“Change in the world starts from the individual’ (Destiny Afu)
Our recent DialogueON event ‘From the UN General Assembly 79 to COP29’ demonstrated that active participation and forums for dialogue do hold the potential to change the world. Joined by our two fantastic speakers, Destiny Afu and Marco Yeung, our audience engaged in productive dialogue on the involvement of civil society in international negotiations.
Destiny gave a thorough presentation on what can be done to reform the UNGA and how we can better meet the challenges of the world today. With the increasing climate devastation, particularly in his country Cameroon, there has to be a new approach on global governance. Crucial to this is inclusion. Destiny stressed that international dialogue and cooperation is more important than ever. Civil society needs to push for collaboration opportunities and prevent paralysis within the system.
Marco provided a forward-looking account on climate finance ahead of COP29. From his years in sustainable debt finance markets and involvement in CarbonCare InnoLab, he will be attending COP to support discussions on the climate transition. Marco highlighted the need for a new funding goal post-2025 and exposed the budget challenges, particularly for adaptation and the Lost & Damage fund. This year’s COP is a critical year. Despite the ongoing disagreement between parties, Marco remains hopeful for progress.
The dialogue part followed with the same spirit of possibility. Both Destiny and Marco expressed their positivity for cooperation in the face of globalized challenges. Forums such as DialogueON open conversations and civil society participation.
One participant, Cyrus, spoke of the importance of a youth perspective and the growing need for advocacy. The audience agreed that change is driven by grassroots organizations. Marco emphasized that youth participation is the future, not the past. Historically, civil society has been marginalized from international politics but there is increasing consensus on the importance of observers and advocacy groups at events like COP29.
The event ended with a call for more forums of dialogue and education, highlighting the importance of active participation. Often individuals are scared to speak up, but we are global citizens in an increasingly interconnected world. The UNGA79 and Summit of the Future outcome documents demonstrated this. Now, we need to see the same spirit of cooperation and dialogue at COP only days away.
~Naomi Lea
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