"Individual, Local, National, Global: The Ripple Effects of Becoming a Young Negotiator" - Press Conference, UNCCD COP17

Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for being here today and welcome to the press conference titled Individual, Local, National, Global, the Ripple Effects of Becoming a Young Negotiator. The press conference is organized by the Youth Negotiators Academy. My name is Veena. I am one of the co-founders and directors of the organization. And I would go in a moment into the details of what we do and then open it out for the speakers. But before that, I wanted to take a moment to honor what's going on just outside this room, a few meters away, because our indigenous people will be gathering, or have gathered already while we were getting prepared over here, to protest peacefully for their rights, because land cannot be restored while excluding the people who have protected and cared for it for generations. No land restoration can happen without indigenous peoples, and no indigenous people without their rights. and no decision about their land without their participation. So we need to recognize them, respect them, include them, resource them and work with them. And that is their message for the community over here as well. Thank you for allowing me a moment to share their message as well. The Youth Negotiators Academy is basically an organization that really looks at how do we democratize the multilateral negotiations around environmental treaties. So currently we work with three different conventions, UNFCCC, UNCCD, as well as looking to launch the program for CBD, where we think about how we bring young people and how do we bring representation into the national delegations and decision making spaces so that the decisions are made with the people for whom policies are made for. So we really look at how do we bring in more young people, young women, young indigenous peoples, young people who are gender diverse, young people with disabilities. So really looking at that inclusion aspect so that the policies that we are making is useful and is representative of the people that it is made for as well. Having said that, We at the Youth Negotiators Academy have trained over 150 negotiators for the UNCCD convention under the Land Youth Negotiator program that we run. 80 of them are over here and they are from 45 different countries. So in this press conference today, we are going to look at What can young people bring when they are a part of these decision-making spaces? So we have a few different people joining us in this moment. We've got Shadonna Richardson from Grenada. She's a young negotiator who we trained under LYNP, the Land Youth Negotiator Program, fundamental. Advanced, sorry. So we have two levels of the program. When they come in for the first time, they do fundamental, and then in the second iteration, they go through an advanced course. We've got Marva, who is the deputy head of delegation for Yemen, but also in our LYNP advanced. We've got Diodone. He's from Benin, and he is also a young negotiator who we have trained, and he has gone through the advanced program. We've got Tabia Lesner. She's the director of climate change from the Robert Bosch Stiftung, the Bosch Foundation. And we've also got Dr. David Dow. He's a chief scientist at Gain Forest. So I'm going to look at the speakers one by one. We will do a quick opening statement from each of you. Let's take two minutes and go in the order. We'll start with Shadonna and then pass to Mava and Deodonna and everyone else. Let's do an opening statement and then we will come back to your individual questions. Shadonna, over to you.

Thank you very much, Veena. Good day to everyone. And I will start by saying it is quite an honor to be here today. to sit amongst these young people and to be able to share my experience. I think-- not I think, I know that the Youth Negotiators Academy, they are doing a phenomenal job. They are breaking barriers. They are transgenerational. They are international. They are putting young people in rooms where they belong. As Veena said, decisions are being made about us, and we are not being given the opportunities to be a part of these discussions. So what the Youth Negotiators Academy, what they are doing, is really looking at the future, the future of the world, to be honest. That is what it is. It may seem broad. It may seem a little exaggerated. But I do believe that the future of our existence lies in our hands. And what they are doing is ensuring that we have a future to look forward to and generations after us have a future to look forward to. So thank you again for having me, and I look forward to the discussions. Thank you.

Thank you, Shadonna. Marwa, just like reiterating, so why is it important for young people to be there in these negotiations, and how can they be meaningfully bringing value? So over to you.

Thank you, Vina. Thank you, everyone, for attending, and thank you also for giving me the space to speak up. For me, young people, they need meaningful involvement in the negotiation process and also in the international convention because we are already living with the consequences of today's decisions. I think most of the people are started, starting losing hope in the multilateral process, and I believe what YNA is doing by having different training programs in such as CYMB, LYMB, and hopefully CYMB will help to rebuild this trust. because it's not enough to simply just bring a young person and give him a seat unless we give him the access to the decision-making process and decision-making table. So I think as youth, we need to move from just youth presence to youth participation, responsibility, and leadership. And this is exactly what YNA is doing. I remember we started as a young negotiator not knowing anything, just a few things about negotiations, to being head of delegation, deputy head of delegation, also participating in different conventions, parties. So I think because this generation is going to handle the decisions in the future, and I think YNA are building us to do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Marwa, for your opening statement.

