Victoria: So, we do have closed captions,
Victoria: We… once we get the… the external link, we will post that in the chat.
Victoria: When you speak, could you please, identify yourself?
Victoria: Could you also describe any images or slides? And please mute your audio when not speaking.
Victoria: Many thanks, and passing over to you, Kutzai.
Kudzai Sharon: Thank you so much, Victoria. My name is Kudzai Sharon Kandemiri. I'm from Zimbabwe.
Kudzai Sharon: I'm a biotechnologist, climate change advocate, and also an advocate for STEM education, advocating for representation of people with disabilities in the spaces.
Kudzai Sharon: So, welcome everyone, and thank you so much for joining this webinar.
Kudzai Sharon: So, just to give a brief background of, what this webinar is about…
Kudzai Sharon: So, it's… we're focusing on youth with disabilities at the front line.
Kudzai Sharon: Of climate action, from grassroots to global negotiations.
Kudzai Sharon: So youth with disabilities… On the front lines of climate impacts.
Kudzai Sharon: Yet too often remain absent from climate leadership spaces.
Kudzai Sharon: Climate change profoundly shapes daily life, health, mobility, education, and long-term well-being, but agents and immediate needs are often prioritized in ways that push climate engagement to the margins.
Kudzai Sharon: At the same time, organizations and allies committed to inclusion often lack the tools, training, resources needed to meaningfully support leadership by the youths with disabilities. So, in this webinar, we are aiming to bridge these gaps
Kudzai Sharon: by raising awareness and amplifying the lived experiences and strengthening the collective capacity to build truly effective and just climate action leadership. So, this webinar comprises of two parts.
Kudzai Sharon: The first part, we will hear the testimonies from leaders about their grassroots experiences.
Kudzai Sharon: Then we will open an interactive collective dialogue where our guest speakers, as well as the audience, will be able to give their contributions.
Kudzai Sharon: So, these discussions aim to provide valuable insights and contributions to the elaboration of a youth policy paper in 2026,
Kudzai Sharon: So this work is supported by the European Disability Forum.
Kudzai Sharon: the Disability Rights Fund, and the Youth Negotiators Academy. So, I would like to welcome my fellow youth advocates. We have Dipika Lama.
Kudzai Sharon: She's from the National Indigenous Disabled Women's Association from Nepal. We have Beia Temango, Kiribati Association of People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired. We also have, Elena Ratoi from Moldova.
Kudzai Sharon: who is a representative on the Women's Committee of the European Disability Forum and the Disability Caucus. So, thank you, everyone, for joining us today.
Kudzai Sharon: So, I think I'll start by, asking, Dipika.
Kudzai Sharon: who is a young Indigenous woman with a disability in Nepal. Like, Dipika, why is it important for you to be engaged in climate action? And, what kind of challenges
Kudzai Sharon: or barriers have you faced to become involved in your community, but also, that you have faced at regional and global, levels. Over to you, Dipika.
Dipika Lama: Thank you so much for this opportunity, first, and Indigenous greetings to everyone present in this webinar. Thank you so much, DRF, and all of our participants for being here and giving us our time to share this platform.
Dipika Lama: I'm Dipika Lama from Madesh Province of Nepal.
Dipika Lama: And as a young Indigenous woman with disability, I have been engaged in a discussion of climate change since four years, and this climate change is not just an environment issue for us.
Dipika Lama: It is a matter of, like, survival.
Dipika Lama: justice, visibility, and recognition of our contribution for our protection of natural resources as an indigenous people, and also as an person with disability which is vulnerable to climate change. So, indigenous person with disability and women with disability.
Dipika Lama: Like me, live at the front lines.
Dipika Lama: As we are often the most vulnerable, yet the least visible in the community in the time of the disaster we face, and the impacts we face of climate change. Our communities live close to forest.
Dipika Lama: rivers and, biodiversity-rich areas, because Indigenous people, have a, deep relation with natural resources that, which says that, within, the 6% of
Dipika Lama: world population of indigenous people, protects the more than 80% of biodiversity of world. So that means that flood, drought, and other climate hazards do not just threaten our livelihoods, or there doesn't,
Dipika Lama: threat our existence, they threaten our way of living, our identity, and our culture, according to our, knowledge. That threatens our knowledge as well. So, recent research by, W,
Dipika Lama: FP Nepal, in collaboration of Need One, highlights that this stark reality is so dark that 8% of indigenous households lack land certificates, and only 1.1% have access to forests for customary food practices.
Dipika Lama: So it shows that for indigenous persons with disabilities, especially women, the situation is not just, ad-served, you know? Like, 80% lack land certificates, and only 1% have access to forest. This, I mean, shows the deep relationship with poverty, which limits our access to public services.
Dipika Lama: Land certificates, certifications, and even small loans that government provides us.
Dipika Lama: So, at the same time, food security is widespread, about 72% of household change, cooking practices, 32% rely on culturally significant foods, and 26% reduce daily meals, which limits us to, poor agricultural production.
Dipika Lama: Unstable livelihoods, low irrigation, and rising food prices.
Dipika Lama: further increase our vulnerability at the time of inflation and economic, crisis. It increases our, the vulnerability, compounding all of the barriers that we face as a person with disability, as a woman, and a person who is from Nepal, who have the reaching diversity and lives near the
Dipika Lama: Forest and the natural resources, especially when
Dipika Lama: combined with, climate shocks like floods, drought, which affect almost all of our household. So, studies has always, studies have always shown this again and again, that climate change affects.
Dipika Lama: Indigenous person with disabilities, especially women's.
Dipika Lama: In a compounded way, yet less than 30% of our community even has awareness about climate change, access to resources like forests, biodiversity, land is almost non-existent to us, those who are indigenous person with disabilities.
Dipika Lama: And at the same time, this is how our engagement is not optional, you know? So it is a matter of survival, justice, visibility, without our voices, without our representation there. Our presence there, policies are incomplete.
Dipika Lama: And the policies still exist without our voice.
Dipika Lama: And decisions has always been taken, and the decisions are continued to implement without our voices addressed there, and that harms us, already as a most marginalized in terms while having the discussion of climate change.
Dipika Lama: for Indigenous women with disabilities, these challenges are even more severe.
Dipika Lama: Exclusion from land rights, inaccessible infrastructure, and limited participation in decision-making still continue to depend our inequality.
Dipika Lama: and restrict resilience towards climate change impacts, you know? So, this is all the reason that I have, engaged in these climate action discussions from grassroots to global label. I have engaged in
Dipika Lama: in, last COP30 spaces, where we talked about, Disability Caucus. We have contributed, as an Indigenous person with disabilities, women with disabilities, since 10 years, NIDWAN has always been, talking about Disability Caucus, formally to be introduced in UNFCCC mechanisms. So, this, this is how we have been, talking the spaces we, globally
Dipika Lama: we talk, we lack our representation there. That's why our importance of engaging in the climate action is so, vital for us. This is what I say.
