OST7 Climate Action MENA 2022_Chico Shaaban

Changemakers
for the Planet
at COP28

At COP28, the stakes are higher than ever. We are at a halfway point between the Paris agreement and 2030. COP27 was a landmark for young people. It featured the first ever youth-led climate forum and Youth Envoy, leading to Youth & Future Generations Day and the Global Youth Statement. The historic establishment of a new loss and damage fund was also something young people have been long advocating for. Their participation now is more critical than ever.

Through Changemakers for the Planet we search, identify, and recruit young changemakers, activists and leaders, who tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, air, sea and land pollution.

Supported by Apple and

Thanks to the support of our programme partners at Apple and SAP, we provide stipends for 22 changemakers who have been through our MENA and Europe programmes to ensure there are no financial barriers to their attendance at COP28.

Collaboration CXC South Africa 2018 © Ashoka Africa

We connect the COP28 attendees to each other and to the local ecosystem in the Gulf. This happens through online sessions to help them navigate the COP experience and in-person gatherings during the conference to help them to connect, recharge and decompress.

We communicate widely about the cohort across channels and audiences, helping to showcase and give a platform to their work and stories. We connect them to key stakeholders in the climate ecosystem, and recommend them for panels and speaking opportunities.

At the heart of ChangemakerXchange is a vibrant close-knit community of over 1000 changemakers from 130 countries working on a vast range of issues. See below the ChangemakerXchange members who we will be supporting and convening at COP28.

Renata is advancing gender equality in climate policy through EmpoderaClima, a youth-led initiative bridging knowledge gaps with a multilingual database. She is advocating for more intersectional and intergenerational representation in climate decision-making.
Renata Koch Alvarenga

Ali is raising awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals and climate change among young people in Sudan. Through Istidama Wattan Organization, he is helping equip youth with the knowledge to engage in sustainable development and climate action.
Ali Osman

Abdallah is empowering the next generation of environmental leaders through the Green Generation Foundation. He is helping young people across Jordan, Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon build the skills and leadership needed to drive climate action.
Abdallah Dreiat

Naz is the Managing Partner of Esmiyor, an independent climate communications platform and creative studio based in Türkiye. She is currently developing COP31-related concepts and partnerships, including a climate videocast channel and a climate entrepreneurship and innovation space, with the aim of strengthening public engagement, storytelling, and collaboration around COP31 in Türkiye.
Naz Yaman

Tim is building inClimate as a home for people across the climate ecosystem who want to help solve the climate crisis. The platform has already brought together more than 22,000 professionals.
Tim Steppich

Baliqees is tackling food insecurity and youth unemployment through Green Republic Farms. She is advancing sustainable agriculture while creating new opportunities for young people in Nigeria.
Baliqees Salaudeen

Durlabh is leading Climate Forward Pakistan, a youth-led organisation tackling climate change and environmental challenges. He is empowering young people to drive climate action and build a more sustainable future in Pakistan.
Durlabh Ashok

Mathias is making recycling more accessible through Live Love Recycle by digitising Lebanon’s waste management sector. He is helping connect people and recycling services to build more efficient, circular systems.
Mathias Charles

Dana is making climate and ocean education more accessible for neurodivergent youth through EcoSpectrum. She is helping ensure that environmental literacy is inclusive and empowering for every learner.
Dana Ahmed

Fabian is helping shift demand away from animal products and unsustainable consumer goods through Future Maps. He is guiding people toward alternatives such as veganism, circular products, and services from steward-owned companies.
Fabian Hold

Sabrine is creating effective, environmentally friendly household and maintenance products through MONSAPO. Inspired by nature, her solutions offer sustainable alternatives for cleaning laundry, dishes, floors, surfaces, and outdoor spaces.
Sabrine Chennaoui

Xu Ben is helping quantify the vital ecosystem services provided by giant kelp forests through the Kelp Forest Foundation. His work is strengthening the evidence needed to protect and restore these important marine ecosystems.
Xu Ben Zhang

Amal managed the Children and Youth Pavilion at COP29 and COP30 and is now deepening her technical expertise in climate adaptation and resilience at Cadlas in London.
Amal Ridene

Hatim is advancing sustainable development and local climate action through The Sustainable Development’s Youth. He is raising awareness and helping communities turn sustainability goals into practical, locally driven initiatives.
Hatim Aznague