Thank you, Vina. Hi, everyone. I'm from Benin. So I'm a negotiator from the Negotiator Academy. This question is extremely important, and it's the second time that someone is asking me this question. On the first day of the new forum, I have been interviewed by the UNCCD with Caroline, and they also asked me why is it important to involve young people in the negotiation process. So just the fact that you are mentioning this question today, give the response, give the importance of the question, and you can see that new people are very important. And they must be included in the negotiation process because first, we are the future of tomorrow, and why will you be taking decision today and you will leave us outside of the decision that will impact us tomorrow. No sense, it's not possible. So we have to be inside the room. You have to be there when we be taking those decisions because tomorrow if something happens, we could say, yeah, we were there when they were taking decision. We were not out. But if something happened, we say, no, we were not there when they were taking that decision. And secondly, I will just highlight the knowledge transfer. If you are allowed today to work with our elder as young, we will gain more experiences. And tomorrow, we won't make the same mistake as them. Like we will say, oh, from their experiences, we've learned so much. So what they did in the past that wasn't good, we won't do, we won't repeat it again. So for this, it's very important for young people to be engaged in the decision just now. And I will just give you one example. Take someone who is 18, I started with the new the academy at 22, at 22. So I will take my own example. I'm 22 now, and I'm in the decision-making process. Guess when I will be something like 40, and take someone who at 40 will just start with the decision-making process. Between me and that person, who will be more efficient in that decision-making process? Yeah, now you have the answer to your question. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Dede. And Tabia, over to you.

Thank you, Vina. At the Bosch Foundation, one of our overarching goals is really to address the underlying causes of inequality and injustices. So really addressing some of the core barriers that stand in the way for a just, inclusive and resilient change that we're really looking to create also in forums like this one. And one cornerstone of this is really meaningful participation and meaningful representation of all stakeholders in international fora like the UNCCD. Um, and conferences like the COP17 that we're here are really powerful moments and also opportunities to bring people together, to form new partnerships, exchange ideas, and also build momentum, and it's really here that some of the key global frameworks are being developed. that then decide also what is actually possible on the ground. And it's absolutely essential that these spaces are inclusive, but also enable all groups to participate so the results can be meaningful to them. And in particular, youth are those that are affected in the long term, but really continue to be underrepresented, but also really need to be engaged in a meaningful way. So meaningful participation, what does that actually mean? It requires the capacity to act and to react and operate in these complicated spaces. But meaningful results, as we've also just heard, really require future-oriented thinking, but also solidarity and a deep sense of justice. And that is really why we find the work of the Youth Negotiators Academy so essential within the three Rio Conventions and in particular also in the UNCCD process.

Thank you, Tabia. David, bouncing back to you, so in the context of meaningful and the work that we do, could you please give us your opening statement?

Very, very, very much so. I think democratizing the multilateral process is something that made Gain Forest a fan of YNA from day one since YNA's existence. To give a little bit of context of Gainforest, we develop technology, we look into artificial intelligence to empower and drive value-driven designs and designs with communities around the world. We mostly act in rainforest around the world, rainforest conservation, but then we first talked with the Y&A team very much early on in the journey and shared a little bit about the passion of democratizing and equitable and justice. We realized that technology, there are multiple axis of pursuing the goal of democratization and technology, if used well, can be one of these axis, but if not used properly, could be actually one of the axis that draws away democratization and provides centralization. So what I really, really admire about YNA is not just that the innovative approach comes from the way you're doing the you've education, but also how you're looking into potentially using new technologies to really equalize the playing field when it comes to negotiations, looking into value based development of these technologies, something that we are very, very proud to work together with you on, on pursuing that agenda.

Thank you, David. I think all of you delivered a really powerful statement, so I'm a little afraid to go to the next part and ask you more detailed questions. I'm going to start with Sharona. Sharona, so you are now embedded into the system within your country, and you started with us three years ago when you did the fundamental, and then you went through another six months to one year of training that really, like not just training, but also the community building and the community of practice that you've also been able to be a part of. So I would love for you to reflect on your journey from where you started, where you were, and how are you currently supporting and adding value to your national delegation, but also to your communities back home.