Dipika Lama: Thank you so much for this question.
Kudzai Sharon: Oh, thank you so much, Dipika. Thank you so much for the wonderful insights. I really loved when you talked about, being the least, visible. While this will be being the ones that are being affected more.
Kudzai Sharon: So, yeah, let's just hear what our next, speaker has to say. Thank you so much for your insight. So, right now, we move on to Elena.
Kudzai Sharon: Elena…
Kudzai Sharon: Based on your experiences, I am just curious to just to hear from you, what strategies and practices have helped lift up the voices of young people with disabilities in your own context.
Kudzai Sharon: Yeah, maybe you could share on that.
Kudzai Sharon: What strategies and practices that have helped lift up your voices of young people with disabilities in your own context?
Kudzai Sharon: Over to you, Elena.
Elena Ratoi: Thank you. Thank you so much, and thank you so much for having me during this event. First of all, I want to start with sharing a story which happened in my country recently.
Elena Ratoi: So, as it has been said before, I come from the Republic of Moldova, which is a country bordering with Ukraine.
Elena Ratoi: And as a result of ongoing war in Ukraine, we also experience its consequences, including environmental ones. At the beginning of March, Moldova faced one of the most serious environmental crises in the last 40 years.
Elena Ratoi: Following a bombing near our border, an energy facility in Ukraine was damaged.
Elena Ratoi: This caused a massive leakage of transformer oil and other petroleum substances into the Nistru River, which is the main source of drinking water for our country. As a result, four districts in Moldova were temporarily disconnected from the water supply.
Elena Ratoi: People had to rely on alternative sources, such as bottled water welds.
Elena Ratoi: Now, imagine the situation of persons with disabilities living in these localities, in these districts, because even if authorities interfered to support the affected population.
Elena Ratoi: The specific needs of persons with disabilities were not taken into account when they designed this response.
Elena Ratoi: For persons with disabilities.
Elena Ratoi: It is not easily at all, and for some of them, it's almost impossible to leave their homes
Elena Ratoi: to carry heavy bottles of water a couple of times per day, or even to go to a well and to take water from the well. In such situations, access to something as basic as water becomes a major barrier.
Elena Ratoi: This is not just about emergency response. This is also about the right to independent living.
Elena Ratoi: Because when systems are not inclusive, persons with disabilities lose their ability to live independently.
Elena Ratoi: make choice and meet their basic needs with dignity. Young persons with disabilities, including young women with disabilities.
Elena Ratoi: are mostly excluded from the decision-making process in relation to climate change. So, related to the strategy which were implemented in Moldova, I wanted to share a couple of them.
Elena Ratoi: A few things are really important and really helpful to make the voices of young persons with disabilities, including women with disabilities.
Elena Ratoi: to be heard in the climate action. First of all, it starts with awareness, because many young persons with disabilities, they do not… do not always see how climate change connects their own lives or impacts their own lives. That's why it is very important to explain, to provide information in an accessible
Elena Ratoi: To explain practically, for example, how it affects
Elena Ratoi: Access to water, energy, mobility, or what happens in times of crisis if persons with disabilities are not included in the process of developing a response to the climate change.
Elena Ratoi: And usually, this is the moment when people start to engage, when they understand the real impact of the situation on their own life.
Elena Ratoi: The second, it is important to identify those young people who are motivated and ready to get involved. In every group, there are few who want to speak up, who want to lead.
Elena Ratoi: And once you find them, you really need to support them, through mentoring, giving them the opportunities to speak, and help them to build their own confidence.
Elena Ratoi: And third, but not the least one, is to connect young persons with disabilities to the broader climate space, because very often, disability and climate discussions happen separately. So, it's really about opening the doors
Elena Ratoi: I mean, to make sure that young persons with disabilities are present in the climate discussions, in events, in decision-making space. Because at the end of the day, they have the perspectives and the solutions they really… and that's why they need to be really heard. Thank you.
Kudzai Sharon: Oh, thank you so much, Elena. Thank you so much for the wonderful insights. You know, when you just shared, when you mentioned about, like, young people, they have to be these young people with disabilities, they need to be, connected, to broader spaces.
Kudzai Sharon: Like, spaces like,
Kudzai Sharon: the international… the international, climate change conferences, it kind of just resonated with me, because, you know, last year I had an opportunity to attend, and, you know, just being in those negotiation rooms, it… it just made me realize that,
Kudzai Sharon: There's need to have more representation in those negotiations, in those negotiation spaces, because decisions are being made
Kudzai Sharon: for us, and we are not even part of, those, negotiations, they are coming up with,
Kudzai Sharon: ways to mitigate, climate change, the adaptation measures, the mitigation measures. Sometimes they will come with measures that are not, inclusive for everyone. So…
Kudzai Sharon: Oh, yeah, thank you so much for sharing that wonderful point. So, right now, I would like to come… I would like to come back to…
Kudzai Sharon: to Dipika again, to just, ask again, what are other effective strategies,
Kudzai Sharon: that you think, enable leadership of young people with disabilities and the values that guide this work across the movements, including the Indigenous and climate justice movements.
Kudzai Sharon: Over to you, Dipika.
Kudzai Sharon: Dipika, can you hear me?
Kudzai Sharon: It's alright.
Dipika Lama: I'm really sorry.
Dipika Lama: Yeah, I'm back. I'm sorry, I couldn't unmute myself that time.
Kudzai Sharon: Is that right? But did you… Get the question?
Dipika Lama: Can you repeat the question again? I'm sorry.
Kudzai Sharon: It's all right. So I just asked, like, what are effective strategies, that you think can enable the leadership of young people with disabilities, and maybe you could share some values that guide the work across movements, including the Indigenous and climate justice movements.
Dipika Lama: Mmm, for… us, like, for Indigenous person with disabilities, especially.
Dipika Lama: As a young Indigenous youth with disability, leadership for us is not just about being present and just being voice for us. It's like being recognized.
Dipika Lama: heard, and being able to influence the decisions regarding to address our issues in the climate discussions. We, if we talk about our leadership.
Dipika Lama: Why is it… why… what are the status? We need to understand what we face
Dipika Lama: as a challenge in climate discussions. We face, structural barrier. When our identity as indigenous person with disabilities, we identify and, like, we present ourselves as an indigenous person with disability in the discussions or the roundtable.
Dipika Lama: Then, we, we, our identities.
Dipika Lama: The intersectional identity are not recognized.
Dipika Lama: And where policies are also, not, made in intersectional approach that leaves our issues behind in the climate discussions.
