COY16
The 16th UN Climate Change Conference of Youth
What is COY?
The UN Climate Change Conference of Youth (COY) is an event under the banner of YOUNGO – The Official Youth Constituency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The conference takes place right before the annual UN Climate Change Conference, also known as Conference of the Parties (COP), in the same host country as the COP. COY serves as a space for capacity building and policy training, in order to prepare young people for their participation at COP.
In 2021, COY will be in its 16th year and is dubbed as the largest and longest running youth event to date; gathering thousands of young changemakers from more than 140 countries. It is likewise hailed as the most significant youth gathering for it’s capacity to directly forward the official youth position in the UN Climate Negotiations.
One of the major outputs of COY16 is the policy document crafted by youth voices globally, which will be forwarded during the UN Climate Negotiations.
COY16 Endorsements
COY16 stands proud to be the official precursor event of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP, and is officially endorsed by the United Nations Secretary General Envoy on Youth.
What happens at COY?
There are four major components during COY:
1
Policy Document
The most substantial output for COY16 is coming up with the position paper, or policy document, that will represent the voice of the youth in the UN Climate Negotiations (COP26).
2
Capacity Building
Delegates from 140+ countries will undergo a series of plenary and breakout sessions, with topics on how climate change affects different sectors and industries.
3
Skill-building Workshops
COY16 will provide workshops for delegates such as pitching, fundraising, event management, youth mobilisation and public speaking.
4 Cultural Exchange
Our social events and networking activities will be designed to be interactive and immersive, to explore the different cultures of our delegates.
The COY16 Logo
The Triskele
The COP26 Logo
The Globe
The logo is mainly inspired by the Triskele, a prominent Celtic symbol. It pays homage to the host nation and how the Kingdom of the Scots (or Alba) was founded by two Celtic speaking peoples, the Picts and the Gaels, in the 9th century. Several representations of the symbol include the three domains: earth, sea, and sky; past, present, and future.
The Triskele, also known as The Spiral, resembles the spiral movement of the air and can be linked to climate. The spiral pattern is also dominantly visible in COP26’s logo. The logo is finished with the Triskele moulded in a spherical shape to symbolise that the world will be uniting in solidarity in Scotland to address the climate crisis.
The logo is designed and curated by Jan Kairel Guillermo. Jan is a Filipino artist who survived one of the dreadful impacts of climate change – Super Typhoon Haiyan, the world’s strongest typhoon, in 2013.