In June 2021, Kyrgyzstan hosted the First Local Conference of Youth (LCOY), which consists of a series of three events in different regions of the country. The youth conference on climate change was held in the country and the region of Central Asia for the first time and was organized by the public association "Students of Kyrgyzstan for a Green Economy" (SKGE) together with representatives of other youth organizations and university students in the country. The event became a reality with strong support from the “Policy Action for Climate Security in Central Asia” project, implemented by UNDP  in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan with the support of UK Aid. The conference is officially supported by the youth corps of the UNFCCC - YOUNGO.

Objectives of LCOY Kyrgyzstan 2021: Raise awareness of youth on climate issues.

At the conference, participants will learn about the global climate crisis, the causes and their consequences, in particular for Kyrgyzstan; get acquainted with the global negotiating processes on climate, with an emphasis on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (hereinafter, the UNFCCC), the Paris Agreement, the upcoming 26th Conference of the Parties in Glasgow, Great Britain; about one of the extremely topical and relatively new topics for our region - the topic of climate security. One of the most exciting parts of the event is a simulation game - a model of the Conference of the Parties (COP), where participants will have the opportunity to dive deeper into the topic and develop their own vision of preventing the climate and environmental crisis in the country and the world, which will be issued in a communiqué from the youth of Kyrgyzstan , and further reported to the 16th UN Youth Conference on Climate Change - COY16. And most importantly, the participants - the youth of Kyrgyzstan will have the opportunity to learn about how they can get involved in climate action today. The event will be organized in a very lively, creative and interactive format between immersion in serious topics, and at the end of a busy day, the "Dance of Nature" invented by young people awaits everyone.

The mission of LCOY Kyrgyzstan 2021 is to empower the youth of Kyrgyzstan to become local, regional and global climate activists through capacity building, networking, and exchange of ideas and knowledge for more effective climate solutions and actions.

It is important to note that thanks to this event, a network of youth leaders in Kyrgyzstan is being created, who will become part of the international youth climate movement. LCOY Kyrgyzstan 2021 enables youth to understand and learn more about the interconnection between domestic and global climate issues, as well as the importance of joint local, national and global efforts.

For the best coverage and involvement of youth representatives from different parts of the country, the organizers of the event planned to hold it in 3 cities of Kyrgyzstan: Osh, Karakol and Bishkek, as well as to involve young people from these parts of the country not only as participants, but also as part of organizing team and volunteers.

The uniqueness of the LCOY Kyrgyzstan 2021 conference is that it has become a real equal platform for a wide variety of young people. Following the spiritual and moral development of harmonious individuals, regardless of gender, race and religion, and following the principle of equal access to voice expression and involvement in action for the climate of absolutely everyone, our event was attended by: an equal number of girls and boys, representatives of youth with physical disabilities, representatives of SOS Children's Village, young professionals, SDG ambassadors, and many other youth representatives.

In total, more than 700 people from all regions of the country registered for the events; more than 200 participants from 4 regions of Kyrgyzstan (Osh, Jalal-Abad, Batken, Issyk-Kul) took an active part in the cities of Osh and Karakol.

The third and final event in the series of LCOY conferences, which will be held in August in Bishkek, will bring together youth from Talas, Naryn and Chui regions, and moreover, the most active participants from all regions of the country will come to it from previous events. LCOY.

For the LCOY Kyrgyzstan 2021, the organizers received official support from the corps of youth organizations under the UNFCCC - YOUNGO. The event is extremely relevant in the context of countries' preparations for the upcoming 26th Conference of the Parties (COP-26), which will be held in Glasgow, UK on November 1-12, 2021, as well as the largest global youth conference on climate change - the 16th Youth Conference UN Climate Change (COY16), which will also be held in Glasgow.

What are the main expected results?

- About 500+ youth representatives from Kyrgyzstan will learn about climate change, global negotiation processes (UNFCCC, Paris Agreement, COP26, COY16), climate security, opportunities for youth to participate in any part of the local and global climate movement - offline. More through our social media posts and Zoom / YouTube / facebook online broadcasts - online.

- A youth communiqué will be prepared / a statement on climate change from Kyrgyzstan will be sent to COY16 (UN global youth conference on climate change or global COY), where a global youth statement on climate will be prepared and submitted to COP26. COY16 will take place in the last week before COP 26 and also in Glasgow.

Event level:

The event is officially endorsed by YOUNGO / UNFCCC.

The event became a reality with the great support of the project "Political Action for Climate Security in Central Asia", with the financial support of the British Government and implemented by UNDP in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the public association "Students of Kyrgyzstan for a Green Economy" (CGE) together with a large team from representatives of other youth and environmental organizations and university students in the country. Thus, LCOY Kyrgyzstan 2021 is a truly youth-for-youth event.

About LCOY principles:

The event was built on the 10 principles of the LCOY event, developed by the LCOY working group at YOUNGO - the official corps of youth organizations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which are taken into account in all parts of the event.

10 principles of LCOY events:

1. Building capacity and strengthening the role of youth

2. Inclusiveness

3. Preparing for UN processes

4. Prepared by youth for youth

5. In a spirit of cooperation

6. Transparency

7. Sustainability

8. Community building

9. Global action

10. Creativity

A special pride and driving force behind this event is the team itself for the preparation and holding of the LCOY event in Kyrgyzstan. The team is represented by real youth leaders - climate and environmental activists of the country, representatives of young people of different ages, from various fields, universities and youth organizations. The core team is also supported by a group of volunteers. The team consists of more than 20 people, each of whom has his own areas of involvement. The process of building such a team is based around 3 components of LCOY events: 1) capacity building, 2) network building, 3) policy building - in order to empower youth to take measures to combat climate change at local, national and regional levels.