Dipika Lama: And that doesn't address our… our challenges that we face. And also, as a person with disabilities, who lives with the different identities, that… intersectional identities, so whenever there… when we engage in different, different mo… mainstream movements, like.
Dipika Lama: Indigenous movement, women's movement, youth movement, disability movement. There, we face, challenges,
Dipika Lama: as an… the accessibility challenge is still there as a barrier, which is never addressed as a priority, as I exist there, or we exist there. So, also in terms of Indigenous, we also face, language barrier in every spaces, because this language barrier becomes… always has been
Dipika Lama: a barrier and challenges to be there in the round table. Even though I am physically there, I have never been participated without our accessibility in terms of language.
Dipika Lama: So, these women don't really understand and recognize our challenges, who lives with the multiple identities.
Dipika Lama: And whenever we are there in the discussion, we are always left with our multiple barriers that we face.
Dipika Lama: And we must also name ourselves clearly that we always have been recognizing ourselves as an Indigenous person with disabilities. Often, when people say person with disabilities, they mean everyone except us.
Dipika Lama: Because, as an Indigenous person, Indigenous person with disabilities, each and every, identity, indigenous person with disability and women, affects us equally, for one individual. So.
Dipika Lama: often we face the invisible matters for our identity, for our knowledge, for our culture, which is never recognized and should be recognized. So, our strategy would be that our identity
Dipika Lama: Should be recognized, should be an intersectional approach that adopts our, approach to… that gives the lens to see our challenges.
Dipika Lama: In terms of intersexual identity, and addresses our issues that have
Dipika Lama: have the multiple barriers and addresses the, issues of, identity, knowledge, and culture, which is to be recognized in the climate discussions. So, secondly, we need meaningful spaces to participate, in the climate discussion. The climate discussion should be in, should be, organized
Dipika Lama: keeping us in the, in the prioritization that we will also be there. So, our meaningful representation is must for the discussion. So, the…
Dipika Lama: the spaces has to be, organized, keeping ourselves in the mind that we also exist there, so we can influence the decisions being made on the climate discussion. So, also, our…
Dipika Lama: strategy would be, like, even though climate, finance, loss and damage, theme, adaptation programs exist there in global level and also regional and in country level, Indigenous person with disability often cannot access them.
Dipika Lama: A direct allocation, or it's critical to, implement the solutions and build resilience.
Dipika Lama: When it's… when there is limited resources and funding. So, we must reach as an… to reach
Dipika Lama: those resources. We also have to also… we also have to make those kind of mechanisms,
Beia Temango: To everyone, I am a client.
Dipika Lama: That would be…
Beia Temango: environmental specialist from the Democratic Republic of Congo, advocating for the effective implementation of loss and damage.
Dipika Lama: Sorry. So, that would be our third strategy, and the fourth would be, we need to, we, we need to, we will, advocate for, we have always been advocating for intersectional and evidence-based approaches for.
Dipika Lama: For each and every spaces that we talk and have to be, represented. So, that would be our…
Dipika Lama: fourth strategy, where, desegregated data, indigenous identity, disability, gender, intersectional identities will be, our experience and evidence, as well as.
Dipika Lama: Where we will, we will show the solidarity in cross-moment collaboration is also, another, strategy that we have always been implementing, that cross-moment collaboration has always been powerful for us, where, climate discussions.
Dipika Lama: where climate discussion is being, being there. Disability rights, indigenous rights, and climate justice movements has always worked with us to give solidarity, so that's the, another, strategy that we have been making. And, another strategy that we have been making is, like, our,
Dipika Lama: When… whatever, project we work and we propose, to our, moments, and we…
Dipika Lama: we have always, engaged our, leaders who are indigenous, women with disabilities, Indigenous youth with disabilities, their leadership, their engagement in
Dipika Lama: Each and every, activities, of all the projects has always been mandatory, and they are the contributors. They are the enumerators in the studies.
Dipika Lama: And they are the leaders in the activities that we do, and they are the decision maker we have been providing the platforms for them. That is, our… another strategy that we have been implementing. Because of that, I am here today, to represent the Indigenous women with disabilities. So, in Nidwan had always been
Dipika Lama: giving and providing spaces, and giving, spaces in climate discussion for, two Indigenous women with disabilities, youth with disabilities, as them as a change of agents. So, these are the strategies we have been adapting, and we will be continuing this strategy to advocate our issues, intersectional issues.
Dipika Lama: In intersectional climate justice.
Dipika Lama: Thank you.
Kudzai Sharon: Thank you so much, Deepika. Thank you so much for sharing that with us.
Kudzai Sharon: Right now, I'm happy that we have been joined by Beia.
Kudzai Sharon: So, Beia, I'm just gonna give you this opportunity just to share with us, like, thinking particularly about the imminent threat to your country.
Kudzai Sharon: and the Pacific Islands, what has been your experience as a young person with a disability to get engaged in climate, action?
Kudzai Sharon: Beia, over to you.
Kudzai Sharon: Beia, can you hear me? You can unmute yourself.
Beia Temango: For your information, we are currently working this organization from 2021.
Beia Temango: And our work is focused on disability inclusion, especially on
Beia Temango: Those who are visually impaired mentally in Kiribati.
Beia Temango: We have a lot of activities and engagements that we did in this organization.
Beia Temango: And especially for the… the most dead, we already contacted, for many times ago.
Beia Temango: It's related to climate change action and our business with disability, and especially for visual impairments, being included in this,
Beia Temango: Climate change action.
Beia Temango: We have a lot of, activities, such as the… to promote and to protect the lives of persons with disability.
Beia Temango: Especially visually impaired men, to not be affected in times of climate change, disaster risks, Dead.
Beia Temango: And, in… in Dhaka, for the last 2 years ago, we did, what, planting mangrove.
Beia Temango: Nearby the soil, that, you can protect the seawall from the… the climate change.
Beia Temango: And also, we… we did advocacy to the government to make, to advocate on policies that scale friendly to persons with disabilities, and give us includes the need must be included, or care voice must be taken into account.
Beia Temango: The next one, we did a lot of activities to the community.
Beia Temango: To con… to seeking for support and support assist services to the community members about persons.
Beia Temango: with disability are living in their communities. You can support them during or in times or after the disaster risks and climate change issues. Thank you so much for sharing a meaningful platform. We also, did, advocacy to the…
Beia Temango: Policy makers. They can…
Beia Temango: Two workers who can align their policies to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, or the CRIBG.
Beia Temango: And also, we did the advocacy to the… to the Karawan Ministry about
Beia Temango: climate action to get… to get…
Beia Temango: Includes the… the need of visual impairments.
Beia Temango: Especially, other disabilities, to… can make them protected, make them,
Beia Temango: Or to find other ways that can… that business with disability can…
Beia Temango: Can feel comfortable during in district's time.
