The 7th Annual Conference of Youth (COY7) has begun!
The first day is almost over and the atmosphere has been incredible. Youth from around the world have come together with incredible positivity, collaborating and sparking great discussion on a wide range of climate-related issues. The day started with a ‘speed dating’ activity (pictured) to introduce delegates to one another: the voices echoing throughout the hall were diverse, enlivened and passionate – typical of those at COY7.
There are several ways to follow COY7. The hashtag ‘#COY7′ is being used by attendees on Twitter and the International Youth Climate Movement’s twitter account ‘@IYCM’ is providing updates. On Flickr, photos are and will be tagged ‘conferenceofyouth’ – these are appearing on the ‘photo wall’ on the front page of the COY7 website.
The event continues for the next two days at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. Over 400 hundred people attended on the first day with more expected on the second.
The first day comprised talks and workshops, organised and carried out by young people from every part of the International Youth Climate Movement. These included UNFCCC crash courses at various levels, public narrative, introduction to climate science, theories of change, campaign strategy, climate change & the Pacific, social movement strategy and how climate change is affecting Durban and how action is being taken on it locally.
