Join the EESC Youth Delegate to UNFCCC COP Programme 2023 by submitting an application. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) advocated for the inclusion of a youth representative in the official EU delegation to the UNFCCC COP meetings in its own-initiative opinion Towards organized youth participation on climate and sustainability in the EU decision-making process.
The EESC also suggests adding a youth delegate as a third person to the EESC delegation that attends similar events as an observer. The EESC promised to continuing this practice in the years to come after included a young member for the first time in its UNFCCC COP delegation in 2021.The EESC youth delegate to COP has a two-year term, and a fair and open selection procedure is used to choose the new delegate at the conclusion of each term.
Participation
Every year, the EESC’s mission to UNFCCC COP meetings lasts around five days and usually takes place
during the second week of the Conference.
Before the mission:
Before the mission, the youth delegate will actively participate in the strategic work of the EESC’s recently
formed Ad Hoc Group on the UNFCCC COP and in the preparatory work of the delegation.
The youth delegate will also regularly meet and be supported by a youth task force run by the European
Youth Forum (YFJ) and Generation Climate Europe (GCE) in cooperation with YOUNGO and possibly other
European youth networks. They will work together to bring added value to the EESC’s contribution to COP
meetings.
During the mission:
During the mission, the youth delegate will be a full member of the EESC delegation, being invited to
participate in EESC’s side-events and having the opportunity to participate in any event attended by the
other members of the EESC delegation. They will also have bilateral meetings with different CSOs and
representatives, participate in some side events as speaker and follow debates on-site and online.
After the mission:
After each mission, the youth delegate will participate in the debriefing of the mission both with the EESC
Ad Hoc Group and the youth task force. Some follow-up meetings could be organised and the youth
delegate will be invited to evaluate their experience. At the end of the two-year mandate, an end-of
mandate report will be prepared, and the youth delegate will be involved in the promotion of the call for
the new youth delegate and in their onboarding.
If during the two-year mandate the youth delegate is not able to attend one of the preparatory meetings,
a member of the youth task force will replace them. If the youth delegate has to drop out of the
programme before the end of the two-year mandate, one of the other candidates on the shortlist will be
contacted.
Financial Support:
In order to support the youth delegate’s participation in meetings before, during and after the missions,
the following financial support will be provided:
- reimbursement of their participation in the meetings of the EESC’s Ad Hoc Group on the
UNFCCC COP; - reimbursement of their participation in the EESC’s missions to UNFCCC COP meetings.
Eligibility:
As an applicant for the EESC Youth Delegate to COP programme, you must:
- be between 18 and 30 years old at the time of application;
- be national and resident of one of the Member States of the European Union;
- have a thorough command of English and if possible of an additional EU language;
- be available for two years: around five hours per month for the preparatory work and
meetings plus the active participation in the EESC’s annual five-day mission to the UNFCCC
COP meetings.
Application:
To apply, you must fill out the online application form by Friday 20 January 2023, at 12:00 CET.
If your application is pre-selected and you are in the shortlist of the five final candidates, you will be
contacted and invited to an interview. Final results will be published mid-February.
The selection will take into account gender balance, geographical balance, and balance regarding youth
organisations to avoid an over-representation of some countries and organisations compared to others.