Beia Temango: Also, we… We did a lot of activity, to the… do the…
Beia Temango: To our… especially to our own, members, for the visually impaired members, to, again, strengthen their knowledge and their capacity to, again, minimize.
Beia Temango: Risks that can affect them from the… the issues from the climate change.
Beia Temango: And…
Beia Temango: We are still now, doing some advocacy to push this, implementation, because, the challenges that we have been faced with is the… the… the issues from the… our governments, and also our… our country leaders, because,
Beia Temango: Sometime when, when they did, advocacy in regard to, the protection of people with disabilities, they can protect it in climate change, but, they not use our what?
Beia Temango: our worries, or the statements, or our information that we're trying to advocate for them. But we're not… but for your information, we're trying to… to boost them, and you can…
Beia Temango: Here are ways you can…
Beia Temango: Implement all the needs of patients with disabilities, especially on climate change and disaster risk actions.
Beia Temango: Thank you so much for your… for your time, for listening to my presentation, and I can answer all the questions that you can come up with. Thank you…
Beia Temango: Thank you so much!
Manon Frezouls: I think… Kudzai may have a connection issue. She got disconnected for some reason, Victoria.
Manon Frezouls: Sure.
Manon Frezouls: Maybe in the meantime, while… While Kudzai try to reconnect?
Manon Frezouls: We could start a little activity for the audience.
Manon Frezouls: Which is a question that everyone can respond, either on their phone or by clicking on the link that will be pasted in the chat. So I will be also sharing the screen so you can see.
Manon Frezouls: So we would like to ask everyone, audience and speakers together.
Manon Frezouls: What do you think are the values needed to enable the leadership of young people with disability across climate action movements? So, how to respond? You can click on the link in the chat on your phone or on your computer and enter the keywords.
Manon Frezouls: or you can flash the QR code that is on the screen.
Manon Frezouls: And also, respond directly there.
Manon Frezouls: So let's see… I see two participants are typing.
Manon Frezouls: Oh.
Manon Frezouls: It started peering, so I see some keywords on the screen.
Manon Frezouls: Oh, a lot of words. I see distribution of power, experience, Co-design.
Manon Frezouls: Accessibility.
Manon Frezouls: Oh, empowerment is getting bigger, so it means that a lot of participants, have sent this word.
Manon Frezouls: Lateral leadership, no hierarchical. Lived experience.
Manon Frezouls: peer support.
Manon Frezouls: And teamwork, also.
Manon Frezouls: Oh, wow, empowerment is getting really bigger. That's really impressive. The screen is full of words, and this one is really getting very big. I see also co-design and peer support and access are the main words that are appearing in this one.
Manon Frezouls: That's great. I see a few more participants are typing, and let's see if, in the meantime.
Manon Frezouls: Kudzai manages in reconnecting.
Manon Frezouls: Oh, courage is appearing now at the fourth position, and zero tokenism, inclusion, recognition.
Manon Frezouls: Right, oh my god, so many words appearing that are really, really important, for this.
Beia Temango: Audio now unmuted alert. Hello? Space.
Beia Temango: Hello, organization.
Beia Temango: Can you hear me, please?
Manon Frezouls: Yes, B, yes.
Beia Temango: I'm just talking about the…
Beia Temango: the points that I already raised, you… you miss… you miss out most of the points, so… because, I think my connection is good.
Beia Temango: I don't know when there's a difficulty… do the… For some problems.
Beia Temango: Juliano via Mamamu to everyone. Coaching and mentoring.
Manon Frezouls: Well, we heard your intervention. At the moment, we are discussing on the screen.
Beia Temango: Whatever you need has joined a meeting alert.
Beia Temango: Okay.
Manon Frezouls: Thank you.
Beia Temango: Audio now on mute alert.
Manon Frezouls: I see that, to conclude, we have participation that is appearing bigger, accessibility, people, and inclusion, and I think that's a very good conclusion for this first question, and because the audience is very motivated, maybe we can jump into the second question.
Manon Frezouls: Which is, stay on your phone and on your computer. The second question for you all, and to prepare for the second part of this webinar, is, what action can really help to amplify the voices of young people with disability for climate justice? And this is excellent to
Manon Frezouls: As a preparation for the second part of this webinar, which will be a dialogue on exactly those questions.
Manon Frezouls: Let's see what is appearing.
Beia Temango: Audio now unmuted.
Manon Frezouls: Okay, so now I see that everyone has that time to comment, and a few words have been appearing already, so when we were asking what action can help amplify, I see inclusion in governance structure at all levels, mentorship, transformational leadership.
Manon Frezouls: Work from home, collaboration, Creating space, resources,
Manon Frezouls: help, funding is getting bigger, tools and capacity building is the main word that we are seeing on the screen. So we see that this is a major, major ask for everyone. Governance…
Manon Frezouls: Wow, so many words are appearing. So, funding and capacity building are getting bigger, also inclusion in governance at all levels, representation, decision making, influence, solutions.
Manon Frezouls: and leadership.
Manon Frezouls: Oh, work from home and representation, also getting bigger.
Manon Frezouls: Justice, investing, and development.
Manon Frezouls: I have 16 people, commenting on this poll, but 49 participants, so maybe we can have a bit more.
Manon Frezouls: Let's see if everyone wants to join and add… oh, I see the cloud is getting bigger.
Manon Frezouls: So, representation, voices, justice, And definitely, capacity building is getting bigger.
Manon Frezouls: Well, I think this is excellent as a transition. I see that decision-making also is getting stronger among the words.
Manon Frezouls: So thank you, everyone, for this interesting contribution…
Manon Frezouls: I see that our moderator is still facing a bit of connectivity issues, so we're gonna slowly launch for the part two. But before transitioning to it…
Manon Frezouls: maybe we can quickly wrap up this part one to thank our speakers for the great testimonies, and our audience for the interesting question that we got in the chat.
Manon Frezouls: For, sake of time today, we will not respond to them one by one. However, all of them regarding funding, regarding access, and,
Manon Frezouls: how to support disability in broader context will be tackled in the second part of the webinar. So thank you so much for asking it. You will have an opportunity, maybe, to raise your hand and share your opinion and insight in the second part.
Manon Frezouls: Just before this, we're gonna take…
Manon Frezouls: one or two minutes break, and we will start the second part just after. Thank you, everyone, for following up. Keep connected. We will start the second part, which is a collective dialogue in two minutes. Thank you.
Beia Temango: Audio now on audio.
Beia Temango: Audio now unmuted alert.
Manon Frezouls: Hello, everyone. Thank you for staying connected.
Manon Frezouls: We are now happy to start the part two of this webinar. I will be continuing with you until our moderator reconnect, so maybe I can introduce myself properly. My name is Manon Frezouls. I am working at the Youth Negotiator Academy.
