HLPF side event engages youth in the climate conversation
Youth leaders from the Temple of Understanding and Climate Cardinals will gather on July 14 from 1:15-3:00 p.m. ET to demonstrate the power of youth voices in the global conversation around climate change and the UN’s 2030 agenda. This hybrid event will be held off-site at the Church Center for the United Nations on the eleventh floor, alongside the UN’s 2026 High Level Political Forum (HLPF). The youth leaders will talk about how grassroots interfaith networks and youth-led climate action groups can help advance SDG 17, which emphasizes the importance of partnerships in realizing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The HLPF, the main UN platform on sustainable development, is being held this year under the theme of “Transformative, equitable, innovative, and coordinated actions for the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs for a sustainable future for all.”
The Temple of Understanding, an interfaith group that advocates for peace, justice, human rights, and environmental sustainability in the secular setting of the UN, has promoted interfaith dialogue and youth leadership for 65 years. Since 2005, its summer internship program has connected youth with the interfaith movement, amplified their moral agency, and inspired their roles as changemakers in the international system. Sharing the same conviction, Climate Cardinals is one of the world’s largest climate education networks, breaking language barriers and connecting youth and non-English speaking communities to global resources.
At the side event, current and former TOU interns, members of the TOU Youth Council, and speakers from Climate Cardinals will engage in a conversation which engages young people across all UN processes. Speakers will outline how grassroots movements can address climate breakdown and the crisis of legitimacy faced by the international legal order. During an hour-long session, participants will come together to discuss community-level interfaith and climate networks that are monitoring, reporting on, and advocating for SDG 17 commitments in their regions. This interactive component of the event is to engage in discussions on new solutions and enhanced communication and partnerships.
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