Tuesday 29 November

The second official day at COP17 was full of meetings and side events for everyone. Mia, one of our Danish delegates, represented the World Association at the official YOUNGO Spokes Council meeting this morning, while Bronwyn, our Australian delegate, facilitated the daily gender caucus meeting. Many of us met with our government negotiators and official delegates for the first time, and it was interesting to hear their perspective on climate change issues.

Nicole and Elaine were interviewed by the U.S. State Department, who were eager to collect stories about youth involvement in climate change. We also met several people who were interested in getting involved with Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting in their own countries!

The media and actions team met with YOUNGO to draft press releases for an event on African youth involvement in climate change, which WAGGGS is hosting and speaking at on Thursday. They also planned actions for Young and Future Generations Day (YoFuGe) on December 1. After yesterday’s debate, the gender working group agreed upon talking points to advocate for at COP.

Some of our delegates collaborated with UNICEF to provide children ages 13 to 17 with a tour of the COP Climate Change Response Expo, which displayed solar-powered appliances such as a solar photocopier and motorcycle. Other delegates attended the inaugural YOUNGO actions working group meeting to brainstorm ideas for actions on YoFuGe Day.

Elaine Murphy (USA) and Nicole Heppler (Switzerland)