Manon Frezouls: As Institution Relations Manager, and I am part of the organizing team today.
Manon Frezouls: Happy to be with you all.
Manon Frezouls: So for this part two of the webinar, it will be an interactive collective dialogue, which means that we will welcome, key speakers, but also all of you in the audience will be welcome to contribute.
Manon Frezouls: The way it's gonna be is we will start asking a question to one of the speakers, and then we will open the floor for the audience to raise their hand, and all interested participants could share their insight and opinion on the question.
Manon Frezouls: And all the contribution and perspective that we will hear will also help us to design the use policy paper that Kudzai introduced in the beginning of the meeting.
Manon Frezouls: So, we hope that you will be, many to raise your hand and contribute, and we hope that it will be a fruitful dialogue together.
Manon Frezouls: But to start with, maybe I would like to turn to Abutaleb, and to ask him, so first of all.
Manon Frezouls: Asking you Abutaleb, if you can introduce yourself.
Manon Frezouls: And then, I would like to ask you, what do you think?
Manon Frezouls: Wait, sorry.
Manon Frezouls: That's…
Manon Frezouls: Sorry, I lost my… I lost my thread. So, Abutaleb, could you start by introducing yourself and tell us more about, in your experience, what are existing practices
Manon Frezouls: that can really help amplify the voices of young people with disability. If you remember the Slido that we just had, there were so many insights already from the audience, but I would really like to hear from you what you think and what you've faced so far. Thank you.
Abotaleb: Yes, thank you, Manon, and I'm happy to attend in this, precious, webinar. I'm, Abutaleb Sidahmat, and I'm from Sudan. I am climate use negotiator, for,
Abotaleb: Sudan delegations in my country, beyond my government, and I'm a water resource engineer and researcher at the same time, while I'm doing this work,
Abotaleb: now in Sudan, and to… diving through the questions that I think it's important, what kind of practices and activities that help
Abotaleb: Used to amplifying their voices, basically people with disabilities, and this is something that I've been doing for…
Abotaleb: 5 years ago, from, regional, presence to international presence, and, visiting a lot of countries, representing not only myself and country, but representing always people
Abotaleb: with disabilities, which is something I'm proud of. But, the conclusions of my five years ago, in representing, people's disabilities is, like, decisions-making tables, civil society organizations, private sectors,
Abotaleb: etc. I can conclude this, by maybe 3 to 4 pillars, which is, number one, that, I think is, being active is the most important thing that we should do.
Abotaleb: As people with disabilities, we have the power, and you can definitely make it… make everything different.
Abotaleb: From even then, anyone else before, or can imagine, so that being active
Abotaleb: to making a change or difference, it's the most important thing that. And the other thing is, being proactive, that we need to take all this initiative, apply for maybe, such a precious,
Abotaleb: opportunities, like, for example, COP conference, or etc, more meetings, maybe, the result of programs are available, and those people, and I'm saying confidently, those people are waiting for us as a people with disabilities, because when I said to them.
Abotaleb: Their mission is that people with disabilities provide us with,
Abotaleb: Previous, feedbacks and, and inputs, which helped them a lot to drafting,
Abotaleb: final drafts that match with the needs of people with disabilities and vulnerable communities in their countries, because people there know exactly what's happening there, what the situations look like, and what, the needs exactly, so that, the demand can be fulfilled.
Abotaleb: By the… by… by following or fulfilling, or fulfilling the seats of people with disabilities.
Abotaleb: Because they… those people complete the… the total pictures in the decisions-making table, and that's what our people need it for. And, maybe last, but not least, that, is,
Abotaleb: we actually need to be encouraged, and I mean that
Abotaleb: Because many peoples may, underestimate of, underestimate themselves.
Abotaleb: And maybe by themselves or by others, but this is something totally…
Abotaleb: Not true, because this was people having always something special to provide, so that I have the courage
Abotaleb: to work, to act, and to impact, and make a change. It's, something, I think from my perspective, not hard, and, because I believe in the power of,
Abotaleb: people with disabilities always can make a major change, and their presence, really make different, and this is something I faced during my journey. I saw a lot of people with a major… with, incredible opportunity… incredible, power, an incredible…
Abotaleb: ability to make something great, and they already made, which I've shown them many times in many countries, in many,
Abotaleb: coalitions and, conferences. They are always existing, they are always amidst.
Abotaleb: a huge change, and, input, all those different inputs, which can, affect, the final draft, of any, process. And this is, a general, conclusions of my experience that reflected,
Abotaleb: Does that mean pillows that help?
Abotaleb: me and, can help other people with disabilities to amplify their voices. Thank you.
Manon Frezouls: Thank you so much, Iwata Lab, for, this insight that you're sharing from, your experience, and I think it, resonating,
Manon Frezouls: some people in the audience who have also sent us some questions separately, so I think it's very important. I'm glad that we have pasted in the chat that this is the interactive dialogue part, so feel free to raise your hand if you want to react and share your perspective as well.
Manon Frezouls: But I'm glad to announce that Kudzai, our moderator, is back. The network is working.
Manon Frezouls: So maybe I can hand over to you, Kudzai, for giving the floor to the participants in the chat for the reaction?
Manon Frezouls: Thank you, everyone.
Kudzai Sharon: Thank you so much, Manon. My apologies, I'm kind of having network problems, but it's good to be back.
Kudzai Sharon: So, right now, I would like to leave this opportunity to the floor, those who have questions.
Kudzai Sharon: To just maybe share your reflections,
Kudzai Sharon: What maybe you guys think, what are the existing practices that really have helped amplifying the voices of young people with disabilities?
Kudzai Sharon: maybe I could have, one or two people to share, and also maybe just,
Kudzai Sharon: Be mindful of our time by keeping our interactions very short, so…
Kudzai Sharon: Manon, may you kindly check for me if there are those that are raising hands, and maybe we do have one or two?
Kudzai Sharon: to just share the, interventions. Thank you.
Manon Frezouls: There were two hands, so there is Abi… Abi Bi Temes-Gen and Rus.
Manon Frezouls: Afterwards?
Manon Frezouls: So, Abhi… Abhi B first?
Kudzai Sharon: It's alright, Abib, you can go through?
Manon Frezouls: Not. We had also Ruth, Macuhocho, who was interested in participating.
Ruth Machocho: Thank you so much for this opportunity. Hi, everyone.
Ruth Machocho: I'm using my browser, so… it's a bit challenging. Anyway, my name is Ruth Machocho from…
Ruth Machocho: Mombasa, Kenya. I run an organization called Eliteability Foundation Africa. It's a PWD-led and also organization for persons with disability. So, back at home, we, we, participate as youths with disability. We take ourself, we do, we, we take care of our coastline. So, we do the beach cleanups and mangrove, and this, as much as, yes, they seem very simple practices.
