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A Mediterranean COP
Antalya is one of Türkiye's largest coastal cities, sitting where the Taurus Mountains meet the Mediterranean — a working example of the tourism, agriculture, and fishing economies that coastal climate impacts hit first.
COY21: Climate on Every Coast
Before COP31 opens in Antalya, the world's biggest children and youth climate movement will gather for COY21 - three days to organise, negotiate with each other, and finalise the demands that get carried into the room where the formal negotiations happen. This briefing summarises the COY21 landing page prepared for the team, including what is confirmed, what is precedent from COY20, and what is still pending official announcement.
Antalya, Türkiye
Nov 5–7, 2026
Snapshot
The Bar It's Set Higher: Looking Forward
COY20 by the numbers — precedent setting the stage for COY21.
50,000+
Children & Youth Voices Consolidated
100+
Children & Youth Volunteers
500+
On-Site Delegates
50
Sessions Across 3 Days
80+
Countries Represented
What is COY?
Why COY?
COY — sometimes written GCOY, the Global Conference of Children and Youth on Climate Change — is YOUNGO's flagship event, held in the COP host city in the week before negotiations begin. It is co-organised by YOUNGO alongside youth- and children-led organisations from the host country.
The format is deliberately practical: plenaries, skill-building workshops, and working sessions where delegates from national and local youth movements align on shared priorities before they walk into a COP venue where youth have no formal seat at the negotiating table.
Conference Overview
COY21: Climate on Every Coast
The 21st Global conference of Children and Youth (COY21), to be held from November 5-7, 2026, in Antalya, Türkiye, will be a landmark gathering that convenes hundreds of children and youth advocates from across the globe.
As the premier youth-led event preceding COP31, COY21 serves as a vital platform for consultations, workshops, and policy development focused on climate justice, indigenous rights, and youth empowerment.
Key Focus Areas
Climate Justice
Centering equity and fairness in climate solutions and action
Indigenous Rights
Protecting and amplifying Indigenous knowledge and leadership
Youth Empowerment
Building capacity and agency for young climate leaders
Why Antalya, and Why "Every Coast"
COP31 moves to Türkiye's Mediterranean coast, Antalya, in November 2026. COY21 takes its theme from that setting — a reminder that rising seas, coastal erosion, and marine heat don't stop at any one country's shoreline.
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Every Coast, One Statement
The theme frames delegations from island states, river deltas, and inland countries alike as carrying a shared coastline problem — loss and damage, displacement, and adaptation finance that don't respect borders.
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Built With Local Youth
As with every COY, a Turkish and Australian youth-led co-host committee is shaping the local programme, venue, and community partnerships alongside YOUNGO's international organising team.
Our Objective
COY21 will equip attendees with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to be COP-ready, while empowering them to apply what they learn throughout the conference to advance their climate advocacy journey.
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Build youth capacity
Engage effectively in UNFCCC negotiations and COP processes.
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Equip youth with skills
Design, pitch, and refine innovative climate solution projects and proposals.
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Build partnerships
With governments, UN agencies, civil society, academia, and the private sector, needed to move youth-led climate solutions from proposal to implementation.
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Foster cultural exchange
Among young people from diverse regions, identities, and backgrounds as a foundation for collaborative climate action.
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Launch and amplify
The Global Children and Youth Statement 2026 ahead of COP31.
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Ensure inclusive participation
Of youth across regions, genders, cultures, abilities, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
The Road to COY21
No one arrives at COY with a blank page. The statement finalised in Antalya is built from months of local and regional consultations.
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LCOYs
Local Conferences of Youth
National and city-level gatherings held throughout the year, each producing a National Youth Statement grounded in local realities.
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RCOYs
Regional Conferences of Youth
Local statements are consolidated by region, surfacing the priorities that carry across borders before they reach the global stage.
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COY21
The global gathering
Regional priorities are debated, negotiated, and merged in person along with Global Youth Statement over three days in Antalya.
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GYS
The Global Youth Statement
The finalised statement is formally presented to COP31 negotiators — the same mechanism that carried over 30,000 youth voices into COP30.
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COP31
COP31 negotiations
Delegates carry the information, knowledge, training skills & statement's priorities into constituency meetings, side events, and negotiating blocs for the two weeks that follow.
Legacy Continuing from COY20
COY20 didn't just invite children into the room — it built the safeguarding architecture to keep them there. COY21 inherits that architecture as a floor, not a ceiling.
