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The increasing interest and potential of youth to encourage actions that help make the planet a more sustainable place to live took centre stage at a webinar continued lately built by the WGEO-UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centre in Dubai (RCC Dubai), for MENA and South Asia.

Created around the theme, Green Economy Opportunities in a Post COVID-19 Scenario: The Role of the Youth, the webinar was the first in a list of webinars practising place under Academy for Global Youth Leadership Empowerment (AGYLE), an initiative focused on increasing the youths role and skills to allow them to efficiently lead and engage in the global climate action means.

The webinar highlighted the influence of young peoples important role and the need for their active engagement in promoting a post-COVID-19 green recovery in the circumstances of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement while concentrating on regional calls and opportunities.

Reflecting on the inaugural event, H.E. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Chairman of WGEO, said: We must embrace this opportunity to produce a radical transformation and make the growing recovery a reality. We are completely convinced that the trials of COVID-19 will not be an impediment to achieve our idea and purpose to improve the global green economy development and fight climate change. Within its support to the WGEO, the UAEs power is strongly dedicated to stimulating the green economics agenda. As a preeminent global company devoted to supporting these efforts, we hold in our capacity to restore our lives, our cities and our markets based on the support of green growth.

Restoring our energy without altering our planet will not be a viable solution. This is our opportunity to rethink our plans and foster environment action and green economy ambition with the assistance of a very significant portion of our society the youth, H.E. Al Tayer added.


The event gave an essential program for young participants to discover about the interlinkages connecting the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis, as well as the possibilities accessible for them to join with and compete in efforts towards a growing return within the structure of the Paris Agreement and SDGs. Speakers highlighted the purpose of the youth in driving for a green recovery and the impacts and challenges associated with such a recovery. Further, the webinar provided engaging youth, government agents, and other stakeholders to ask renowned speakers about the most important and critical climate change problems concerning the region today and offer their solutions. All members involved in the conversations and exchange of ideas on practical actions to advance the SDGs, discuss climate change and hasten the transition to the green economy.

Ovais Sarmad, Deputy Executive Secretary, UNFCCC Secretariat, noted that improvements to enable young people are required so as not to extinguish their promises for a healthy future. Almost half of the people in the MENA region is currently under 25 years of age. We must give this period the centres to become instruments of change for a greener, and more sustainable world, he emphasized.

Rola Dashti, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN ESCWA), highlighted: Time and again, Arab youth have performed leading roles in restoring our cities from war, conflict, crisis and disasters. After the deadly Beirut explosion, it was inspirational to see student volunteers self-organize via social media and selflessly support victims and add to the cleanup. Arab youth have shown themselves to be flexible and driven by their belief in a greater tomorrow.

She pointed to the chances which can join the youth, such as mainstreaming knowledge about weather change in national education and practice strategies and securing youth are viewed in national development planning; developing socially distanced public works performances through public-private partnerships and civil society organizations that engage youth in restoring green infrastructure; and enabling youth to take leadership roles in developing better by promoting events to contribute to the local knowledge base through digital technologies that involved youth in data compilation, research and report on the ground.

Notable lecturers from different organizations in the areas of green economy and sustainable growth, simultaneously with youth groups from the MENA region, attended the webinar.

The lecturers involved H.R.H. Princess Abze Djigma, Special Envoy of the President of Burkina Faso for SDGs and Climate Change and Initiator and Leader of the MAMA-LIGHT Action for Sustainable Energy; Marina Ponti, Global Director, UN SDG Action Campaign; Nedal Katbeh-Bader, Environment Quality Authority, Palestine; Lydia Elewa, Environmental Affairs Agency, Egypt; Aysha Mohammad Alremeithi, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA); Nisreen Elsaim, Chair, UN SDG Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change; and Omia Omarani, Youth Representative, MENA

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