Skopje, 12 June 2025 (MIA) - Young people are organizing the country’s first-ever Local Conference of Youth – LCOY North Macedonia 2025 – taking place from 12 to 14 June in Skopje. The conference will bring together youth from across the country to discuss local climate and environmental challenges, share their ideas on national environment priorities, and contribute to the global youth position ahead of the November 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (COP30).

Organized by the youth-led group Kolektiv Z, the Conference is designed as an intensive, hands-on three-day event. It will feature expert presentations on climate processes and policy, interactive workshops on local environmental challenges, and participatory sessions to envision youth-driven approaches for decision-making, UNICEF Office in Skopje said in a press release.

Ankica Sokolić, a co-founder of Kolektiv Z who participated at the COP29 said: “At COP29, I was fascinated by how prepared, informed, and included young people from other regions were in their countries’ climate negotiations. It made me reflect — what are we missing? How can we be more active, like so many other youth around the world? That’s when the idea for organizing the first Local Conference of Youth in North Macedonia was born.”

One of the goals of the Conference is to engage participants in understanding the country’s commitments to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change process so that youth can hold institutions accountable. They will discuss how to establish a mechanism for youth participation in national climate decision-making and ensure youth voices are included in future COP negotiations.

An important outcome of the Conference is the development of a National Youth Statement, contributing to the positions that will be voted on at the Global Conference of Youth and ultimately presented by youth at COP30.

Held annually just days before the UN Climate Change Conference, the Global Conference of Youth gathers young people from around the world to shape and present a unified youth position at the COP negotiations. In the lead-up to the Global Conference of Youth, young people are encouraged to organize Local Conferences of Youth, where they explore national and local environmental issues and contribute to the global youth statement. This is particularly vital for smaller countries like North Macedonia, which often lack formal youth representation at COP.

“UNICEF is proud to support LCOY North Macedonia 2025 as a space where young people can shape the conversation, influence national and global environment decisions, and drive solutions for a more sustainable and equitable world,” said Lesley Miller, UNICEF Representative.

LCOY North Macedonia 2025 is organized by Kolektiv Z, with support from UNICEF and Europe House Skopje, in cooperation with LEAD, CAN Europe, Eko-svest, the Macedonian Young Lawyers Association, the Center for Climate Change, the National Youth Council of Macedonia, and the Macedonian Ecological Society.

Photo: UNICEF