What Changed
Formally expanded its identity to the Global Conference of Children and Youth in Climate Change
COY 20 Established
The first time "children" was written into the name itself
COY 21 Carries Forward
Keeps the expanded identity as the standard, not a one-time gesture tied to Belém
What Changed
Stood up a dedicated Children Engagement Team
COY 20 Established
Supervising guardian protocols and signed parental consent for every under-18 volunteer
COY 21 Carries Forward
Institutionalizes the Children Engagement Team as a standing structure — the model other COYs, RCOYs, and LCOYs can adopt directly
What Changed
Selected and funded child delegates
COY 20 Established
Selected 7 volunteers under 18 and fully funded 2 child delegates to close the access gap
COY 21 Carries Forward
Commits to growing funded child-delegate seats year over year, not resetting to zero each edition
What Changed
Age-appropriate programming
COY 20 Established
Ran age-appropriate sessions and interactive exhibits alongside the main program
COY 21 Carries Forward
Works to connect children's input directly into the Global Youth Statement negotiation track — not parallel programming, but a feeder into the same outcome
What Changed
Strategic partnerships
COY 20 Established
Partnered with UNICEF, ChildFund, Save the Children, Alana, and Belém City Hall
COY 21 Carries Forward
Deepens those same partnerships and added local child-focused organizations from the Antalya/Türkiye host community
Indigenous Leadership
Indigenous Involvement
The previous COYs didn't just widen who was in the room, it built the structures to keep them there. For the first time in twenty editions, the conference formally expanded its identity to the Global Conference of Children and Youth in Climate Change, standing up a dedicated Children Engagement Team that supervised guardian protocols and signed parental consent for every under-18 volunteer, and fully funded two child delegates to close the access gap rather than leaving it to chance.
In parallel, COY20 established the first-ever Indigenous Involvement Team in COY history, mapping Indigenous organizations and leaders and consulting them before the program was built rather than after; work that produced five dedicated sessions on Indigenous issues, three of them delivered in local languages so accessibility wasn't an afterthought. Neither achievement was a one-off gesture: both were infrastructure, built once so it could be reused.
COY21's legacy commitment is to prove that infrastructure travels, carrying the same safeguarding architecture and consultation-first model from the Amazon to the Mediterranean, with a Turkish co-host committee identifying its own child and Indigenous or local communities early enough to shape the program, not just decorate it. Belém proved it was possible. Antalya's job is to prove it's permanent.
Building Permanent Infrastructure
The Organizing Team
The visionaries behind the 21st Conference of Youth — representing the global south, institutional memory, and grassroots resilience.
YOUNGO Focal Points
- Megi MarkuAlbania
COY21 Liaisons
- Saikat DasUnited Kingdom
- Darius Saviour AnkamahGhana/Germany
Logistics & Operations Facilitators
- Alia SherifEgypt/Turkey
- Tuna AkarTurkey
Global Admin Unit
- TBA
- TBA
Finance Team Facilitators
- Mehmet ArmağanTurkey
- Oğuz ErgenTurkey
Communications Team Facilitators
- Marsella ArisoUganda
- Naz Yaman BoyacıTurkey
Children Engagement & Safeguarding Facilitators
- Ayan ValizadaAzerbaijan
- Georgia MonaghanAustralia
Indigenous Involvement Team Facilitators
- Emaan Danish KhanPakistan
- Büşra TütüncüTurkey
Sponsorship Team Facilitators
- Nazya ÜrekTurkey
- Roaa AlobeidSudan/UAE
Program Team Facilitators
- Dr. Anirudh JanagamIndia
- Bianca Lau-GoodchildAustralia
Implementing Organizations
The powerhouse coalitions driving change in Antalya and beyond.
Türkiye
- 1Youth Climate Envoys Platform of Türkiye
- 2Social Climate Association
- 3Esmiyor
- 4Young Energy Association
- 5Habitat Association
Australia
- 1Climate and Health Alliance
- 2ECOMIND
Co-Host Coalition Members
Youth-led organisations from Türkiye and Australia shaping COY21 alongside YOUNGO.
Co-host coalition
Türkiye
- 1Youth for Good
- 2European Youth Energy Network
Co-host coalition
Australia
- 1Climate CATCH Lab
- 2Orygen
- 3Climate Writers
- 4Australian Youth for International Climate Engagement (AYFICE)
- 5Oceania Youth Climate Negotiation Network (OYCNN)
Frequently Asked Questions
Session Submissions
Yes. Organisations and individuals may submit multiple session proposals; however, each proposal should be submitted separately and will be evaluated independently.
Session proposals should be submitted in English to facilitate the review process and coordination with the programme team.
Yes. Session durations will be communicated in the application guidelines. Applicants are encouraged to design their sessions to fit within the allocated time slot.
Please refer to the application form and official call for proposals for the latest submission deadline.
If the form settings permit editing after submission, you will be able to update your response using the link provided in your confirmation email. Otherwise, please contact the organising team for assistance.
Knowledge Partners & Organizations
Youth organisations, civil society organisations, academic institutions, community groups, networks, and other relevant stakeholders with demonstrated expertise and experience in climate-related topics are encouraged to apply.
No. Selection as a Knowledge Partner does not include funding for travel, accommodation, visa costs, or other participation-related expenses unless explicitly stated otherwise.
Yes. Coalition members may submit individual proposals in addition to any joint submissions, provided they meet the eligibility requirements.
All applicants will be informed of the selection results following the review process. Notification timelines will be communicated by the organising team.
Yes. Selected sessions will be featured in the official programme, subject to final scheduling and programme considerations.
Information regarding certificates of participation or contribution will be communicated closer to the event.
A Note on COY21 Details
Venue details, delegate accreditation, and the COY21 programme are still being finalised by YOUNGO and the Turkish host committee. The figures above from COY20 describe last year's edition in Belém, Brazil, not confirmed COY21 numbers. Verify against YOUNGO's official channels before sharing data or figures externally.