Esmat is mobilising young people across Europe and Africa to advance climate action, sustainable consumption, and global citizenship. Through the EU DEAR Programme and Generation Climate Europe, she is helping ensure youth voices shape a more sustainable future.
Esmat Elsayed

Rihem is advancing climate and social justice through Youth For Climate Tunisia. She is mobilising young people to advocate for fair, inclusive, and sustainable change.
Rihem Akkari

Christopher is using technology to develop environmentally friendly solutions through RECYCLER. He is working with a youth-led team to advance sustainability and create positive social impact in Lebanon.
Christopher Daccache

Irina is tackling pollution by improving waste management through Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Development of Communities. She is helping communities across Armenia build cleaner and more sustainable waste systems.
Irina Mkrtchyan

Maryam is empowering children and young people to take climate action through the NextGen Sustainability Hub. She is equipping the next generation with practical skills and knowledge through summer camps and hands-on toolkits.
Maryam Akhtar

Manal is strengthening youth participation in climate action through the UNCCD Youth Caucus. She is advancing youth engagement in public policy and decision-making to help shape more inclusive climate solutions.
Manal Bidar

Lilian is leading EcoYouth Jordan, a women-led initiative advancing environmental sustainability and community action. She is empowering people to help build a greener, more sustainable future.
Lilian Haddad

Najla is promoting sustainable, waste-free practices for households across the Middle East and North Africa. Through an engaging platform, she is making greener everyday choices more accessible and practical.
Najla Vallander

Tariq is advancing people-and-planet strategies through 3BL Associates and Public Planet Partnerships. He is building an ecosystem of social enterprises focused on the wellbeing economy, interspecies collaboration, and more diverse leadership across the Gulf and MENA.
Tariq Al Olaimy

Seren is building the Synergized Earth Network, a global platform connecting leaders across generations and sectors. She is fostering collaboration to develop solutions for the most pressing environmental and societal challenges of the 21st century.
Seren Dalkiran

Menna is reducing food waste through Tekeya by making surplus food more accessible and affordable. She is helping connect people with unsold food to create a more sustainable and inclusive food system.
Menna Shahin

Rayan is advancing more sustainable and inclusive food systems through the World Benchmarking Alliance. She brings expertise in youth participation and supply chains across the MENA region and globally.
Rayan Kassem

Yolanda is rethinking packaging and product systems through ReDo, a crowd innovation platform for sustainable solutions. She is bringing people together to develop practical alternatives to today’s wasteful systems.
Yolanda Von Zitzewitz

Edoardo is helping farmers manage water resources more efficiently through Wop. By using satellite data, he is making agricultural water management more precise and sustainable.
Edoardo de Cal

Jose represents the State of Amazonas, where he works to empower Indigenous youth to protect biodiversity hotspots and lead climate action within their communities.
Jose Gudiño

Mutetelenu is empowering the next generation of ethical leaders through Agents of Change Zambia. By combining leadership training with radio and media, she is sparking conversations on social and environmental issues across the country.
Mutetelenu Kalama

Richard is empowering young people through agribusiness with Young Emerging Farmers. He is promoting sustainable farming and entrepreneurship to build resilient livelihoods across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Richard Kachungu

Wara is empowering the next generation of green journalists through Green Voices. She is equipping young people in Bolivia with the skills to tell impactful environmental stories and drive climate awareness.
Wara Iris Ruiz Condori

Steve is restoring and protecting degraded mangrove forests along the Kenyan coast through Youth Pawa. He is helping strengthen coastal ecosystems while advancing community-led conservation.
Steve Misati

Ismaela co-founded and leads Uno Punto Cinco, an NGO focused on climate adaptation and resilience with a particular emphasis on water resilience and ocean protection across Latin America.
Ismaela Magliotto Quevedo

We’re constantly offering new opportunities for climate changemakers, activists and people working towards the wellbeing of people and planet. Sign up to our waitlist now and stay tuned!

Changemakers
for the Planet
at COP28

Why COP28

Changemakers for the Planet

How we support climate changemakers to make the most of COP28

Access

Connections

Exposure

Our Community

Changemakersfor the Planetat COP28

Why COP28

Changemakers for the Planet

How we support climate changemakers to make the most of COP28

Access

Connections

Exposure

Our Community

Changemakers
for the Planet
at COP28