The Arab Youth Centre, in cooperation with the European Union Delegation to the UAE, announced the opening of applications to join the “Skills Bootcamp for Non-Experts” (SBNE). This initiative is created to help Arab youth enhance their skills in the art of professional negotiation, with a focus on climate change and sustainability ahead of COP28 in Dubai this year. The camp will be hosted at the Arab Youth Centre headquarters in Abu Dhabi from 30th May to 1st June and will include more than 30 participants. The camp comes under the umbrella of the “Young Arab Diplomatic Leaders” programme, which enables Arab youth leadership in diplomacy and strives to hone Arab youth skills in professional negotiation. It qualifies these individuals to gain experience and knowledge that facilitate active participation in international discussions and negotiations. SBNE additionally seeks to highlight and represent the Arab community in the field of climate change. Andrea Matteo Fontana, Ambassador of the European Union to the UAE, said, “We are pleased to partner with the Arab Youth Centre on this initiative to upskill Arab youth in professional negotiation and empower them to participate actively in international discussions, especially in the field of climate change. The “Skills Bootcamp for Non-Experts” initiative contributes to the UAE objective of ensuring that young people’s perspectives are at the heart of global policymaking on climate change and aligns with the EU’s aims to empower youth and foster people-to-people relations with the Gulf.” Haya Aseer, Project Manager of the Arab Youth Diplomatic Leaders Programme, said, “By engaging the Arab youth population, our camp seeks to build necessary skill sets ahead of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), hosted by the UAE from 30th November to 12th December, 2023. The camp directly benefits from the vision adopted by COP28 to empower Arab youth and amplify their participation in issues of common humanitarian concern by building their capacities in policies and negotiations, specifically about climate change – the theme of the conference.” The camp incorporates training and educational workshops implemented by reputable institutions with a proven track record in the field. Additionally, the camp conducts an interactive simulation of negotiations enabling young participants to apply their new knowledge and experience gained during training. Participation requires that the applicant be a young Arab between the ages of 18 and 35 years and have a keen interest or achievements in addressing the challenge of climate change. Those interested may register by visiting the Arab Youth Centre’s official social media platforms and digital channels. The objectives of the bootcamp include raising awareness of climate change issues and the importance of evolving climate action across the board. This includes increasing interest in annual COP conferences and raising awareness about the role of individuals, civil society, and economic and political actors in supporting climate action. Through highly informative interactive simulation activities, young participants will acquire advanced skills and knowledge of negotiation, pluralism and coalition-building techniques. Hazem Hussein

Source: Emirates News Agency