Press release from UNDP Viet Nam, Italian Embassy and UK Embassy in Viet Nam.
LAUNCHING THE FIRST-EVER YOUTH4CLIMATE LEARNING HUB FOR VIETNAMESE YOUNGSTERS TOWARDS COP26.
Hanoi, 22 October 2021 – Ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organised the “Debriefing from PreCOP26 and Launch of the Youth4Climate Learning Hub” in collaboration with Italian Embassy and the UK Embassy in Viet Nam.
More than 2400 Vietnamese youth from different backgrounds joined the online event today. The session started with discussions about PreCOP26 and COP26 from two embassies and two youth delegates, followed by a launch of the very first interactive climate learning platform, built by youth and for youth with support from UNDP Viet Nam.
COP26 comes at a crucial point in time with humanity facing two existential crises: the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate emergency. Therefore, this summit will be a precious opportunity for the world to unite and tackle these historical threats.
“In just over one week, leaders from around the world will gather in Glasgow, Scotland, for COP26. It comes at a crucial time with urgent action needed to tackle climate change. Decisions made at COP26 will affect us all, including the next generation. Because of this, young people have been involved in the planning of COP26. I am delighted to witness today the launch of the Youth4Climate learning hub which provides a platform for young Vietnamese climate activists” – said David McNaught, Political Counsellor of British Embassy Hanoi.
Back-to-back to PreCOP26, the event Youth4Climate 2021: Driving Ambition (Italy, 28 – 30 September 2021) gathered 400 young climate leaders to brainstorm much-needed solutions in four thematic areas: climate ambition, sustainable recovery, non-state actors and a climate-conscious society.
Ambassador of Italy Antonio Alessandro said: “For the first time global youth had the opportunity to engage directly with Ministers and official Government representatives on climate action. After Yout4Climate it is now clear that young generations are not only key to raise awareness but can also provide creative and effective solutions.”
In their role as youth delegates, Xuan Mai and Phuong Thanh put in great effort to gather and highlight the voices of Vietnamese youth, from the Northern highland areas to the Southern Mekong delta. The global youth statement included demands in four thematic areas: climate ambition, sustainable recovery, non-state actors and a climate-conscious society.
Mai and Thanh especially highlighted the last theme: “We demand comprehensive and universal climate change education and climate
literacy to empower people of all ages with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to address climate change.”
After many years of enhancing climate action, UNDP believes that a key success factor for raising climate ambition is to ensure youth-inclusive processes in climate negotiations and policy-making, implementation, monitoring and accountability of the NDC progress. Since 2020, UNDP has closely worked with Vietnamese youth through the Youth4Climate initiative (under the global Climate Promise programme) to ensure that their actions and voices are heard through the 2021 Special Report “Youth for Climate Action in Viet Nam.”
Also in this report, youth highlighted an accelerator to sharpen their climate action in the future – a credible learning portal providing robust and transparent climate information.
To respond to this demand, UNDP joined hands with youth to develop the Youth4Climate Learning Hub, launched today, ahead of
COP26. The mission of the Learning Hub is to provide a learning space for youth, in which they can:
– Access reliable, accurate and contextualized information in Vietnamese on climate science, agriculture & forestry, energy, waste & circular economy and climate policy;
– Collaborate and reshape up-to-date climate policies and sciences into youth-friendly information modules; and
– Search for inspirational youth-led projects and continuously update databases to inform youth’s climate ambitions.
“As a youngster, I’m very happy when seeing our wish for a youth-friendly climate learning platform has been fulfilled. This will be a great resource helping us in expanding knowledge and sharpening climate initiatives in the future. Thus, youth can be the main cohort supporting the Government and organisations in the journey towards net zero.” Ngo Quoc Hoang – Hub Curator – shared.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Terence D. Jones, UNDP Resident Representative ai highlighted “Through this Youth4Climate Learning Hub, UNDP will support youth capacity development, empower youth-led climate initiatives and create an enabling environment for youth to access green job opportunities and adopt sustainable lifestyles. We want to call on all of our colleagues and development partners to join hands with us, in aligning our programmes and offering new mechanisms to facilitate and advance an environment in which youth can rise and to fully occupy their roles as agents of change for a greener, cleaner future.”
Furthermore, UNDP will continuously prioritize the mission supporting and strengthening climate action of Vietnamese youth in the upcoming years by establishing a Youth Training of Trainers (TOT) network for different climate topics and nurturing a network of 100 best youth TOT to expand the society of climate learning across thousands and millions of Vietnamese youngsters in 63 provinces.