Thank you, Veena, for that wonderful question. And Before coming here, I was hoping to prepare a speech when I was told about it. And it's easy to prepare a speech. You sit, you think about everything, and then you come and you read the speech. And given that I'm in the negotiations, thanks to the Youth Negotiators Academy, And I had a really long night last night and a very early morning this morning. So preparing a speech wasn't really in the schedule. But answering that question is so easy because the impact has been so real. And forgive me if I stutter a little bit, but I'm just going to speak from the heart. And if I'm going to speak about the impact that LYMP had on my journey, then I need to probably go a little before my journey started with LYMP. So I'm from Grenada, as Vena said, and that is a really small country in the Caribbean, 344 square kilometers, 111,000 people. So it's not that many of us. And we are prone to a lot of things. It's a small island developing state. We are impacted by hurricanes ever so often, lots of natural disasters. And because we're a developing country, we don't really have the resources to adapt to certain conditions and to be as resilient as we would like to be. Somewhere along in my life, in my secondary school journey, I fell in love with agricultural science. That's one of the subjects that they teachers already taught at my school. And for whatever reason, I loved it. I like getting my hands dirty, contrary to what some people might think. And I like practical things. So it's a subject I fell in love with, and it's something I knew I wanted to get into. I wanted to study it. So I went along to university. I studied agriculture, specialized in soil science and the environment, and when I came back, from my studies, because I had to leave home to do that, I joined the Caribbean Youth Environment Network, CYEN. Some of you may have heard about it. And very soon after I joined, I was given the opportunity by default-- well, maybe not default, but somehow the opportunity fell in my hand where COP13 was about to happen, and that was in Ordos, China. And someone who was supposed to represent civil society organizations from the region, they were unable to make it, and they needed somebody to fill that position. And I guess I was young, fresh out of university, full of life, and maybe eager to learn. So I was asked if I would be interested in taking up the opportunity to attend UNCCD. Now I have never heard of UNCCD, like so many people in the world who have never heard of the convention. So in my early 20s, I was given the opportunity to attend the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Conference of Party 13. Yeah, I didn't know what that meant. But I took the opportunity because it's an opportunity to learn and I never shy away from an opportunity to learn. So I got there in China, lost. So many people, so many things happening, screens with meeting rooms and bilaterals and multilaterals and I'm here in terms of never heard before. But I was intrigued. It was something new. It was a whole different realm that I didn't even know existed. I was there living my life. And I never knew there was a convention that is so significant, that is so necessary for the future of human beings. And I mean, I was there. I was representing civil society organizations. So I didn't have the opportunity to enter into contact groups. So I didn't know what was happening behind those closed doors. There were two gentlemen that was on the Grenada delegation, and they would tell me, OK, they're going into negotiations. So then I would just have to figure it out during that time. And I mean, I was curious. What's going on behind those doors? What's happening? Why am I not allowed to enter? But anyways, that opportunity came, it went, and I was really, my interest peaked. I wanted to know what's happening, what is this all about? And it just ignited a fire in me that made me really passionate about about this, about all of this, about sustainable land management, trying to achieve land degradation neutrality, fighting against drought, an issue that is so prominent in Grenada. We have a multi-million dollar water project right now because there are certain times in the year we simply don't have any rainfall or not enough rainfall and we don't have water to, well, for us. So we are investing in water storage facilities, increasing our capacities so that throughout the year we can have water, something so simple, something that you need for life, something basic. And we are impacted. We are threatened because natural occurrences are preventing us from having that. Anyways. So as I said, I came back from COP13 with a fire. With the Caribbean Youth Environment Network, I advocated for youths to be part of decision-making processes. I went on to become the president for the maximum term that I can serve, so I served two terms. And I was just fired up. A couple of years passed, I think I kind of died on a little bit with the passion and all of that, because sometimes there are so many red tapes. So many hurdles that you have to get over, and sometimes you can become so discouraged. So I kind of simmered on a little bit. I went on, I studied again, did my master's. And then I saw a call in 2024 from the government of Grenada and this opportunity to learn about negotiations for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. And I'm like, oh my god, I absolutely have to take-- I have to take this opportunity. I have to apply for it. And I've never been so passionate about something in a long time. So it was so exciting for me to see this call and to take advantage of it. So I applied. And then I remember I did the interview, and I thought it went well. And then the focal point said that he's going to reach out to me by, I think he said Saturday or Monday. He said Monday. And I was waiting. Monday came-- sorry, time. Monday came, and I didn't get a message. I got nothing from him. And I was so sad. And then he messaged me, and he's like, oh, Shadonna, I'm so sorry. I had to message you since two days ago, but you know, whatever. And then he's like, OK, you're selected to be a part of the Land Youth Negotiator Program. And I'm like, oh my god, I'm so excited. And let me-- I did it. I did the fundamental, and I got the opportunity to go to Riyadh, and I was able to see what happened behind those closed doors. And that ignited even a greater fire in me. Being able to sit inside of the negotiation rooms to advocate for my country, a small island developing state with 111,000 people, 344 square kilometers, and me, little old me, from the little island, having a voice in there, being able to fight for my country, and sometimes it feels like it's literally a fight. That is just something phenomenal. So how has it impacted my life? It gives me hope, because sometimes with so many red tapes, so many obstacles, so many challenges, and with dealing with people and then with dealing with even those challenges that are outside of your hand, all of those natural phenomena that you can't just grab it like that and just make a change. It might be easier to deal with people, you can change somebody's mind, you can negotiate. The Land Youth Negotiator program taught me how to do that. But with the natural phenomena and all of that that are happening, it puts a lot of things out of your control. So to be able to be in those negotiation rooms and to be able to advocate for my country, that is impacted my life and I am hoping to go on even further and be like those experts in there. Last thing and I'm done. Just one last thing. I remember just maybe, I think it was Sunday, one of my colleagues and I, he's young also, the science and technology correspondent, and we were just talking right outside there, and I saw the chief scientist and some of the other senior experts in the field. They were walking past, and I remember meeting some of them in COP16. And I was telling my colleague, I was like, this will be us one of these days, because they wave for us and we wave back for them. And I was like, this will be us in the future. We will be the experts walking past, and the next generation will be there looking at us and waving at us. So that is the impact that the Land Youth Negotiator program had on my life. It gave me hope. Thank you.

