Apply for the 2024 Global Youth Climate Training Programme and secure Funding to attend COP29!
Application Deadline: 10 August 2024
Apply for the 2024 Global Youth Climate Training Programme and secure Funding to attend COP29!
The Global Youth Climate Training Programme (GYCT) is a free, fully online capacity building programme that equips people aged 16-35 with the knowledge and confidence necessary to engage in international climate policy. Young people are increasingly being given a seat at the table in domestic and international climate policy, and therefore require appropriate capacity-building to ensure their interventions are cogent and relevant.
This project is a collaboration between the Global Youth Coalition (GYC), a coalition of climate youth changemakers, and researchers at the University of Oxford (Oxford Net Zero, Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment). The joint team delivering this project represents a strong international and intergenerational collaboration, spanning multiple continents, professional backgrounds and ages. We received 10,000 applications for our first iteration of the programme, demonstrating greater need for effective youth capacity building programmes.
2024 Programme
This year, with the generous support of the ClimateWorks Foundation, the joint team is running its second iteration of the programme from 3 September-1 October 2024, with one final session on 1 November 2024. The whole course takes place online.
Last year, the programme was all about demystifying the UNFCCC and its many tracks of negotiation. Yet, on the margins (and increasingly moving to the heart) of COPs are the actions of non-state actors: corporates announcing pledges for fossil fuel phase out, cities making net zero promises, finance being promised by private entities. It is so important that young people are given the tools and the confidence to navigate this landscape and separate the greenwash from the legitimate in real-time. This year, the programme focuses on understanding the integrity and ambition of nonstate climate action. The programme brochure for this year includes details such as the schedule, focus of this year’s course, and applicant criteria.
The time of the sessions will be decided based on the time zone most appropriate to the selected cohort, but sessions will be between 1-5pm UTC. This programme will be delivered fully online. Participants who are unable to join sessions live will have the recordings to watch within 5 days of the session. However, they will not record the interactive/workshop sessions. Each week participants will receive a quiz covering the material of that week of training (total of 5 quizzes). Participants successfully completing 4 out of 5 of these quizzes will receive a certificate.
Funding Opportunity: COP29 bursary
Through the generous support of the ClimateWorks Foundation, the joint team is delighted that this year they are able to offer 5 bursaries for admitted applicants in its 2024 training to attend COP29. This bursary of up to £3000 is to cover flights, accommodation, food and transport. Unfortunately they cannot offer accreditation – this is primarily for applicants who have the ability to attend COP29 but face financial barriers.
Application process for the COP29 bursary:
- Apply for the 2024 Global Youth Climate Training Programme
- Accepted applicants will be directed to a secondary application form to express their interest in receiving a bursary to attend COP29.
- Applications will open during September and applicants will be informed of the success of their application by early October.
Application criteria for the COP29 bursary:
First priority will be given to applicants representing diverse regions and groups most impacted by climate change.
Programme History
This programme was launched May 2023 to provide greater clarity on the negotiation tracks of the UNFCCC ahead of COP28. It brought together leading experts and young climate professionals and covered topics such as Climate Finance, Loss & Damage, Adaptation & Resilience and more. Alexis McGivern, Oxford Net Zero Fellow, created and led the programme alongside several youth activists from the Global Youth Coalition, leveraging the University of Oxford’s wide network of climate experts.
The 2023 curriculum was built by consulting 180 young climate justice activists who gave their input on their training needs. 4,500 activists were educated under the age of 35 spreading over 177 countries, with 64% identifying as from Most Affected People and Areas (MAPA).
This youth training is trial of radical open-access and inclusion, with all of the recordings published to YouTube, a completely free course for participants. The course is in four languages: English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.
Several Oxford Net Zero researchers taught on the 2023 programme (including Dr. Myles Allen, Dr. Jose Maria Valenzuela, Dr. Tom Hale), alongside researchers and practitioners from around the world. The programme was intentionally crafted to prioritise expert Global South voices on climate issues. Each session began with a testimonial by a youth speaker, followed by a technical lecture by relevant global climate experts.
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