The Conference of the Parties (COP) is an international climate summit, which is held annually. At COPs, world leaders gather to work together on solutions to tackle climate change. This year, the COP28 is hosted in the United Arab Emirates and is expected to host over 70,000 delegates, including heads of state and world leaders, to build consensus and facilitate progress on climate action among 197 countries, the EU and thousands of non-government organizations, companies, youth groups, and other stakeholders.
Since 2016, the YRE programme has given young people the opportunity to report on these historical summits. Also this year, a bright group of YRE will be investigating the fields of sustainability at COP28 in Dubai!
Meet the YREs reporting from COP:
Fatema Al Sweidan
With just simple steps, we make a huge difference in an environment whose safety and sustainability are our shared responsibility. I'm Fatema Al Sweidan, a sustainability ambassador and a fervent advocate for positive change in the environmental sustainability. I participated in a lot of environmental campaigns and presented many environmental workshops, initiatives and competitions. I’m very interested in the topics of youth and education, climate change and food security, as they’re the most important fields of sustainability to be discussed during the COP28.
Zineb Marjana Khochch
Hello my name is Zineb Marjana Khochch. I’m 16 and I’m a high school student at High tech in RABAT. I’ve been a Young Reporter for the Environment since October 2022 and a proud environmental activist with the Med 6 Foundation for the Environment chaired by princess Lalla Hasna. I have really high hopes concerning this amazing opportunity. It would be life-changing since not many people get to live this type of experience where as a young teenager your voice is being heard your ideas shared and hopefully contribute to making things better. The world we live in deserves people to take care of it and I will do everything in my power in order to help it heal and I know I will.
Isha Khemka
My name is Isha Khemka, I am a 14-year-old environmental activist living in London. I want to give a voice to those who are suffering the dramatic impact of climate change but do not have a platform to share their pain and enforce change. I want to use my writing to put a spotlight on those people and animals, using creative writing to tell the story of each and every person allowing the reader to empathise with their experience, to drive us to change.
Fatima Saeed Al Falahi
Hello, my name is Fatima Saeed Al Falahi. I am an 18-year-old student from the UAE who will be majoring in Global Studies and Languages at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. I am highly motivated and passionate about the environment, and constantly seek new opportunities to educate myself in this field. As a trainee in the environmental sector, I have gained valuable experience. My goal is to make a positive impact in this field and contribute to the well-being of our planet.
I am proud to be a part of a country that prioritizes environmental care and is dedicated to educating the younger generation about it. It is an honor for me to be part of this program and represent my country in the upcoming COP28 hosted by the United Arab Emirates. I am excited to learn more about the global efforts to address climate change and to share my own experiences and insights.
Hatim Lachheb
I'm Hatim Lachheb, an 18-year-old Young Reporters for the Environment from Morocco and a freshman at Al Akhawayn University, majoring in Engineering and Management Science. My commitment to environmental advocacy stems from a deep connection to my family's agricultural background and the significant loss they suffered due to water scarcity in Morocco. This personal connection propels me toward addressing environmental challenges on both a local and global scale.
Starting my journey in environmental advocacy, I won the National Prize in 2018 for the Young Reporters for the Environment contest, organized by the Foundation for Environmental Education and implemented by the Mohamed 6 Foundation for Environmental Protection in Morocco. From there, my involvement grew, actively participating in The Youth Environmental Education Congress in Prague in 2022. I also contributed to the discourse at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022. In March 2023, I addressed the National Operators meeting at the Hassan II Center for Environmental Training, and later in July 2023, I took part in the PRE-UNEA Youth Consultation at the same center. Currently, I contribute to the startup YAZ at Al Akhawayn University, exploring sustainable agricultural practices. As I prepare for COP28 in Dubai in December 2023, my commitment to learning and active participation remains steadfast.
Looking ahead to COP28 in Dubai, I actively expect to contribute and engage. Having attended COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, I'm familiar with existing environmental laws and resolutions, reinforcing my commitment to witness their implementation. My goal is to influence meaningful policies, participate in discussions, connect with young environmental enthusiasts, and address events during COP28. I'm eager to immerse myself in the UAE's vibrant environmental initiatives, promising a comprehensive and enriching experience.
Aya Mohamed El-Sayed
I am Aya Mohamed El-Sayed , a 16.9 years old student from Al-Samha School. I possess many skills and talents, including: the skill of recitation and public speaking, especially poetry recitation, writing such as writing short stories and novels and writing articles, through which I won many local and international competitions, including: The Creative Reader two years on Consecutively, the pioneers of reading for two years, the little writer in the Big Book for three years, reading is an art, fun and beauty, by reading we rise, with my words, I created two years, the reading challenge I participated in for six years and this is the seventh year, and the heritage competition for writing, the fifty book competition, a competition in Zayed's love, most important thing I have won Hamdan award Due to the extra curricular I did well at.
I love learning and practicing programming, especially the Python language. Through that, i won the IOS design challenge Compition, participated to be in the national team for the Informatics Olympiad and the Hope Challenge competition, which was based on its idea of programming a robot to take a trip to Mars, participated at STEM challenge made by Abu Dhabi university and more.
I am a journalist for Abu Dhabi media channels and have appeared before on Sharjah Radio and TV channels, as well as a cartoon voice performer in cartoon programs. I present a journalist with one of Abu Dhabi media channels. I speak Arabic, English, Russian and Chinese, and I practice sign language. I am also good at video editing, as I have edited many short and long videos that I edit and are on my social media accounts as I'm a content creator.
