The Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) had the honour of being part of the launch programme of the EU - India Youth Climate Conclave. The Conclave was launched by the Delegation of European Union (EU) on the 4th of October announcing series of events, photography contests and a blog competition, eventually leading up to the final event which will be the Youth Climate Conclave to be held as part of the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) 2020 from the 29th to 31st January, 2020.

The Conclave is being organised by the EU, together with GIZ, TERI, and CEEW. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India (GoI), is the nodal ministry for this.

The launch event of the conclave on Friday included an address by H.E. Mr Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union to India. The event also included an address by Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General, TERI, with Mr Edwin Koekkoek, Counsellor - Energy and Climate Action, Delegation of the European Union to India, talking about the way forward. Dr J R Bhatt, Advisor (Climate Change), MoEFCC, GoI, also shared his view with the students present at the programme. The event also witnessed the launch of the Photography Contest and Blogging Contest followed by a panel discussion with Dr Kavya Michael, Associate Fellow, TERI; Mr Rajendra Singh, Chairman, Tarun Bharat Sangh; Mr Raka Agitok, Board Member, Indian Youth Climate Network; and Dr Vaibhav Chaturvedi, Research Fellow, Council on Energy, Environment and Water. The panel discussion was moderated by Dr Ashish Chaturvedi, Director - Climate Change, GIZ-India.

During the panel discussion, IYCN member Raka Sangma had spoken about the need for Youth participation in policy making at the national and global levels. He had raised the concern over the lack of platforms for Youth capacity building and participation in formulatingcountry specific and international policies that affect their future.