Five Youth Climate Negotiators Trained by Climate Hub | Rio to Go to COP28
From a class of 50 young people from various life and academic backgrounds, the five who stood out the most in the graduating class were selected to represent the Young Climate Negotiators in Dubai.
Youth has a crucial role to play in the fight against the climate emergency, and having a seat at the table in negotiations and decision-making spaces is critical. The Young Climate Negotiators program was designed to enable intersectional youth leaders to become effective climate negotiators in Brazil's Climate Agenda at the UN.
As part of the program, Beatriz Triani, Gaio Jorge, João Cavalcanti, Marcele Oliveira, and Thaynara Fernandes will represent Brazilian youth at the 28th Conference of the Parties in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Learn more about them and the program below.
The Young Climate Negotiators program focuses on training young leaders from Rio de Janeiro, encouraging especially black, indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and people from periphery and favelas to become effective negotiators and to represent the perspectives and priorities of Brazilian youth in the Brazilian and UN Climate agendas.
During the program, 50 students from Rio carried out practical and theoretical activities that developed essential skills for more effective participation in the climate debate at local, regional, and international levels. Camila Pontual, Climate Manager of Climate Hub | Rio and Mélody Bran, Senior Staff Associate of the Columbia Climate School actively participated in classes, leading some lectures during the first phase of the program.
All 50 students successfully completed the program and received their certificates at a ceremony in October, in Rio. Thomas Trebat and Camila Pontual represented the Climate Hub | Rio in the awarding of the certificates. Tainá de Paula, Rio’s Secretary for the Environment and Climate, and Salvino Oliveira, Rio’s Secretary for Youth, attended the ceremony and addressed the graduates. Of these 50 students, a small number were selected to attend the Amazon Summit, held in Belém, Pará, in August, so they could experience in loco how climate major conferences work.
After completing the first phase of the program, 25 students were selected for a practical mentorship. They were mentored by experts in different skills - public speaking, networking, cultural affairs, writing, and foreign languages; drafting joint commitments for participation in international forums; reporting; etc. A lecture on how to prepare to attend international forums was led by Camila Pontual, and Laryssa Nunes, Climate Hub Rio’s Program Assistant. The students also learned how to prepare policy briefs and draft speeches.
Meet the Youth Delegation that will represent the Young Climate Negotiators at COP28 in Dubai
Beatriz Triani
Beatriz Triani is a Master's degree student in Political Science from the Institute of Social and Political Studies of Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ) and holds an undergraduate degree in International Relations from UERJ. She is a Collaborating Researcher at LABMUNDO's Interdisciplinary Observatory on Climate Change, a climate activist, and a Young Climate Negotiator for the City of Rio de Janeiro.
Gaio Jorge
Gaio is an undergraduate student of Food Engineering at CEFET/RJ and has a technical degree in the Environment from SENAI/RJ. He is co-founder of the "Criaação" collective, an organization committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the "AMA-RIO" project, Gaio played a key role in setting up the "Fonte", a public drinking fountain that guarantees access to drinking water residents and homeless people in an impoverished community in Rio.
João Cavalcanti
João works directly with the management and facilitation of social innovation projects in collaborative processes. He is currently vice-president of the Enactus team at CEFET/RJ and the Impact Officer of the Rio de Janeiro Hub of the Global Shapers community, a global initiative of young people engaged in solving society's problems, supported by the World Economic Forum.
Marcele Oliveira
Marcele holds a degree in Cultural Production from Federal Fluminense University (UFF). She works as a producer, communicator, and climate activist. She is a master of ceremonies at Circo Voador, a popular nightspot in Rio, and a Young Climate Negotiator. She is part of the Realengo 2030 Agenda, and “O Clima é de Mudança” Coalition, guiding environmental racism and climate justice from the perspective of youth living in poor communities in the periphery of Rio.
Thaynara Fernandes
Thaynara is a biologist who graduated from Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ). She believes in the strategy of environmental re-education, as well as the beneficial results that this action can bring. She is 28 years old and the co-founder and researcher of Simbiose, a project focused on education and combating environmental racism.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Young Climate Negotiators program was created by the International Youth Organization (OIJ), chaired by the Columbia University Obama Scholar Daniel Calarco, in partnership with the Rio de Janeiro City Hall, Rio’s Secretariat for the Environment and Climate (SMAC), the Perifa Lab Institute, and Climate Hub | Rio.
The program's objectives:
- Enable intersectional youth leaders to become effective climate negotiators in Brazil's Climate Agenda at the UN;
- Develop the technical knowledge needed to participate in international climate negotiations;
- Build negotiation and advocacy skills needed to effectively represent Brazil's Climate Agenda