Rio Conventions Pavilion TV, CBD COP11 (17/10/2012) – N. S. Prasad of the Hyderabad chapter of the Indian Youth Climate Network outlines the importance of youth engagement in UN processes and the activities undertaken by his organisation.

Prasad explains that young people comprise nearly 70% of the Indian population and that decisions taken at COP11 will have a far greater impact on this young generation that it will on the generation making the decisions. He believes this makes youth participation at UN conferences imperative.

Prasad explains that IYCN has three main strands to its work: education, grassroots projects and policy. He explains that they work to educate young people on climate change and environmental issues through workshops, training programmes and film screenings; they run grassroots projects undertaking water conservation, aforestation and carbon auditing; and that they work to improve national and international policy, including through attendance at UN conferences.

Prasad describes one of the Hyderabad chapter’s most successful projects, in which more than twenty young people were trained in carbon auditing. They then used these skills in the buildings of companies, schools and colleges, providing recommendations on how to reduce the buildings’ carbon footprints, many of which were taken up by the audited institutions.