I love the last picture you painted. I think that's what I'm really like taking back from what you shared. Thank you, Shadow, now for sharing. But also, I think you emphasized something about the program. design as well within that where your country made an open call, we were able to bring young people who are working in the community into the negotiation teams, right? And that is something that we aim at the Youth Negotiators Academy to see how do we, again, build that civil society participation but as a part of decision-making. And countries have the opportunity to do that based on the design of your government itself. So thank you for bringing that out. I'm going to pass on to Deodonna over here for you to share your experience again very similar your journey where you started. I'm going to ask you, I'm going to humbly request that you keep it for between four minutes so that I can also come back to others and ask some questions. But Deodonna you've had a fantastic journey. You've also been with us for the last three years. You've gone through the years of training and community of practice with us. And I'm very curious for you to share your story, your journey, and the impact that you're bringing. How has it impacted you, and what are you bringing to the community and your country?

Thank you very much, Vina. Sincerely, I have a long, long thing. I have so many things to say about that, but you asked me to keep it short. I don't like it. Yeah, I don't like it. So, I started with the YNA in 2024, in June, yeah, I received the mail in June, June 2024. And I said, oh, negotiation, what is negotiation? Because I'm an agronomist, I don't know anything about negotiation. What are they saying about negotiation? And I said, okay, let us unpack and we will see what we have inside. But when I got in that program, You know, at the beginning as an agronomist, what we do is research, basic research, how to improve farmers or harvest farmers yield. So I don't know so much thing about environmental issues. But after getting that program, I found out that it's even possible to write or to conduct huge research by combining, for example, land degradation, climate change, loss of biodiversity by maybe doing the macrofauna assessment. That one is pedology, it's for soil science. So I found out that it's very possible to do something more meaningfully by combining those things instead of doing just something specific to improve farmers' harvest. So since that day, everything from my master program, for example, I didn't do what I used to do, like just basic research. No, no, no, no. I always try to combine climate change, biodiversity, and land degradation to solve something, to solve something particular that farmers are struggling to actually handle. And the second most important thing that I will about the program. I know that you all know what I'm talking about, particularly those from YNA team, is the language. I'm from French-speaking country. English is not my language. And I can tell you that in 2024, I was not like that. I wasn't even able to articulate. I can say I was able to maybe say some words, but I wasn't able to speak like that. And, you know, we always have our debriefing in the afternoon, in the evening after each day at the cup. But last year, I struggled to speak, I struggled to express my feelings. I have feelings, I have something to say, but I couldn't because of the language, because of English. And even on the true for the training, because we used to have see month of training online, I couldn't speak because English is not my language. But you can see, thanks to YNAB, I'm able to speak like that. English is not my language. But I'm able to speak English today because of the organization, because of YNAB. They show me that it's possible to do it. Everything is possible if you want it, unless you don't want to do it. So now I'm there. Just two years of transformation. Yeah, it's amazing. Is it right? So, I also want to highlight the fear of public speaking. I don't know if you all, you know what is that. The fear of, yeah, you of course, you know, close homophobia, you used to say in English. In the past, it was kind of complicated for me to speak in front of public like that. And no, just, yeah, I freak out, it's not possible. But today, because I will expose you, Leah will say you have to come in the middle to speak in front of everyone. How was your day? You have to say all of those things. So how, how, how, how you will not overcome the fear of public speaking by doing all those things? So yeah, they helped me to overcome the fear of public speaking. And the last thing will be the network. The network, yeah. have so many friends. I have Roger, yeah, my best friend, yeah. I have Roger, I have Mohammed, I have Tatiana, so many friends from different countries. And I'm so happy because it's like when I will be maybe traveling to those countries, I have someone that I can call and say, oh, Tatiana, I'm in your country, yeah, where are you? We can discuss. So yeah, I got him, I got him. So that's what I would say about the impact of our enemy in my life. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Dheeranand, that was absolutely wonderful to hear you and hear you speak in English and share that with all of us, and the world is watching as you speak. as well, just sharing. But you also pointed out a really crucial element of friendship and that community, because twice or thrice earlier I mentioned community of practice. What am I meaning by that is exactly what you said. So yesterday we also had a negotiator come in and say, so African annex, we are thinking about, we were talking about, oh, how can we actually come together and create a proposal together for drought protocol? And he just like, got the message into the chat that you all have together and started mobilizing all of you. And you have the moment now that you have built that trusted space amongst each other, you've also been able to leverage that for the negotiations and also public speaking. I mean, here, in these settings, you're always speaking to the public. So it's incredible where you are and what impact we've also been able to have in your personal journey as well as how you are impacting your country in that manner. Thank you. Marwa, I'm going to come to you right now and I'm going to make you wear two hats in this. question that I ask you because, A, you went through the program and you've had an interesting journey in the combination of also climate and land. So you have a few different hats to wear as you do this. And I know you have limited time. So one is talking about your journey across the two programs as well and how you have taken efforts beyond what was offered to you and leveraged what was available to you and how you've been able to therefore bring that impact into your own life, your communities, as well as your delegation. And then the second part, I want, hat I would love for you to wear today is today you're coming into COP17 as the Deputy Head of Delegation. And I want you to wear that hat as the country representative over here and tell us how when young people have been trained like you, they are able to bring a very different dynamic and there is a sharing and shifting of power and responsibility within delegations. So over to you, Marwa.

