A series of UNU-IAS events at the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP30) in Belém, Brazil engaged youth from Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan in dialogues on links between culture, nature and climate action. They featured two high school students from Ishikawa Prefecture participating in COP30 as part of the UNU-IAS Next-Generation Leader Development Programme. This youth empowerment initiative, implemented by the institute's Operating Unit Ishikawa/Kanazawa (OUIK), has been training students from across Ishikawa Prefecture to develop understanding and skills for contributing to international policy dialogue.
Miyu Hira (student, Kanazawa Nishikigaoka High School) presented in the event Regeneration Generation: Youth Action and Meaning-making in the Climate Crisis, held at the Thailand Pavilion on 19 November. The event discussed what students expect from future COPs and the priorities of younger generations. Ms. Hara shared her views on the importance of cooperation between adults and youth, as well as the value of expanding opportunities for learning and education on environmental issues. She also gave origami cranes to students from the University of Washington as a cultural exchange. During the event H.E. Hirotaka Ishihara (Minister of the Environment, Japan) visited the pavilion and exchanged greetings with the students.
On 20 November, UNU-IAS organised an event at the Thailand Pavilion that introduced OUIK research connecting culture and nature. It illustrated these links through a calligraphy performance by Aoi Tachibana (student, Kanazawa University Senior High School), who inscribed the phrases ichigo ichie (one time, one meeting), sanshi suimei (an idiom describing a scenic landscape with purple mountains and clear water), and rebirth. Juan Pastor-Ivars (Research Fellow & Academic Associate, UNU-IAS) explained how these concepts remind us of the need to listen and to strive for balance, while appreciating the beauty of nature.
