Youth Negotiators Academy - Funders Convening

The Youth Negotiators Academy (YNA) is entering its third year of operations with significant growth and impact since its inception in 2022, having been well-received by stakeholders thus far. Through its first initiative, the Climate Youth Negotiator Programme (CYNP), it engaged 26 countries (22 from the global south), equipping 60 young negotiators (70% women) with essential climate negotiation skills in its inaugural year. This cohort made substantial contributions, with 50 representatives actively participating in negotiations at UNFCCC COP27. Building on this momentum, the programme expanded its reach in 2023, involving 54 countries (50 from the global south) and training 175 youth negotiators (of whom 62% identified as women, 2% identified as non-binary and 14% identified as of Indigenous origins) with 125 of them actively participating in negotiations at UNFCCC COP28. During United Nations Framework Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) CRIC22 in 2023, the YNA also launched its second initiative, the Land Youth Negotiator Programme (LYNP) with the aim of training and supporting the first cohort of young negotiators for the land and desertification negotiations at the 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) of the UNCCD in 2024. 

This convening serves to bring together the Youth Negotiators Academy and their funders in the spirit of trust-building and collaboration, enabling us to reflect on past achievements while collectively charting a course for the future.