Thank you, Vina. I'm going to speak from the heart, though I was like, I prepared something to say, but I remember that my, like, when I was in Sharm El-Sheikh, I had no idea what's in negotiations. I remember calling my friend and I was saying, I think this is a Coachella of NGOs, because I had no idea what's happening in the negotiation rooms. In 2023, My manager showed me a message with a link saying there is a training program for negotiations. And I was, okay, I'm gonna apply. And I remember he came on the deadline date and he said, did you apply? And I was like, no, but I'm gonna apply today. So in five minutes, I read everything and I didn't notice that in the application, you were saying that the, young person is going to be trained and also take, will take a part in the delegation teams. So I called someone from the ministry who was like the focal point and I asked, is this for real? Are you going to take us? Because usually we don't get this opportunity. He said yes because there is an organization called YNA and they have an MOU signed with us. I was like, okay, perfect. So I applied and I was not expecting to receive a call from my focal point saying, you're going to be, you're accepted to the program, prepare yourself, it's called CYMB and you have this, this, this to do. And I was like, it's a new journey that started. At that point, I was working with an NGO as a coordinator of education and child protection. And also I was like involved in the FSL programs. So I had, um, a bit of information about what's happening in the negotiations, but I didn't expect what to see when I was, um, like present with my delegation. Maybe a lot of you know, Yemen is an LDC and also a country that affected by conflict for over 10 years now. So we don't have the national capacity to attend the negotiations. And I remember in my first COP in Azerbaijan as a negotiator, as a lead negotiator in loss and damage, though I had no idea, I was like hearing people speaking about Warsaw, whatever, and I was like, All of this abbreviation, I would never make it. Like, I would never be able to do an intervention even. I remember I was like going to Luya over and over to get the emotional support because YNA, they not only give us like the training and the knowledge, they also give us the space. to express our feelings, that we're frustrated, that we want to learn, to ask questions. Even like I was at the beginning, I was very scared to ask any question because I didn't want to sound like I didn't know anything, but they gave me the confidence to ask, to ask anything, even if I thought that the question is not, it doesn't matter, it does. So after a year in Brazil, I was the first person from my delegation attending COP. So I got a call from the ministry saying, the minister is not coming. The vice president is coming, and you're going to be the deputy head. I was like, I don't know what to do. And you have the responsibility to coordinate all the bilateral meetings. You have the responsibility to also mentor and support the other two young negotiators from Yemen. And at the beginning, I remember that night, I stayed up all night thinking about what I'm going to do. Like, I didn't know even the protocol, how even to manage all of this. I seek the help from YNA team, I seek the help from my colleagues from CYMB that they became also a friend and family and whatever like, uh, draft that we need, whatever like, um, consultation that we need, we will always find them. And so, um, after COP Brazil, I went back home and I remember that I decided that we need to change something in Yemen. Like a lot of young people, they don't need, they don't know what's climate change. When I told them like I'm working now as a climate change coordinator, they said, oh, okay, you only talk about the weather. So you're like, you're gonna present something on TV. It's not about that, it's about food security, it's about drought, it's about people's lives. So in Yemen, we created a consortium with both of the ministries, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Water Environment. And it was led by young people. So the consortium was led by young people from different NGOs, different even UN agencies joined us. Part of this consortium to manage the funds for the climate change, we also been able as Yemeni youth to get a huge project called,, which is like about $2.6 million directly from KFW to the NGOs without any bureaucracy. for getting the fund. It was a huge step for us as youth. So we were thinking, what's next? What's next for the negotiators? We want to expand this knowledge that we got from YNA, from attending COPs, post UNFCCC and UNCCD. So we created like, it's a simple online platform and simple WhatsApp group, but we actually did like, a simple training for negotiations. So whatever materials that YNA was giving us, I was actually stealing them and like translate it to Arabic and give it to the other people and like trying to do simulation for negotiations. And we did that. So this year, because I realized this year YNA is not only training young people to take part in the negotiations, they're actually building the national capacities. Thinking about how many people now, they were part of CYMB and YMB from Yemen, now they are working as consultants for ministries and they're taking official part of the Yemeni delegation. I'm thinking like after a few years, three more years, four, like four more years, I think all the delegation of Yemen are gonna be YNA family. So I believe this is like one of the, uh, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, best thing that ever, like, young people in Yemen had. They're not only, like, given the knowledge, they're not given us the practical experience, they're also preparing us to take the lead in the future. So thank you, YNA, for that.

