GCA Welcomes New Youth Advisory Panel
The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) officially presented its new Youth Advisory Panel members for 2023 on 10th November on Youth Day at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
T he new Panel, a group of 12 young leaders from around the world between the ages of 23 and 32, is following in the footsteps of GCA’s inaugural panel, launched in September 2021, providing strategic advice to the CEO of GCA on youth engagement to drive the adaptation agenda.
Youth Advisory Panel members from 2021 and 2022 with the GCA team at the GCA Pavilion during COP27
Throughout 2022, GCA’s 2022 Youth Advisory Panel mobilized over 7,000 young people around the world through seven regional Youth Adaptation Forums and concluded its year of action by organizing the Youth Dialogue on Adaptation Action: Delivering on the Glasgow Climate Pact, alongside GCA, in September. At the event, young people from all over the world gathered online and in Rotterdam, to call on world leaders to take urgent climate adaptation action. The outcomes of their efforts will be presented in a report during the Youth4Adaptation side event on Adaptation Day at COP27.
GCA’s 2023 Youth Advisory Panel members, a select group of young leaders in climate adaptation and youth mobilization, hail from Africa, the Americas, Europe, South Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East and North Africa region. GCA’s 2023 Youth Advisory Panel were selected out of over 1,000 applications through a competitive process based on their experience with adaptation, their rootedness in youth organizations and engagement in decision-making spaces. The new Panel will officially launch its work year on 8th December.
“At GCA we are excited to welcome the new Youth Advisory Panel members that will steer the youth climate adaptation agenda with fresh ideas and action in the upcoming year. The Youth Advisory Panel brings together adaptation champions from around the world who can lead the charge for youth powering global adaptation action,” said Adriana Valenzuela, Thematic Lead for Youth Leadership and Education at GCA.
Meet GCA’s Youth Advisory Panel 2023:
Deon Shekuza, 32, from Namibia, is a youth advocate for sustainable development working on advocacy, engagement, and policymaking, primarily focusing on climate change and renewable energy. He is a co-founder of the Namibian Youth on Renewable Energy non-profit and of the Namibian Youth Biodiversity Network.
Baliqees Salaudeen, 24, is a Nigerian social activist, passionate about climate change –- causes, impacts and solutions – especially how it is linked to security and peace in the African region. She is a Co-founder of Green Republic Farms Ltd and a trainee of GCA’s Online Executive Training on Young Women Leadership on Climate Adaptation.
Natalia Gómez Solano, 25, is the co-founder and president of the Costa Rican Youth and Climate Change Network Association (RJCCCR). She is an environmental engineer and young professional passionate about climate adaptation.
Soomin Han, 23, from Canada, is the Climate Finance Lead at Youth Climate Lab. Driven by her passion for climate justice and lived experiences, Soomin engages in climate work with a focus on intersectionality, youth engagement, community care, and gender equity.
Manav Khanna, 28, from India, is a visiting researcher at the Environmental Change Institute (ECI), School of Geography and the Environment (SoGE) at the University of Oxford and a PhD student in Management Innovation, Sustainability and Healthcare at Sant ’Anna University in Pisa, Italy.
Sadia Jahan Rothi, 23, is an Environmental and Climate Activist serving as Policy Assistant at YOUNGO, the Children and Youth Constituency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She is the director of Eco-Network, and has been a climate and environmental activist since 2018.
Adéla Pokorná, 23, from the Czech Republic, is pursuing a graduate degree in Environmental Studies with a focus on Urban Adaptation and Environmental Economics at Masaryk University. She has been involved with youth organizations since the age of 15.
Xan Northcott, 27, from the United Kingdom, is the 2022 Global North Focal Point for YOUNGO. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from New York University.
Hannah Athaliah James, 30, from Papua New Guinea, is the Production Manager for Haus Kunai Films and the Grants Officer for Asia Pacific Youth Dialogue. She is the Founder of Munduna Teiweh Initiatives, a community-focused charity foundation that aims to bring libraries to schools in rural areas and addresses menstrual and women and girl’s health issues.
Fale Andrew Lesa, 32, is an indigenous Samoan and a fluent speaker of two endangered indigenous languages (Samoan and Te Reo Māori). He is a former UNESCO climate change fellow and a climate change scholar at Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Shaemma Mebwana, 26, is a Climate Change Analyst working at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment of the United Arab Emirates. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Environmental Science and Sustainability from Zayed University in Abu Dhabi.
Abdallah Emad Afify, 27, is a climate activist in the Middle East and Northern Africa region. He is the founder of the Local Conference of Youth in Egypt and COY17 National Focal Point for Egypt. He is also the CEO of ACT Sustainable, a social enterprise to empower young people. He holds a master of science and is an experienced civil engineer.
For more information about GCA’s Youth Advisory Panel, visit the GCA website or contact GCA’s Thematic Lead for Youth Leadership & Education, Ms. Adriana Valenzuela, at youth@gca.org.