I aspire to specialize in the field of aviation and then apply to become an astronaut in the future with an agency Mohammed bin Rashid Space.
Alaa Alsayed
Hello, My name is Alaa Alsayed, I’m a 16 years Sustainability ambassador, content creator, Graphic designer, Voice actress & TV presenter with Abu Dhabi Media, the youngest CodersHq ambassador, an inventor with 3 inventions, author, content & podcast creator, and many more…
One of my most special talents is public speaking! Since I was very young I hosted TV shows with Abu Dhabi Media TV’s and Radio’s. I also presented in lots of awarding ceremonies and activities. I also have a broadcast and was the youngest broadcast maker awarded by Sheikh Rashid Alnuaimi in the Arab broadcast.
As a a content creator and an inspiring youth with a strong track record of achievements and active involvement in the field of sustainability, my participation in COP28 fills me with immense pride and excitement. It's an incredible opportunity to contribute to global efforts in addressing climate change. My aim is to make a meaningful impact by sharing my knowledge, collaborating with like-minded individuals, and advocating for practical solutions. aspiring to empower youth in the fields of sustainability, inventions and creativity I’m really looking forward to my participation in COP28. Let’s make COP28 memorable and make a difference!
Chaima Ahajem
“This is not just about the environment, it’s about the community, it’s about jobs, it’s about justice.”
My name is Chaima Ahajem, I'm 17-year-old, I'm in my last year of high school and I'm an economic student, And I am from Khouribga a small city in morocco. I've always wanted to give a voice to those people who are the most affected by climate change, And I am currently a member of the Young Reporters of the Environment led by Mohamed 6 foundation. I would be honoured to take part in the 28th meeting of conference of the parties COP28 to expand my knowledge on all challenges facing the world climate and to negotiate global goals for tackling climate change, And i'm so grateful for this amazing opportunity that not many people get to experience as a young teenager representing a large category of young people and I look forward to raise their awareness about the importance of protecting the environment.
Aafaf ID LAFQIH
"The future does not choose us, but we choose our future"
Hi. My name is Aafaf ID LAFQIH, I'm an 17 years old Young Reporter For the Environnement from Morocco, specifically from the city of Sidi Ifni ( a very small city in the south of Morocco) . I started my environnementale career from 2018-2019 . I won the National Prise in 2019 for the YRE conteste, organized by the Foundation for Environmental Education and implemented by the Mohamed 6 Foundation for Environmental Protection in Morocco.
I love mathematics and its problems, and I was with the national team for the Mathematical Olympics, but my love for the environment and my ambition to make change is greater. So I abandoned my Olympic track to participate in Cop28, as this event coincided with the December training for the Olympics.
My interest in the environment began with my grandfather, who owned a farm, which had a very good return, given what we know about climate change, his farm was greatly affected, and he appeared very sad. And here I began to think about what simple people who depend on agriculture as their basic income suffer from. That is why I will take advantage of my participation in Cop28 to represent the voice of everyone who suffers in silence. I believe that we are the hope and we are the ones who will make a difference.
Omaima Bani
" They call us dreamers, but we're the ones who don't sleep, born to make history "
Hello, my name is Omaima Bani, I am sixteen years old, young reporter for the environment from morocco specifically from the city of Dakhla (south of Morocco). I was born on July 26, 2007 It is a very important day for me because the moon was on it Waxing Gibbous, this is my favorite moon shape.
I have many interests and talents, some of them are singing, I love to sing Arabic songs because they are distinctive and make my voice strong and comfortable to hear.
My family calls me the little photographer, because I am very interested in photography, and I take beautiful pictures of everything amazing I see " I was created to create "
Since I was young, I have been filming videos on my mother’s phone and imagining myself as a journalist " Act like the person you want to become ", That is why I have loved journalism since childhood, and I participated in many competitions about it, I won at the regional level It was a wonderful experience, I did the best and God did the rest.
My talents and interests do not stop here, but I am even interested in the field of the environment I love nature, water, fresh air and forest, I smell purity in them. " Our planet is in our hands”
I always say die with memories not dreams, Because it has been one of my dreams since I was young to succeed, My choice to participate in the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 28 ) in Dubai United Arab Emirates (UAE). With the distinguished participation of the Kingdom of Morocco in this conference, it is considered a success for me. I joined The Moroccan delegation include the Secretary General of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection. I am proud and I want to thank Mrs. Nazha Al-Alawi Secretary General of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection , the Foundation’s Director of Partnerships, Ms. Kenza Al-Khalfi Director of the Ministry's Partnership for Communication and Cooperation for Economic Transition and Sustainable Development, Mr. Rachid Ferdidi, Director of Climate Change for Biodiversity and Green Economy at the Ministry, Mr. Razi Bouzkar, for their efforts to make this institution successful and for giving us this opportunity.
Nihal Bentoumia
Hello, my name is Nihal Bentoumia, I'm 16 years old and I'm high school student from Jerada, a coal mining city in the north east of Morocco.
I'm really happy to be a part of those who are defending our planet and contributing to sensitising my generation to the nessecity of preserving the environment and exploiting its resources in a rational manner, within the framework of what is known as sustainable development in order to preserve our lives and the lives of the future generations.
So I extend my sincere thanks to everyone who contributed from near or far, to guiding us and taking our hands as young journalists so that our voices can reach the world, and to express our expectations from officials and decision-makers so that they take the necessary measures to reduce environmental degradation.
A warm welcome to them all! Keep an eye on YRE’s Facebook (Young Reporters for the Environment) and Instagram (@yre_int) pages during COP28 for daily updates from the conference!