Thank you, Marwa. Thank you so much for that heartfelt input and sharing of your story. And I'm taking so much back, but I don't want to take time, so I want to just highlight the national capacity piece that you mentioned, and also on how you are already predicting that in the next three years, the entire national capacity will be trained by YMA. And that's incredible, because for some countries, it's already happening. In our climate program, the entire delegation of Lebanon and a few others, more than 80% of the country's delegation capacity is now the young people who also have been trained by the Youth Negotiators Academy. So it's really powerful to see what the next 10 years could also look like in the context of national leadership. With that, I'm going to go over to Tabia. Tabia from the Robert Bosch Stiftung, you and your team have been our partners since our inception. You have come along the journey the entire time, what made you believe in us? And why and how do you think those in capacities and responsibility like yours, those who are able to give resources to work like ours, what can they do and how can they do better as well? So over to you, Tabea.

Thank you, Vina. And I think, well, thanks also for the three speakers for really sharing so much of their experience of what it really means to be part of the Youth Negotiator Program, because it's really beyond the actual training that we might be funding as a funder, it's really these unintended, unexpected benefits and effects that we see that really enable the youth negotiators to really be part of these processes, but really also benefit from the community that they have here. So it's really powerful for us as well to hear these statements and to really hear how much of a change this program can make. To maybe set that into the context a little bit also of how we work within our strategic framework, we really place a particular focus also on the fact that sustainable land use is absolutely essential to build climate resilience. So the UNCCD process is really one essential aspect in that. But one really important aspect in our work for us as well is that the global change that we need in all of our systems to address the land use challenges that we have to address the climate challenge, the biodiversity challenge, it does not happen within a single project cycle or through isolated actors or through one thing. It really takes time to build the trusting, effective, and transparent And partnerships, um, that we need and also the communities of practice that we've just, um, heard about, um, and also to build the space for dialogue between government, civil society, community, and also, um, across issues. And so one aspect that we really value in our work is what we call an ecosystem approach that really focuses on building trust, on bringing partners together rather than really looking at the isolated projects, but really thinking about how do different organizations and different people need to work together. And that's also why we really aim to work at multiple levels. So that includes long-term engagement with processes such as the UNCCD, but really anchoring that work also with local communities. Um, to really then see that that is larger than any single organization. And, um, with the Youth Negotiators Academy and its different programs, we can really see that approach in full effect, as we've, as we've just heard quite powerfully. And so this work is really not only essential in enabling the meaningful and informed participation of youth and other stakeholders, but I think what's really essential about this program as well and what we've just heard is that it puts into effect the principles of community and solidarity, of trust, justice, and also the belief in synergies, because it's not just about understanding how the negotiation process works and how you actually engage in that, but really bringing that spirit of working together, as we've just heard, and the support that you can get out of the community. And so the Youth Negotiators Academy and its network is really also an essential part of the broader ecosystem of actors that we work with, where they, on the one hand, of course, bring their unique generational perspectives and also the local expertise, but they can also benefit from the larger partner network that we have that is also here on the ground. And so not only learning of how to engage in the negotiations effectively, but also really learning from the network of partners from civil society and other actors that are here, but also, of course, beyond the negotiation context. So really supporting and enabling this new generation of leaders to engage meaningful fully within the broader space of sustainability transitions and for resilient future and of course within the negotiation context and beyond, this is really an essential building block for us to, to, um, achieve our joint strategic objectives, um, with our partner ecosystem. And in our experience, it's really some of the most meaningful outcomes emerge from the relationships that endure that are based on trust, transparency, and also the shared goals that really underlie this work. And we really see one of the foundations for our work built through the Y&A network as it is engaged in our partner ecosystem. And we're really, really grateful for that.