Ruth Machocho: But it has never happened that we, that persons with disability are going out there, going out there, doing the cleanup, or even just getting into the mud, doing the mangrove. So, it has enabled us to stand out in our practices, because each and every time around when people want to bring the aspect of, of disability, or working with youths with disability.
Ruth Machocho: They always refer a laugher.
Ruth Machocho: So, this is one way we've been able to amplify our voices, our voice as youth with disability around our place.
Ruth Machocho: We are also doing waste management, whereby we, we collect, glass, glass,
Ruth Machocho: materials from a coastal lane, because now we're coming from the coastal, and we've been supported in getting a machine that we process glasses. So, this is something that one of us is also doing it.
Ruth Machocho: And, it's, it's also boosting the other persons with disability confidence that they can also contribute effectively in the community. So these are some of the practices, and we are always joining these webinars online, just to network, and I'm actually following each and every person here. I'll be joining them on LinkedIn to see how we can even partner
Ruth Machocho: partner in, some of this. So these are just some of the practices that we can amplify, and, through these networks, we are able… but I really insist on the accreditation part, like, there were really less people, on SB62, less youth with disability at SB62, and now we are working to go to the SB64. As I stand, I don't know where I'm going to get my accreditation as well.
Ruth Machocho: So, if we can work around that, that will be, a great, a great, relief, so that we are able to even, participate physically. Thank you.
Kudzai Sharon: Thank you so much, Ruth, for your reflections, and I must commend you for the job that you're doing. Well done. I think this is really important. We could be borrowing some of those initiatives and implement it in our respective countries. Yeah, thank you so much. Are there any hands?
Kudzai Sharon: Or any…
Manon Frezouls: There is one, actually, there is Shayut Omidich.
Kudzai Sharon: Yes, you can speak, Shayot.
Chayoot Homdee: Yes, I am, Shayyud from, ASEAN Youth Disabilities Network. It is a new OPD that is supported by ASEAN Disability Forum. So, we are born to, you know, as a youth with disabilities who face barriers in terms of, accessible, in terms of school, access to school, or employment, even sports.
Chayoot Homdee: So, it relates to climate change in terms of, like, youth with disabilities must go to school with, bad weathers.
Chayoot Homdee: unclean water or something like that. Even though in, right now, the gas or oil become more expensive, which, burden parents or somebody,
Chayoot Homdee: you know, transportation, cash, because in… I say in some countries, only discount, but some countries are free transportation, which is, not quite balanced in terms of,
Chayoot Homdee: You know, in terms of payment. For youth with disabilities who has a home or condominium, which is very far from school or, from office, it makes very hard to accessible.
Chayoot Homdee: whether it's accessible, but it comes… it becomes more… consumes more time just to get it work. Like, for example, I've come to
Chayoot Homdee: to my office. It has to take, like, one hour just from the home to the office like that, which makes…
Chayoot Homdee: Even more difficulties for physical disabilities,
Chayoot Homdee: visual and hard hearing disabilities, even harder to get a job or to access to education. This is, related to climate change as well. Also, in terms of short in terms of electricity and water, which makes
Chayoot Homdee: makes, makes persons with you, with disabilities access become more difficult and, hard to live with. So, so I, I suggest, this is why I send you, I send…
Chayoot Homdee: Youth Disabilities Network, born for. Also, we… we will be grateful if we collab together with, Disability Rest Front. Thank you.
Kudzai Sharon: Thank you so much, Kayot, for your… Innovations. Thank you so much.
Kudzai Sharon: Is there any number by hand?
Kudzai Sharon: Anyone would like to contribute?
Agus Hasan Hidayat: Yep, it's me. Hi, everyone, my name is Carlos.
Agus Hasan Hidayat: I'm from Indonesia, but my organization is called the International Movement of Youth with Disabilities. It's based in France. My question is, do global climate forums or the movement treat eco-anxiety, trauma, and other dissociative, like, response?
Agus Hasan Hidayat: As individual mental health problems to be clinically managed, rather than valid
Agus Hasan Hidayat: Collective response to injustice that demand political
Agus Hasan Hidayat: Or non-medical solutions. Thank you.
Kudzai Sharon: Okay, thank you. Thank you so much for your question. Anyone would like to take up that question?
Kudzai Sharon: Anyone who'd like to answer?
Beia Temango: Audio now on the alert space. I guess, B is speaking.
Beia Temango: Oh… Yeah, it's true.
Kudzai Sharon: You can unmute yourself, Bia.
Beia Temango: Audio now on mute, alert.
Beia Temango: And now we took it out.
Kudzai Sharon: Yes, we can hear you.
Beia Temango: Can't get me.
Beia Temango: In regard to…
Beia Temango: This is not the answer, but the question on the amplifying the voice of, youth with disabilities to get engaged.
Beia Temango: what you can… What, ways to, youth with disabilities?
Beia Temango: Can protect it from, the…
Beia Temango: the issues of climate change and disaster risks, because, in Kiribati, We have some, normal…
Beia Temango: climate change issues that we have been faced with, but, compared with, Pacific Islands, it's a different one, but this is normally has, affected our country, such as the…
Beia Temango: high sea level, and
Beia Temango: The heavy rains, or the drought… Yeah, that is the currently, normal, normal climate change that affects our country, but, we have, my question is, how you can amplify our ways to…
Beia Temango: The policy makers, or to the service providers.
Beia Temango: Related to climate change actions.
Beia Temango: Thank you so much.
Kudzai Sharon: Thank you so much, Bia, for that wonderful question.
Kudzai Sharon: how can we amplify our voices? How can we make sure that our concerns are incorporated in policies
Kudzai Sharon: So, I think I'm just happy because, part of this webinar… the reason why we're having this webinar is also to contribute to your policy brief.
Kudzai Sharon: So, I feel like it's one of the ways that we can amplify our voices, that our policy brief can also inform our policies in our various countries.
Kudzai Sharon: So… Yeah, if there's anyone else who has some additions or contributions, you're welcome.
Chayoot Homdee: This is Chayoot Homdee. I want to speak as a youth with disabilities on behalf of everyone, youth with disabilities, because we are facing, elder who has, fam- some family groups, has
Chayoot Homdee: power, more power to, to take care of the children with disabilities, but unfortunately, most of them
Chayoot Homdee: parents or elder or doctor has, like, more power to, to make decision-making, which is, which is quite…
Chayoot Homdee: against CRPD, CRPD in terms of rights, decision-making, living, Article 19, which is, we are concerning. This is not only, youth with disabilities or Indigenous with disabilities. This is, all…
Chayoot Homdee: or children, or teenager, or youth group who experience in this way. Because, because, when they suggest the new way, they got discriminated in terms of, like, they argue the older generation, older think that youth group
Chayoot Homdee: even though with disabilities are misbehaved or uneducated like that, we are dis… in… we are… face discrimination in this way. So this is what youth group or, most of people face off. For example, I want to… I want to choose,
Chayoot Homdee: Art, design, education, but… My parents, shoes.
