The School in numbers
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EDITIONS
2024 (COP29) and 2026 (COP31)
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REGISTRATIONS IN 2024
and 118 applications in 2026
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CERTIFIED GRADUATES
31 in 2024 and 30 in 2026
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YOUTH STATEMENTS ON NATIONAL CLIMATE PLANS (NDCs)
one for each EaP country
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ALUMNI AT COPs
1 at COP29 in Baku and 3 going to COP31 in Antalya
2024 edition: NDCs and COP29
From June to November 2024, the School trained young people from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, as well as Central Asia, in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), climate negotiations and COP participation. The programme included eight interactive online workshops of 90 minutes each, recorded and available in the workshop playlist, and two in-depth NDC trainings (recordings).
Participants prepared six youth statements on national NDCs, one for each EaP country. To receive a certificate, they completed at least four webinars and two home assignments: 31 young people did. One of them, Mariam Kvaratskhelia from Georgia, won support to attend the first week of COP29 in Baku in person.
“I took one very good piece of advice about attending COP: set yourself a personal objective about what you want to achieve at COP. I set myself the objective of learning more about the COP structures and decision-making processes. This was tough but, having attended many sessions and meeting many different delegates, I think I achieved it. This learning has been very useful for my work at REC and I hope will help me participate effectively in COP30.”
Mariam Kvaratskhelia, climate policy specialist from Georgia, 2024 School graduate
2026 edition: preparing for COP31
Between May and September 2026, the School prepared young activists from the EECCA region for COP31, which takes place in Antalya, Türkiye, on 9–20 November 2026. It delivered six live webinars:
- Multilateralism and the Rio Conventions — Iryna Ponedelnik, CAN EECCA Coordinator
- Negotiation tracks — Anisa Abibuloeva, Project Coordinator, Little Earth, Tajikistan
- False solutions — Hanna Skryhan
- Energy transition and systems — Vlad Kaim, energy and climate expert from Moldova, former member of the UN Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change
- Introduction to the CBD COP17 negotiation tracks and youth participation — Alla Aleksanyan, Senior Consultant for UN CBD COP17 at WWF
- Youth Insights: a talk with young leaders who have attended COPs — Mariam Kvaratskhelia (Georgia), Shahnoza Rakhmanova, Manager of the International Affairs and Secretariat of the Youth Climate Actions Network, Youth Affairs Agency (Uzbekistan), and Alexandra Musina, International Climate Law Specialist (Kazakhstan)
The School received 118 applications from the EECCA region, 60 of them from EaP countries and 58 from other countries, mostly in Central Asia. 30 young people were certified, 16 of them from EaP countries. Three participants (one from Belarus and two from Georgia) will attend COP31 in Antalya: one is supported through this project and two through another donor.
Learn at your own pace
All School materials are open on the School’s learning platform in Notion: recorded lectures, reading materials, home assignments and practical advocacy exercises. Learners who complete the course can receive a certificate. New certificates are issued every month until the end of December 2027, so young activists can join at any time.