The Canadian Youth Delegation is the voice of the Canadian youth climate movement at international United Nations climate conferences. Made up of twenty dedicated and inspiring young people from across the country, the delegation represents the demands of an entire generation working to create a just, safe, and livable future for all.
While in Durban, the CYD will aim to hold our leaders accountable, and to be the voice of the generation that will be forced to live in a future that we too often to not have a voice in creating. They will also be joining forces with youth from around the world to challenge our leaders’ inaction while reporting back on what is happening on the ground through twitter,facebook, the CYDaily newsletter, and the CYD blog!
In the lead-up to Durban, members of the CYD will be organizing in their communities and building the empowered movement we need. The CYD will also strive to work with our allies from frontline communities across Canada and around the world to amplify the voices too often left unheard or underrepresented in international fora such as the UNFCCC.
It is crucial to acknowledge that we will not be able to stop climate change in the halls of any international meeting until we create a mass, self-empowering, grassroots movement that is demanding and creating a more just world. We need as many people as possible organizing and taking action at home; find out how you can get involved here.
The Origins of the CYD
The Canadian Youth Delegation to Durban builds on a long history of Canadian youth engagement in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Since the large and unprecedented mobilization of young people at COP11 in Montreal 2005, youth from Canada have organized a presence at every major meeting, including COP12 in Nairobi, COP13 in Bali, COP14 in Poznan, COP15 in Copenhagen, and COP16 in Cancun.
Our structure
The CYD is organized based on horizontal, non-hierarchical principles with a focus on working to alleviate all forms of oppression. The delegation is divided into three teams:
Actions and Strategy Team
The Actions and Strategy team work with the rest of CYD, the CYCC, and our allies from across the Climate Justice movement to develop a powerful, coherent strategy to achieve our goals for Durban. They will develop both strategies for Durban, as well as work with organizers in Canada to coordinate campaigns and actions at home while the CYD is in Durban.
The Actions Team will be trained in, and be responsible for training the rest of the delegation in, non-violent action and strategy. They will create actions that incorporate the entire CYD team, as well as larger movement collaboration and participation.
Team members:
Malkolm Boothroyd, Sonia Grant, James Hutt, Natasha Peters, Karen Rooney, Jasmine Thomas
Policy and Research Team
Members of the Policy Team act as lie detectors for the entire delegation and as translators for youth across Canada. They gather data and transform jargon-loaded texts into easy-to-understand concepts, building a basis for critical analysis and debate of real and false solutions to the climate crisis, and helping uncover government inaction and false promises.
The Policy Team works together to develop reports and primers on Canadian policy and how it needs to change. They do research for the other teams and work as an information gathering source during the negotiations. They attend briefings, track Canada at the negotiations and report back to the team in terms that everyone can understand, all supporting the collective vision of the CYD and the CYCC.
Members of this team are excited by government policy and long position papers.
Team members:
Chris Bisson, Matthew Chisholm, Brigette DePape, Kaleigh McGregor-Bales, Anika Terton
Media and Communications Team
The Media and Communications Team is responsible for liaising with traditional and independent media, creating press releases and media advisories, coordinating the production of CYD-produced media, as well as running the CYD’s social media communications.
In short, they are the external voice of the CYD, ensuring that what happens in Durban echoes back in Canada, and vice-versa. Striking a dynamic balance between traditional and new media, the Communications and Media Team is a spin doctor for the common good.
Team members:
Toby Davine, Crystel Hajjar, Meghan McCarthy, Emilie Novaczek, Robin Tress, Daniel T’seleie
Find out more on the Canadian Youth Delegation website.