Thank you, Tabea. That was absolutely beautiful. And we have seen year after year how you and the team have also embodied these values and also how you work with us and how you also connect us to the partner ecosystem, beyond who are here in person as well. So every time you see a linkage, you say, all right, so this could be valuable. If you would be interested, we would like to connect you. So I've seen, we have reaped a lot, harvested a lot from this relationship that we have built as well. And I want to share one more thing just to say, one of the things that goes as a part of the training for the negotiators is like in the like three things, process, substance, relationships, and the relationships matter. So you need to equally pay attention to all the three and put value and resources into all of the different corners of this triangle to achieve meaningful outcomes. So thank you, Tavia, for really holding that cornerstone for us. With that, I'm going to gently move to David, because David, we have been really talking about what does representation mean, how does democratization of the space what would it really look like and what are the tools that it would need? How do we uphold the integrity of multilateralism in a very changing context, especially from a technology side, and how that is impacting the negotiations? And it's, in fact, broadening the gap that exists between countries who have been historically made vulnerable and the countries who have the adequate or even more than adequate capacities to be present and to really defend their positions. So David, over to you to tell us a bit more about that work that we've been doing and that thinking and how that brings that level of playing field that we wish to create.

With pleasure. I think also to resonate the previous speakers like passion and love for Y&A, I think this is something I just wanted to mention is something that is It's nothing that you can just get from day one. It's something that you really have to earn through integrity, through values, through asking these hard questions without compromising on your values as an organization. And that's personally what drove me to work closely with Yane. My background is I'm an AI researcher. I started this NGO and really Basically, like a side passion project, uh, in Dubai at the COP, YNA and Gainforce decided to launch an AI assistant to support negotiators because we thought listening to the feedback from negotiators. carefully through interviews with the delegations, we realized the common threats and problems that young negotiators faced, also for the amazing work that Vine has, which is the language barriers, which is lack of support, confidence, also mental barriers. And we believe that back then technology, especially artificial intelligence, now the most talked about technology, there is the most consequential technology that our society is currently producing, could be a leverage point, could be a tool that really helps equalize the playing field. But because FinA had already such a head start, we also realized working and deploying these technologies on the ground, what can go wrong, right? And what can go wrong is, for example, there's a saying in Silicon Valley, which I think is horrible, and I'm sure some of you have heard about it, it's like, data is the new oil. And especially when you say this in this setting, just sounds wrong. And this is the mentality that they are using to produce this technology and when you use their services, then the data extraction, the decision extraction, you're not sovereign anymore of your data, you're not sovereign anymore of your decisions, right? And that's something that... Why working and deploying these technologies so early on, why and then gain first realized, and we really were thinking, is there different ways, there a kind of a binary way to do it, like something that has integrity, that can show the way that while technology moves really fast, culture moves very slowly, but culture and technology needs to move together in order to produce the right future that we want, right? And I think many of the things are reflected in this project that we're working on. the tool we call Polly internally, like an assistant for policy making, Polly used to be the obvious name, where we're trying to deploy this tool not by buying off some service from some large language model provider, but trying to really host this on our own with open weights, even though this might not be the most optimal choice for efficiency, it's something that we believe can be done and we showed that it's actually still useful and hopefully take away a little bit of the mystery and black box that it has. We created a guidebook that listed all the potential promises where these technologies, where large language models, for example, can be helpful for delegations, for example, when you're drafting e-mail, threatening interventions, even giving yourself a mental like support. And it's like when you might not have the motivation, but then also the potential failure points of this technology, where it hallucinates, where it can sometimes be very toxic, where your data is unwillingly given away, which might be very sensitive to companies where they shouldn't have your data, especially national security level data, right? And so these are the things that we uncover. And I think it comes to a really, really important time where Y&A started this a couple years ago, and now because AI is such an important topic that even at the cops, at a different kind We see delegations, teams, even the UNFCCC developing their own chat assistance without asking the same questions that Y&A is asking about integrity, about value. I think there's an opportunity here to to bring this Y&A approach and also a moment in time where you can still steer this conversation to the right future scenarios. And this is what makes me super, super excited to work together with Y&A on this project of developing technology that is not just equitable, but fair and just, and can also be really useful for really efficiently democratizing the multilateral process without sacrificing the values of it.