Chayoot Homdee: other subjects instead, and saying that it's easy, it's suitable for disabilities, for disabilities, rather than, accept decision-making, like, let children with disabilities or youth with disabilities try them for all themselves, to see if it's really worth for them.
Chayoot Homdee: You know, defining by, elder group is a very hard life for youth group. Thank you.
Kudzai Sharon: Oh, thank you so much for… so I would like to ask to go further in the reflection, like, considering many actors… Many actors assume that in involving persons with disabilities, it's really expensive.
Kudzai Sharon: this perception, shifting these thoughts to recognizing young people with disabilities as experts, and that they can lead climate action and strengthen decision-making processes. How can we make it clear that, inclusion is actually beneficial?
Kudzai Sharon: So, over to you, Umesh. What are your thoughts?
Umesh Balal Magar: English, sir, sir, would you mind to, wait? I just missed you through the internet lag.
Umesh Balal Magar: Kuzai, would you mind to, leave it? Due to the internet lag.
Kudzai Sharon: Sorry?
Umesh Balal Magar: Sir, would you mind to repeat the questions? I just missed due to the inter… what you said.
Kudzai Sharon: Okay, so my question was, oftentimes people, they say that if we are including patients with disabilities.
Kudzai Sharon: It's really expensive, the budget and everything. So my question to you was, because they say inclusion equals to extra burden, and it is too complex. So my question to you was, how can we challenge this perception, shifting this thought to recognizing that young people with disabilities
Kudzai Sharon: young people with disability… to recognize young people with disabilities as experts that can lead climate action and strengthen decision-making processes. How can it… how can we make it clear why it is important for… to us to… to have inclusion, and to make everyone see that, inclusion is really beneficial?
Umesh Balal Magar: Thank you so much, first of all, for this wonderful question, and thank you so much, everybody, for your active participation for this,
Umesh Balal Magar: Climate and Disability Webinar, and this is a really important, webinar, what we believe is because it is often not, talk about the climate and disability interdling between them, because, you know, the person with disability, are the most, vulnerable community, most vulnerable community who have been impacted due to the climate change, and less impact, and less talk in the climate discourse.
Umesh Balal Magar: So, moving back to the question, how can we change the, this, perception or this narrative? I think, first, we have to change this narrative that person with disabilities
Umesh Balal Magar: are only the vulnerable, so we have to make that dis… persons with disabilities are not only the vulnerable to climate change, they are, also the valuable… they are not only the victim, but they are also the contributor of climate action. Because, you know, they are also the expert, because they already know how to, navigate, how to navigate the system that doesn't work.
Umesh Balal Magar: For them, because they adopt with few… they have been adopting with fewer resources, they are building the creative solution, and
Umesh Balal Magar: that exactly what the climate action need. They know the exactly whatsoever.
Umesh Balal Magar: the personal disability community have to do for adapting with the limited resource and with the creative idea. So, instead of asking that how we can include them, we can also say that we are… what are the things we are missing, by not,
Umesh Balal Magar: Having them in the lead, or having them in the discussion.
Umesh Balal Magar: And another thing is in terms of inclusion. Inclusion, inclusion, is not only the including in the discussion. Inclusion means the including from the beginning, of the process. Not only the physical inclusion, it is also the inclusion is also the meaning of, in the inclusion in policies, in discourses, from the beginning to the ending, I mean, in the, implementing plans. And actually, the inclusion is not.
Umesh Balal Magar: isn't a charity, it is a HRTZ. When you, when we design the climate action with person with disability, at the table, we end up with a solution that works for the person with disability. Because when we include the person with disability in the discourse table, then, we'll have the clear communication, we'll have the accessible, design, accessible idea about the transport.
Umesh Balal Magar: about the infrastructure and community, community network, that don't leave, anyone behind. And it is like that, if we work with it, it will be better for everyone. That is not just, fairness, because it is also the effectiveness. So, for our talk.
Umesh Balal Magar: I mean, as a young person with disability, we have, or I have already been, adapting to the system that are not built for us in the world, and we are, adapting with, adapting with these systems, with these buildings.
Umesh Balal Magar: And that is the resilience and insight, what exactly the climate leaders need, not despite their disability, because of it. And so… and also the accessible, when we talk about accessible, it is…
Umesh Balal Magar: accessible is not, only the physical, terms or physical accessibility. Having the, wheelchair mobility buildings are some… having the sign language inter… accessible should be in the policy levels.
Umesh Balal Magar: policy level. We should… we should have the accessibility or inclusion in the policy level, because then only we can only change the
Juan (IS): Oh, perfect.
Umesh Balal Magar: Climate Agile.
Umesh Balal Magar: Yeah, thanks so much, Media.
Kudzai Sharon: Oh, thank you so much, Umesh, for your wonderful insights.
Kudzai Sharon: Is there anyone who would like to… to share their insights also? I think I'm going to leave this floor to the participants also.
Kudzai Sharon: Anyone would like to share?
Manon Frezouls: I see no hand, Kudzai, maybe we can, continue with the next question, while… and if anyone thinks of something, we can give the floor afterwards?
Kudzai Sharon: Okay, so I would like also to ask, what can policymakers and organizations and funders do differently?
Kudzai Sharon: To increase the representation and meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in climate action and leadership.
Kudzai Sharon: And also, how can we maybe… how can also organization work with persons with disabilities? Because maybe oftentimes, there are certain organizations that would say they want to work with people with disabilities.
Kudzai Sharon: By they do not know how, to feed their needs.
Kudzai Sharon: They, they, they do not know how.
Kudzai Sharon: They can, you know, incorporate them.
Kudzai Sharon: and their programs. And also, what can funders do? Because at the end of the day, sometimes it all boils down to the issues of funding. I have heard people raising issues to do with funding, like attending conferences, but we often hear of organizations that are funding people to go to COP,
Kudzai Sharon: But what is the missing link in these organizations to fund people with disabilities? So what can be done differently?
Kudzai Sharon: by the policy makers, and also maybe if it's the fault of the youth with disabilities, what can we do differently that maybe we can all work together? Thank you.
