacy — as well as reflect, wind down and rest.

Over cold drinks, the youth activists shared laughs with one another and engaged in serious conversations about the impacts of climate change on their communities, their messages for world leaders and what they were most excited to accomplish and experience at COP27. Read on for a peek into the meeting and to hear directly from the young activists in attendance.

Ayesha Kareem (left), a Pakistani climate activist and Malala Fund Fellow, chats with Vanessa Nakate (right), the founder of the Rise Up Movement Africa and Malala Fund’s board chair. (Courtesy of Malala Fund)

“As someone who deeply resonates with the quote that ‘if you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far, go together,’ this event has been so fruitful to collaborate and work together in future for climate justice that we all feel so passionately about. Apart from sharing our stories, learning about the work of these young activists in their communities gave me more hope for our collective future than our world leaders have ever given.”

— Ayesha, 25, Pakistan, Malala Fund Fellow

Aalila Alwy (left), Denise Ayebare (second from left), Joan Namaggwa (second from right) and Clare Nassanga (right) discuss their plans for COP27. (Courtesy of Malala Fund)

“Climate change has affected Uganda in various ways. We are experiencing floods in the Kasese of Uganda, landslides in the Kapchorwa region and also droughts in the Karamoja region. And it’s spreading out, the global temperatures are really rising and the weather events are extreme. And we have no control over this — we need to change.”

— Joan Namaggwa, 20, Uganda, Rise Up Movement Africa

“My one message to leaders is that they should listen to the most affected people and communities. They should remember that Africa is least responsible for the emissions that are leading to the climate crisis and they should put loss and damage financing on the platform.”

— Clare Nassanga, 23, Uganda, Rise Up Movement Africa

The youth activists met in the Dreamers Room, a community space in the Civil Society Climate Justice Hub designed for global climate justice actors to connect and reenergize during COP27. (Courtesy of Malala Fund)

“I just recovered from malaria due to the floods [in Nigeria]. The malaria keeps coming back — people are dying, people are still trying to get water out of their houses. When water from flooding is stagnant, malaria parasites keep breeding, so you keep treating malaria and it keeps relapsing. It’s affecting us really really bad.”

— Lovelyn Andrawus, 26, Nigeria, Rise Up Africa

“Being that I work with adolescent girls and young women back in my country who come from very vulnerable communities, what I am doing is trying to give them a voice to speak out and tell of some of the challenges that they’re facing. I find that girls and women become very vulnerable when it comes to the climate crisis, so being here is an indication that I am going to help young people to tell their different stories and try to see if we can influence policymakers to bring about change.”

— Susan Wairimu, 23, Kenya, Nala Feminist Collective

Sharm el-Shiekh, where COP27 was held, is an Egyptian beach town between the Sinai Peninsula and the Red Sea. An estimated 35,000 delegates and over 100 heads of state from around the world traveled to Egypt to participate in the climate change conference. (Courtesy of Malala Fund)

“[Leaders] need to pay attention to the young people and children because they are going to suffer the most climate disasters. Hopefully one day we are the ones who make the decisions here.”

— Dana Oyarzabal, 21, Argentina, Fridays for Future

“I would say [to other young women at COP]: Choose a subject you are passionate about — whether it’s climate education, whether it’s loss and damage financing, whether it’s how the system is working and how to change it — just focus on one thing and go for it and search for all the resources you can have. Also take care of yourself — COP is really overwhelming the first time.”

— Farzana Faruk Jhumu, 24, Bangladesh, Fridays for Future