GLOBAL YOUTH CLIMATE TRAINING

The Global Youth Climate Training Programme (GYCT) is a free, fully online capacity development programme that equips people aged 16-35 with the knowledge and confidence necessary to engage in international climate policy. Young people are increasingly being given a seat at the table in domestic and international climate policy, and therefore require appropriate capacity development to ensure their interventions are cogent and relevant.

This project is a collaboration between the Global Youth Coalition (GYC), a coalition of climate youth changemakers, and researchers at the University of Oxford (Oxford Net Zero, Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment). The joint team delivering this project represents a strong international and intergenerational collaboration, spanning multiple continents, professional background and ages. We received 20,000 applications across our 2023 and 2024 cohorts, demonstrating greater need for effective youth capacity development programmes.

2025 Programme

With the generous support of the ClimateWorks Foundation, we are running our third iteration of the programme from 21st May to 16th July. This includes preparation for the June UNFCCC conference in Bonn, where participants can apply their newly-learned skills and work collaboratively with other participants to prepare position papers. There is one session prior to COP30 on 4^th November, preparing the cohort for anticipated opportunities and outcomes of the conference.

Last year, our programme centred on the integrity and ambition of non-state climate action. This year, the programme focuses on understanding how international climate policy evolves, is challenged by, and has new opportunities emerge within a changing global geopolitical landscape. Alongside lecture style sessions with expert speakers, participants will be able to access interactive peer-learning sessions and practice advocacy skills through assignments.

The programme brochure for this year includes details such as the schedule, focus of this year’s course, and applicant criteria. It can be found here as a PDF and here as a Word version (if using a text-to-voice reader).

Applications for the 2025 programme are now OPEN (link here) and close on March 24th. We will assess all applications after this date, so take your time with your application – no extra points for submitting early! 

You will hear back about your application after April 21st. You should not expect communications from our team until this date. Communications to individual team members regarding the outcome of your application will not be answered.

You can expect an update on your application status after April 21st from youthclimatetraining@gmail.com. We use a software to help us with our mailing list, which sometimes ends up in spam folders, so please check your spam after and around April 21st.

Applicant Profile

• Age: 16-35
• Demonstrated experience in climate activism (e.g., campaigns, projects, community engagement).
• Some knowledge of the UNFCCC process and recent COP outcomes
• Demonstrated ability and experience in advocating effectively for change (e.g., communication, persuasion, collaboration).
• Strong passion for climate action and a desire to make a difference.
• Preference for applicants representing diverse regions and groups most impacted by climate change.

Key dates

• February 27: Applications open.
• March 24th: Applications close. We will assess all applications after this date, so take your time with your application – no extra points for submitting early! NOTE EXTENSION FROM PREVIOUS DEADLINE OF MARCH 21st.
• April 21st: All applicants informed of the outcome of their application & preparatory materials released for participants, including optional pre-readings.
• May 21st: Course start date.
• July 16th: Course end date.
• November 4: Pre-COP 30 reunion session

Our Programme History 

This programme was launched May 2023 to provide greater clarity on the negotiation tracks of the UNFCCC ahead of COP28. It brought together leading experts and young climate professionals and covered topics such as Climate Finance, Loss & Damage, Adaptation & Resilience and more. We have received more than 20,000 applications since the programme opened in 2023. As of February 2025, there have been 70,000 views of our recorded sessions from 2023 and 2024.

Alexis McGivern, Oxford Net Zero Fellow, created and led the programme alongside several youth activists from the Global Youth Coalition, leveraging the University of Oxford’s wide network of climate experts. 

The 2023 curriculum was built by consulting 180 young climate justice activists who gave their input on their training needs. In 2023, we educated 4,500 activists under the age of 35 spreading over 177 countries, with 64% identifying as from Most Affected People and Areas (MAPA).

Our 2024 programme focused more on community creation and therefore we only accepted 285 participants, of which 79% identified as MAPA and representing 135 countries. 

This youth training is trial of radical open-access and inclusion, with all of the recordings published to YouTube, making it a completely free course for participants.  We also partnered with EcoInterpreters to offer the course in six languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic.

Several Oxford Net Zero researchers taught on the 2023 and 2024 programmes (including Dr. Myles Allen, Dr. Tom Hale, Camilla Hyslop), alongside researchers and practitioners from around the world. The programme was intentionally crafted to prioritise expert Global South voices on climate issues. Each session began with a testimonial by a youth speaker, followed by a technical lecture by relevant global climate experts.

We have received wide recognition for our course, including being used as an example of best practice by the UN Youth Climate Champions team and winning the University of Oxford’s Vice Chancellor’s Awards for Environmental Sustainability.

TESTIMONIALS FROM PAST PARTICIPANTS

“The training I received through Global Youth Climate has been a transformative experience in my life. It has not only equipped me with valuable knowledge and skills but has also given me the confidence and motivation to contribute meaningfully to the global efforts in addressing climate change. As a refugee, this opportunity has been a ray of hope, a chance to grow, and a reminder that even in the face of adversity, there are organizations like yours that value the participation of most marginalized people like me.” – Byaombe Lumona

“Honestly I have no words to express what I have learned with the opportunity to attend this training. My views on different aspects and levels surrounding climate change have expanded enormously and this has been shaping the local projects I have been working towards. Thank you so much! – Marilynn Holguín Clover

 “One of the greatest things that happened to me this year was being part of this group. Love it here…thank you for such an informative learning session!”- Nhlanhla Sibanda

 “Thank you a lot for arranging such lectures! Sometimes the global agenda and negotiations in climate change seem to be so far from me, some days I doubt my abilities to make a valuable contribution and enter the discussions of the international cooperations and institutes, but thanks to the organisers and the smart and young speakers I see than anything is possible, and this atmosphere inspires me to keep pushing forward towards a more resilient and sustainable world.” – Linara Khadimullina

 “Three cheers! To the Global Youth Training Team and Oxford Net Zero team. I loved all the sessions. One of the finest youth training I have come across. The content is just great and brilliantly curated! I do hope to see more such training sessions with more specialised topics! Thank you once again!”- Shaurya Patel