Global Young Leaders Initiative

Engaging Young Leaders From Around the World on Earth System Risk and Possible Responses.

All too frequently, sunlight reflection is discussed among people who will not live to see the worst impacts of Earth system risks. The conversation has not placed the experiences of young people, facing these threats now and for the rest of their lives, at its center. GYLI supports conversations among youth and between younger and older generations to help put young people at the forefront of future developments in sunlight reflection research and policy.

Youth Call to Action (YCA)

In July 2021, distinguished young leaders from different parts of the world held the first-ever global youth summit on sunlight reflection. In this forum, they developed the concepts taken forward by the Global Young Leaders Initiative Steering Committee to develop a Youth Call to Action (YCA) on research and decision-making on sunlight reflection. The Youth Call to Action is a thoughtful, detailed proposal written and supported by young professional leaders committed to Earth system safety and security. As part of the COP26 event, youth leaders presented the Youth Call to Action.

Steering Committee: Béatrice Coroenne, Madeleine Karlsberg Schaffer, Ricardo Pineda Guzman, Neeshad Shafi

Read it here

YCA Website

Past Events

Led by the Global Young Leaders Initiative and co-moderated by young experts Joshua Amponsem and Ricardo Pineda Guzman, the summit brought together young leaders, advocates, policymakers, and scientists, as well as global experts on sunlight reflection research and international governance, in order to facilitate an open and interactive conversation in which young people’s voices are central.
The summit explored what actions must be taken on sunlight reflection research and policy to promote safety and equity, particularly for youth and the world’s most vulnerable.
Watch
During the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), SilverLining co-organized an event at the Children and Youth Pavilion with several youth organizations. The interactive session explored climate solutions that youth are bringing to climate resilience.
Event partners and co-sponsors: Sendai Framework Children and Youth Stakeholder Group (MGCY DRR), Youth Resilience Lab (YRL), Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), YOUNGO, UNDRR Stakeholder Engagement Mechanism (SEM), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Watch
SilverLining hosted a reception to foster an intergenerational dialogue on climate intervention among young climate leaders and climate intervention experts from all over the world. The event was an opportunity for young professionals, representing their countries and organizations around the globe, to learn about climate interventions and bring their perspectives from COP27 and beyond to the discussion.
During the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), SilverLining partnered with global youth climate organizations for "An Intergenerational Dialogue on Research in Climate Interventions to Protect Vulnerable People and Ecosystems from Catastrophic Climate Change." The event held in-person and virtually, featured a powerful exchange between youth climate leaders, scientists, and audience members on climate intervention research, the reality of climate impacts in the Global South, and the objections to climate intervention research. Read reflections from Kelly Wanser and Madeleine Karlsberg Schaffer.
Event partners: Green Africa Youth Organization, Sustenta Honduras, Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar
Watch
SilverLining and YOUNGO TechMech Working Group hosted the first-ever summit for young climate leaders (age 18-34) on near-term climate risk and climate interventions. The event featured young people sharing insights into near-term climate threats in their respective parts of the world - the problem that climate intervention aims to address. It included a discussion between younger and older climate professionals, which sought to shed light on crucial questions on climate intervention and intergenerational justice, and engagement with expert scientists on the realities of climate intervention research.
Watch
In January 2021, SilverLining held a youth dialogue on climate intervention as part of the Youth for Climate Adaptation Conference 2021. The event featured global youth climate leaders, scientific researchers, and policy experts and engaging visualizations and interactive elements, in a candid discussion of the near-term risks of climate change and possible interventions to help address them.
Watch