We are organising and supporting a range of activities to showcase at COY 19 and COP29 in Azerbaijan, including events, exhibitions, performances and interactive speaker sessions.
Through our focused programme, we will collaborate with our strategic partners and young people to highlight the role of education and arts and culture in addressing climate change and to share learning from global best practice.
A more detailed programme of events will be available on our website on the week of 4 November.
COY19: 7 to 9 November 2024
We are a Silver Sponsor for COY19, the world’s largest youth-led climate conference organised by YOUNGO, the youth constituency of the UNFCCC.
During the conference, we will lead a session highlighting the critical role of young people in driving a just transition to a sustainable future. We will explore the essential skills young people need to contribute to a green transition and how knowledge gaps can be addressed.
We are supporting young people to participate at both COY19 and COP29, including Global Youth Climate Connection Network participants from Azerbaijan. This network brings together young climate leaders globally to build core skills, explore a cultural relations approach to climate action and to lead on a new research campaign and advocate for skills provision to achieve a just transition.
COP29: 11 to 22 November 2024
We are leading and supporting a range of activities across the COP29 conference Blue Zone and Green Zone.
Blue Zone
We are running a week-long exhibition to showcase our climate action resources, which will showcase the diverse ways we support solutions to climate change through arts, culture and education. Content from our global programmes and projects will also be showcased at different pavilions.
At the Digital Innovation Pavilion, in partnership with the Entertainment and Culture Foundation, we are hosting a panel discussion on how COP can catalyse creative climate action towards a more sustainable world for people and the planet. We will be platforming speakers from our core programmes and partnerships, such as the Anhar Culture and Climate Platform in partnership with Art Jameel (UAE), sustainability training for cultural professionals in Wider Europe with Black Mountains College (Wales) and our strategic partnership with Julie's Bicycle to support the culture-based climate action movement.
We will be working with partners to deliver sessions at different pavilions and side events focusing on the role of young people in climate action as well as culture-based climate action through a joint research initiative. We will also be discussing with partners, including INTO and the National Trust, the value of cultural and educational responses to climate change, with a focus on adaptation, resilience and youth agency, exploring how education and culture can protect heritage at risk and inspire hope and action to tackle the climate emergency.
We will also be involved in high level ministerial engagement and supporting policy linked to the role of education and arts and culture in addressing climate change.
Green Zone
We are collaborating on an event featuring a presentation from the Scotland Beyond Net Zero group – a coalition of Scotland’s universities working together on research and leadership on climate change group – and a networking opportunity with Azerbaijan alumni from UK universities. We will also showcase our partnership with the University of Edinburgh on two climate-focused MOOCs – Learning for a Sustainable Future and Live at COP29. We contribute valuable content to the MOOCs from our global programmes to showcase how enhancing climate education and connecting young people globally can really help promote understanding and action on climate change. Our international network has helped to enhance the global reach of the MOOCs to over 30,000 enrolments from more than 100 countries.
We are hosting a youth skills and policy dialogue session with partners, young people and policy leaders focusing on green skills and the importance of youth voice in policy. The session will feature research insights on youth perspectives on climate anxiety and our new global research campaign into the skills young people need to contribute to a just transition for a sustainable future. It will also highlight the ActNowFilm – an international youth voices in climate change film project, run by the University of Bath Institute for Policy Research and Cambridge Zero.
We are hosting a session to bring together UK and global perspectives on strengthening climate and sustainability education and research. This panel will showcase our collaboration with University of Exeter, including a film and panel session on Schools Across the Ocean, a creative initiative to engage young students in Azerbaijan, the UK and the UAE across science, arts, stories and action for our planet, to support climate literacy and teacher training in schools through creative workshops. School partnerships enable young people to work directly with their peers to develop cultural understanding whilst engaging in taking action on the climate crisis.
We are also partnering with the University of Exeter, with support from the British Embassy through the Great Challenge Fund, to showcase Bright Light Burning theatre performances by the Theatre of Others, in collaboration with Khazar University Azerbaijan and Dunya School. This innovative theatre performance, inspired by We Are The Possible climate stories, aims to raise awareness and action to address the climate crisis. We are supporting both initiatives to be showcased at COP29 with the aim of raising awareness of the global climate crisis.
Around the conference
Hosted by our partner, ADA university, we are supporting the Youth Negotiators Academy to deliver in-person climate negotiation training for a cohort of young climate negotiators attending COP29, where they will negotiate as part of their country delegations. In 2024, we have supported the Youth Negotiators Academy to deliver Climate Youth Negotiator training to 257 young people from 63 countries and are providing funding for members of the trained cohort to attend COP29.
We will be running Climate Negotiation Simulation Events at schools in Edinburgh, Cardiff and London in October and November, culminating in an event hosted by our partner, the European Azerbaijan School in Baku, during COP29. These events, based on a role-playing game, let students experience what it’s like to be part of UN climate negotiations, by each playing the role of a different nation. Highlights from the events will be share online to inspire students around the world.
Our two-week Learning for a Sustainable Future: Live at COP29 online course will share insights into the issues being discussed at the conference, as well as responses to the conference themes from children and young people, community groups and ministerial bodies, both nationally and internationally.