Faith-based participants from the Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches and the ACT Alliance join in as thousands of people march through the streets of central Madrid, Spain, as part of a public contribution to the United Nations climate meeting COP25, urging decision-makers to act for climate justice. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
Acting for climate justice as people of faith and strengthening youth leadership
(LWI) – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is calling on its member churches to nominate young people under 30 as delegates to the upcoming 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. This call reaffirms the LWFs engagement to address the climate crisis, particularly through youth leaders. Nominations will close on 20 August.
COP26 takes place from 31 October to 12 November 2021. “The conference will likely be in a hybrid format that will include online participation and in-person participation,” explains Elena Cedillo, LWFs Program Executive for Climate Justice. “The nominated youth will play a key role in shaping the LWF’s engagement with COP26 – ranging from national-level advocacy to global mobilization.”
“This event aims to empower young Lutherans to act meaningfully for climate justice as people of faith and strengthen youth leadership across the LWF,” adds Savanna Sullivan, LWF’s Program Executive for Youth. Not all nominated candidates will participate directly in COP26 as members of the LWF delegation. However, all youth nominated by their churches will have the opportunity to attend workshops ahead of the UN conference. These will center around the relevant topics negotiated by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the current state of climate justice, and networking with peers.
All LWF member churches are eligible to nominate one youth delegate. Nomination endorsement should be from the leadership of the church. Preferably, candidates should have some understanding of and previous experience in climate justice work. The youth delegation, which will comply with LWF’s gender balance policy, will be selected from the nominees based on the conference’s format and the number of spots available to the LWF. Nomination forms, including the endorsement letter, must be sent by email to [email protected], using the subject line “LWF Youth delegation to COP26.”
More information about the delegation and the selection process is available on the LWF Young Reformers website. Questions can also be addressed to Savanna Sullivan, LWF’s Program Executive for Youth, at [email protected].
By LWF/A. Weyermüller
