ForumCiv young climate champion selection criteria for COP31

1. Purpose of the selection

ForumCiv seeks to nominate a young climate champion who can meaningfully represent youth voices, community realities, and climate justice priorities at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye. The selected participant should be able to engage in advocacy, policy dialogue, media engagement, side events, youth mobilization, and post-COP knowledge sharing.

The selection will prioritize young people who demonstrate climate justice leadership, strong communication ability, commitment to collective action, and clear alignment with ForumCiv values of democracy, human rights, inclusion, gender equality, and environmental justice.

2. Mandatory eligibility criteria

Applicants must meet all the following minimum requirements:

1. Age and inclusion

Applicants must:

• Be between 18 and 30 years old at the time of COP31. 
• Include young people from all gender groups.  
• Encourage applications from young people living with disabilities, marginalized communities, Indigenous/local communities, refugees, rural youth, and climate-affected communities.  

2. Travel readiness

Applicants must:

• Have a valid passport or valid travel document.  
• Be able to get their own COP31 Accreditation.
• Be eligible and willing to travel to Antalya, Türkiye for COP31.
• Be available to attend COP31 in person from 9–20 November 2026, including reasonable travel days before and after the conference.
• Be willing to comply with visa, health, insurance, security, and travel requirements.

3. Climate Justice commitment

Applicants must:

• Demonstrate strong interest, knowledge, and experience in climate change, climate justice, or environmental sustainability.  
• Show a clear understanding of how climate change affects young people, women, marginalized communities, and vulnerable groups.  
• Demonstrate commitment to community-based climate action.  

4. ForumCiv/Partner engagement

Applicants should preferably:

• Be an alumnus or active participant of the ForumCiv activities or programs.  
• Have participated, or commit to participate, in the Africa Climate CSOs Pre-COP31 and Post-COP31 or similar climate mobilizations.  
• Be connected to youth climate organizing, civil society networks, community action, or advocacy platforms.  

5. Advocacy and leadership experience

Applicants must:

• Have demonstrated experience in advocacy, campaigning, leadership, community mobilization, policy engagement, or environmental activism.  
• Show evidence of leading or meaningfully participating in climate-related projects, campaigns, actions, or initiatives.  

6. Communication capacity

Applicants must:

• Be able to communicate climate-related ideas clearly to diverse audiences.  
• Be comfortable speaking in public, contributing to side events, engaging with media, or using digital platforms.  
• Have working proficiency in English. Strong public speaking, writing, storytelling, and digital communication skills will be considered an asset.  

7. Availability and commitment

Applicants must:

• Be available for pre-COP preparation sessions.  
• Fully participate in COP31 activities.  
• Commit to post-COP dissemination, reporting, reflection, media engagement, or community feedback activities organized by ForumCiv and partners.  

3. Recommended scoring matrix

Total score: 100 points 

Minimum recommended pass mark: 70/100 
Strong candidate threshold: 80/100 and above 

4. Suggested interview assessment criteria

For shortlisted applicants, ForumCiv will conduct a short interview scored out of 30 points. 

5. Diversity and inclusion considerations

To ensure a fair and values-based process, the final selection will consider:

• Gender balance.  
• Inclusion of young people living with disabilities.  
• Representation of marginalized and climate-affected communities.  
• Geographic diversity.  
• Youth from rural, informal settlement, refugee, Indigenous, or frontline communities.  
• Applicants with lived experience of climate impacts.  
• Balance between technical knowledge and grassroots organizing experience.  

A candidate will not be excluded only because they lack formal policy experience, especially if they bring strong lived experience, community leadership, or grassroots climate justice work.