Chayoot Homdee: this is your policy, maker, this is good, because, in Thailand, we…
Chayoot Homdee: have, like, multiple laws as well, but, in political in Thailand, it's not quite good in terms of
Chayoot Homdee: We ha- we need to…
Chayoot Homdee: In any country with corruption, corruption must be eliminated, because corruption is like a mechanism that you can
Chayoot Homdee: bypass illegal. For example, I go cut down the trees, I go… I go… I throw the trash into the clean water, I… I do something that…
Chayoot Homdee: makes Earth even warmer, you know? For example, I have lots of money.
Chayoot Homdee: I did illegal. I would get into the jail, into the prison, because I made it illegal. And then, in Thailand, it's kind of like, oh, I have, who made all this cause, have money, has a lot of money, like, rich people.
Chayoot Homdee: They just pay money to the police, and you're fine, you, you, you, you, you, you bypass the law. It means, like, this is, not good in countries like Thailand, because, because,
Chayoot Homdee: illegal who has money can bypass the law, just… just, put Andy on the table. Makes bad people exist. Doesn't make bad people gone. This is what I want to make sure that, corruption must be eliminated in any country. Thank you.
Kudzai Sharon: Thank you so much for your recommend… for your contributions. So now, because of our time, I'm just gonna ask for some recommendations on maybe what policymakers could do better, organizations and funders as well.
Kudzai Sharon: So that we have meaningful participation of people with disabilities in climate action.
Kudzai Sharon: So, for me, I think I'll just give my own opinion.
Kudzai Sharon: I think, we need to…
Kudzai Sharon: work… we need to incorporate these people, to involve youth with disabilities in whatever that we're doing, not just asking their views.
Kudzai Sharon: Right now, it's really difficult for…
Kudzai Sharon: other young people to be in leadership positions, because they are not being trained, or they are not being mentored. So maybe we could start by
Kudzai Sharon: Ensuring that, these persons with disabilities are educated. So, for me, I had the privilege of being trained by the Youth Negotiators Academy, and now I'm in a position maybe to just do deliberations in spaces like COP, so we need more of those. And then to the funders.
Kudzai Sharon: I think…
Kudzai Sharon: There is a need for them to, maybe when we are coming up with our budget, especially there is need to have, like, a specific budget for persons with disabilities, so that we do not have those problems whereby they are saying, if we include persons with disabilities, there will be issues to do with accessibility, you know, involving those things, it's going to be expensive.
Kudzai Sharon: So, once we have a budget like that.
Kudzai Sharon: we will not have, problems. So, I think I'm just gonna leave, this time to one or two people before we do our roundup.
Kudzai Sharon: But, thank you so much, everyone, for the contributions. Maybe I could just have one or two contributions, and maybe others, we can also write our contributions.
Beia Temango: Audio now unmuted alert.
Kudzai Sharon: And we'll make sure…
Beia Temango: Can I share some points here, please?
Beia Temango: Can I… can I share some points from my hands?
Kudzai Sharon: It's alright Beia, go ahead.
Beia Temango: This, in regard to the question, my… This is not a…
Beia Temango: the… the question, but the contribution to that question, in related to the…
Beia Temango: to the policy makers, because she never arose as a… It's,
Beia Temango: Organizations for patients with disabilities, and we… we… the problem here is, social protection.
Beia Temango: That's, not, being fed with, patients with disabilities across the country, but… Are we trying to…
Beia Temango: advocate to the policy makers. They can… You can,
Beia Temango: Again, includes more the… more, the… especially the needs of patients with disabilities, in regard to ensure self-protection, in regard to…
Beia Temango: The… Climate change, Action policy that can affect all the needs of persons with disabilities across the country.
Beia Temango: That's why we're trying to push that, and… Thank you for…
Beia Temango: Giving me this opportunity, which you can share on that.
Beia Temango: Thank you.
Kudzai Sharon: Thank you so much, Beia, for your contribution. So right now, I think I'm just gonna ask Abutelab to give his contribution, because I think our time is already up.
Kudzai Sharon: So, maybe, Abutaleb, you can give us your contribution.
Kudzai Sharon: Thank you.
Abotaleb: If you could say.
Abotaleb: Yeah, my contributions would be quick and, direct.
Abotaleb: I think what organizations and funders can make, what can make different from my perspective is,
Abotaleb: Focusing to supporting on,
Abotaleb: make, collaborations with such a prestigious, academy like YNA, Young Negotiate Academy, which provide,
Abotaleb: Training for youth, even, psychological support and mentorship, so that, they fulfill the gap between what people with disabilities and what is the knowledge and,
Abotaleb: What is, like, for example, in negotiations rooms, what do people with disabilities should…
Abotaleb: Have, from training on psychological, psychological support.
Abotaleb: So that, they ensure that people with disabilities, as I did in COP30, in COP30, when we came to the rooms of negotiations, we…
Abotaleb: We were already prepared from all sides, from theoretical training, from simulations practices, and even from psychological support. So when we went there, we were comfortable, and we were able to make our interventions.
Abotaleb: In the decisions-making table, so that, for my opinion, when I get the privilege to attend YNA programs.
Abotaleb: they fulfilled the gap, from… in the case of… in the… in the sections of, capacitor buildings, so that they ensured that when I was there, I was full and ready to, act.
Abotaleb: And to make something different. So, such a kind of this, academies should be supported and, appear.
Abotaleb: In a wider range, because when in… when I… when I was in adaptations, there is, like, one or two from people with disabilities, so by… I think, from my side, by supporting, such as this academy, this number can be increased by the next year.
Abotaleb: for, maybe even, like, 10 in our, in the, in adaptations, negotiations. So, my recommendations would be always to have collaborations and support.
Abotaleb: This academy in her work, because those people are doing amazing work to supporting people with disabilities, and prepare them well to, ensure that people with disabilities are in the decision-making tables.
Abotaleb: Thank you.
Kudzai Sharon: Thank you so much, Abtella. I think we've come to the end of our session. Thank you so much, everyone, for joining. I would like also to apologize for those who didn't manage to speak during this session because of our time, but if there's anyone who wish to give their contributions in writing.
Kudzai Sharon: You are all welcome to send your written contributions. I think Vicky has just posted the email that you can send your contributions to.
Kudzai Sharon: You can send them by the 31st of March.
Kudzai Sharon: Like I've mentioned earlier, that the contributions will be…
Kudzai Sharon: Fed into the policy brief.
Kudzai Sharon: That, our partners are working on. So, thank you so much.
Kudzai Sharon: Thank you so much for everything, guys.
Kudzai Sharon: I'm not sure, Manon, if you have something to say, or Victoria?
Victoria: Just to thank you, Kuzai, so much for your moderation, despite your technical… technological issues, and thanks, everyone, for joining.
Manon Frezouls: Thank you, Kudai, and thank you, everyone, for joining.
Manon Frezouls: Goodbye.
Kudzai Sharon: Thanks so much, everyone. Bye.
Beia Temango: It's nice. Thank you so much. Bye.