The 21st Conference of Youth (COY21) brought together young people from around the world in Antalya, Türkiye, to exchange ideas, strengthen connections and build a collective voice for youth-led climate action ahead of COP31.

CAHA was proud to co-host COY21 alongside ECOMIND, with three team members representing CAHA throughout the program: Bianca Lau-Goodchild (Partnerships Coordinator & Youth Lead), Litiana Lagibalavu (Pacific Partnerships Coordinator) and Sunny Nguyen (Intergenerational Justice Specialist).

As part of the program, CAHA delegates contributed to discussions and workshops exploring the intersection of climate justice, health and youth leadership.

Highlighting Pacific youth leadership and climate justice

Liti led a side event titled Pacific Youths’ Intersectional Justice Work in the Time of Ecocide, sharing insights into youth-led organising across Fiji and the Pacific. The session highlighted the work young people are already leading to advance climate justice, intersectional advocacy and accountability.

Advocating for health in climate negotiations

Bianca and Sunny spoke at a workshop on advocating for health in COP31 negotiations, exploring opportunities to strengthen the representation of health in global climate policy and ensure health considerations are reflected in climate action.

CAHA also shared its Voices of the Vanua project and the four key priorities outlined in its COP31 Policy Brief. Developed through a Pacific-led Talanoa held in Fiji, the project brings Pacific perspectives and priorities into discussions shaping the COP31 agenda.

A collective youth voice ahead of COP31

A significant moment of COY21 was the handover of the 2026 Global Youth Statement, bringing together the perspectives and priorities of young people from 90 countries. The statement will provide a collective youth voice to take into the UN climate negotiations.

Read the 2026 Global Youth Statement.

As COP31 gets underway, CAHA will continue working to elevate youth perspectives, strengthen Pacific leadership and ensure that climate and health priorities are heard and acted on in the negotiations.