Help Wen-Yu get to Lima! GLF/COP20

Help Wen-Yu get to the GLF + COP 20!

Hi friends, family, colleagues and anyone else I have the pleasure of knowing,

As some of you might know (through my excitement in the past few days), I have been offered a youth leadership position at the Global Landscapes Forum on December 6th-7th alongside the UN Climate Change Confrence (COP 20) in Lima, Peru.

The Global Landscapes Forum brings together thousands of negotiators, world leaders, researchers, civil society leaders, business leaders, practitioners and policymakers in agriculture, forestry and development, funding organizations, and media in an interactive process of seeking combined solutions to complex land use challenges and encouraging stakeholders to identify policy options, investment opportunities and research priorities. It is the largest, most influential event outside the UNFCCC COP. 

Around the world, the efforts of young people to change their world often go unnoticed—but December’s Global Landscapes Forum in Peru will give young people the deserved spotlight.

Twelve young entrepreneurs, including myself, will lead innovative discussions on land use, climate change and sustainable development issues and then pitch ideas to an audience of more than 1,000 ministers, CEOs, activists, global policy leaders and top scientists. My role, which received over over 770 applicants, is to collate ideas from brainstorming sessions and critical discussions, and to pitch a central idea on forests, agriculture, mountains and land use in the new climate regime to a high-level expert panel, with representatives from the World Bank, Ministry of Environment of Peru, a multinational corporation and an international research director. 





Read my story here . Find out more about my team here .










Why should we support you?


Due to lack of sponsorship, I am resorting to your help and your generosity. I am hoping to raise at least half of my required costs. The cost here has been calculated by the organization committee, including the costs for the entire trip (the two day conference and the one-day workshop on the 5th). I used Google's automatic currency exchange converter to transform it into Pound Sterling. This comes from a  suport letter from the hosts vouching for my participation which you can view here (including the cost breakdown they recommended on page 1). If you would like to contact the Global Landscapes Forum about me, you may email Michelle Kovacevic at www.cgiar.org.

Those who know me for a while will know that I am passionate about being involved with policymaking and activism. Some might know I've spent holidays volunteering in orphanages, or looking after HIV/AIDS patients. I have at times taken considerable personal risks to advocate for what I believe in. This time around, things may not be as exciting or dangerous, but is incredibly important. I would not be asking for your help if I do not need to. This is a fantastic opportunity for me to contribute.


 

What can we do?

Donate - any small amount matters! I am grateful for your help and contribution, even if it was just a pound (or dollar) here and there. They do add up and make this opportunity possible for me.

Give me ideas. I am also approaching my university and student societies, as well as looking into grants. Information sharing is also a very powerful tool, so please feel free to leave suggestions.

You can also support us by tweeting any of the following:

"12 young entrepreneurs to pitch ideas for planet’s future @GlobalLF #COP20 http://bit.ly/1Dtrjnh #thinklandscape"

"Join 12 youth who will think differently about natural resource challenges at @GlobalLF at #COP20: http://bit.ly/1Dtrjnh #thinklandscape"

Thank you so much for your time and support!

 Wen-Yu Weng
M.Sc. Development Studies, London School of Economics (currently)
M.Sc. Environmental Policy, University of Oxford (2012)
B.Sc. Biomedical Science and International Studies, Mahidol University International College (2011)