Challenge Europe Advocates on the Road to Copenhagen

Five British Council climate advocates from Ireland and Northern Ireland will be in Copenhagen from 7-18 December to make their voices heard, as world leaders gather for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in a bid to reach an international agreement on reducing global gas emissions.

Challenge Europe advocates, together with 200 British Council climate champions from over 40 countries worldwide, will represent part of the wider United Nations Youth Constituency for UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) of over 2000 young people attending Copenhagen. Through the conference, they will be involved in a wide range of activities including interventions at meetings with official delegations and they will also have many opportunities to showcase their projects and solutions to climate change.

Director British Council Ireland, Matt Burney, said: 'It is future generations who will inherit the legacy and full effects of global climate change and that is why the British Council is working to support and empower young people to lead by example and make a real difference at the grassroots level. Copenhagen is an opportunity for our climate advocates to take their message to world leaders and make themselves heard at the top table'.

For more information on British Council activity at COP15 and to find out how to get involved, please visit www.britishcouncil.org/climatechange.

What is Challenge Europe?

In 2008, the British Council launched the European element of its global climate programme; Challenge Europe. The Challenge is a three year campaign that aspires to make a definite and lasting impact on the climate change debate.

In each of 15 countries, 15-20 young influencers, aged 18-35, will work together as 'Climate Advocates' to unearth ways to reduce carbon use or utilise methods already found but not yet properly exploited. Each group offers a broad representation of skills, attitudes and ideas from all walks of life, working across disciplines to seek, gather, develop and then refine scores of ideas to agree just 3 'Challenges'. These challenges, they believe, will have real potential to bring about carbon reductions through changes to law, business practice or human behaviour. The outcome: an annual network of 200+ bold, young influencers working together to develop 40 concrete, tangible ideas.

The groups will pitch their ideas to broader publics, including eminent experts, philanthropists, commercial organisations and entrepreneurs across a range of fields in an effort to make the ideas become reality. They will delve into current knowledge, merge new thinking with old and formulate concepts that will fundamentally change the way we use carbon. Their ideas could address how individuals make a real difference, how businesses put low carbon initiatives into practice - absolutely anything that will change the way we use carbon forever.

Challenge Europe aims to take strides towards addressing the most urgent global challenge we face today; climate change. It offers this generation the opportunity to focus valuable time and invaluable talents to find real answers to address the crisis.

Throughout the programme, the British Council will actively partner with a number of organisations across Europe spanning all sectors; including the corporate, non-governmental, environmental and academic worlds. Through these partnerships, the British Council will support these young Europeans on their quest, offering them access to some of the best minds in Europe through established networks of expert groups and individuals: climate change experts, policy makers, business people, entrepreneurs, environmental groups and centres of excellence. In Ireland and Northern Ireland, Challenge Europe will be delivered in partnership with the Cultivate Centre, Comhar, Business in the Community NI and NI Sustainable Development Commission.

The philosophy of Challenge Europe is simple: to create momentum through collaboration, innovation, energy, drive, passion, understanding and knowledge-sharing.

In 2009, Challenge Europe activity will take place in 15 countries across Europe: Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, UK and Ukraine. For more information, contact Liz McBain, North/South Project Manager, or Beth Edgell, Programmes and Partnerships Manager.