Thank you very much, David, for setting that context on how we could use technology also with care and keeping in mind the well-being of the people and how can we still continue to level the playing field where the gaps exist between countries already in terms of their resources. Thank you so much, David, for that. With that, I'm going to look at the audience and I would love to see if there are any questions. We would love to take a couple of questions before we will slowly bring ourselves to a close. If you have a question, please put your hand up, and there might be a microphone. If that is not, project your voice, and we will respond from here. Yes, please. There seems to be a microphone.

Okay, thank you for allowing me to ask questions for you guys. I'm not a journalist or a correspondent or something. I'm just a technician from the National Committee office, and I do live streaming things. And while doing my work, I just found this conference interesting. I'm also youth. So what is my question is that I'm a Mongolian, and I will come from province. And for young people, I mean young Mongolians, including me, Land degradation and droughts are not abstract international issues. They directly affect pastoral livelihoods and rural communities. So my question is that what specific role do you think young negotiators can play in making sure the voices of Mongolian herders are reflected in international decisions?

Thank you so much for that question. I'm keeping it with me and I'm going to look into the room to just check if there's one more question so we can answer them together. Yes, Laura.

Hello. Thank you very much for organizing this super interesting session. I was wondering if you could share a bit more insight on the impact of the Youth Negotiators Academy and Land Youth Negotiators program that it has on COP17 so far. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much for those two questions. So on the first question, and I know that the question came in a Mongolian context, and we do not have anyone representing your country here, but we do have young people we have trained also for your delegation, and we would love to connect you after. But in the meantime, looking at the young people sitting over here, because the conversation is similar, right? Because he said it's real for us on the ground. One of you, if you would like to take the floor and respond to his question from your country context and some of the things that have emerged for you, that would be wonderful.

So thank you very much for your question. I think that question about this particular subject on range land is not only in Mongolia because, for example, last year in 2024, I was following drought, but now I'm no longer following drought. I shift to drought, from drought to pastoralism. And now I just want to tell you that even now, currently, I'm working on my laptop because I have a statement to make on pastoralism. So we are also working on it, even if you are not from Mongolia. Yeah, thank you.

Thank you, Deodona, for that. But I would recommend you also speak to him afterwards to get a bit more if you have further questions. The question from Laura on impacts of the young people, the outcomes that we have seen at COP17. Any of you, as your experiences that you would like to share? If not, I'm happy to bring it in the closing very quickly as well. I'm going to look at Marwa. Marwa, over to you.

Thank you, Laura, for your question. I believe the impact can be seen when you go to the negotiation rooms and you see in every table, in every track, you will see at least one person from YNA. LYMP participants are actively participating in the decision making, in the text drafting, and also in the bilateral meetings. I think if we went back to other COPs, like when you enter the room, you will not see a lot of young people sitting on the table, but now I believe in each and every, even side events, you will see at least one of the speakers is a young person. And I think this is the impact what YNA is doing, is having youth representatives in all the levels, from negotiations to even high-level meetings to side events, et cetera. Thank you.

Thank you, Marwa. With that, I'm looking at the time, so I would add to that question just to say that there are levels of impact, right? So in some delegations, it's also very easy based on the composition and design of the national processes, so they are able to actively and very directly start working. They've been delivering statements at the CST and the CRIC. We've seen a number of negotiators also cheering for each other. They're making notes. They hold the power of information in their hands and they are really important for their delegation because without those notes that they're able to provide, the delegations are not able to make decisions. We've been seeing that legitimacy, what you said, that young people are able to claim their legitimacy as valuable contributors to this process. And that's what I've also been seeing from what you mentioned. Marwa, that they're there everywhere. They are treating us as equals and they understand the value that we are able to bring, the perspectives that we are able to bring to this process. So these are some of the outcomes and impacts that we have been observing here at COP17 by the negotiators we've trained, but also beyond. So because of the community that we create beyond the negotiators we train itself. With that, I would love to bring us to a close. Thank you all very much for your attention today. We really look forward to also With that, we will leave you to have a wonderful rest of your day.