For years, young climate leaders from countries like Nigeria have been given a seat at international forums like COP, yet their voices remain strikingly absent from final agreements. While youth delegates now regularly attend these global negotiations, research shows that negotiators from developing countries, particularly young ones face significant structural barriers, including limited access to preparatory training, restricted funding for extended stays, and exclusion from closed-door drafting sessions where the real decision-making happens.
This is the critical gap the Youth Climate Collective's Negotiation Café aimed to bridge. The intensive, two-day workshop brought together ten young Nigerian advocates, some of whom were preparing to serve on the country's official Youth Negotiation Delegation to COP30, equipping them with the technical skills and strategic insights needed to move from symbolic participation to substantive influence.
This article shares their experiences from the knowledge gaps they confronted to the powerful confidence they gained. It is a firsthand account of how the Negotiation Café prepared them to move from observers to effective negotiators, ready to secure stronger outcomes for Nigeria at COP30 and beyond.
Bridging the Knowledge Gap: From Outsiders to Informed Insiders
Before the workshop, many participants described feeling like outsiders to a closed-door process. They possessed deep passion and a drive for climate action, but the actual mechanics of international diplomacy were a mystery. The UNFCCC process seemed like an impenetrable system of unspoken rules and complex jargon.
"I was enlightened about the COP processes; I sincerely did not know a lot of the frameworks discussed," shared Priscilla Omenka, Team Lead at Ecofriends Nigeria, capturing a near-universal sentiment among the cohort.
This lack of clarity extended to the very documents that shape global climate policy. Comfort Apeh Francis, CEO of Greenbridge Africa admitted, "Before, I didn't really understand how policy papers and negotiation texts are made."
They had the moral authority and the will for change but lacked the practical know-how to translate their advocacy into actionable policy. The biggest gap was the chasm between activist passion, voiced in protests and campaigns, and the precise, strategic language required of a negotiator at the table. The workshop was designed specifically to build a bridge across that divide.
The Turning Point: From Big Ideas to Real-World Plans
The training moved from talk to action. The biggest lesson for everyone was learning how to turn their passion into practical plans that decision-makers can actually use.
Ifechi Anikwe, Youth and Climate Lead at Clean Technology Hub explained it best: "During the Framing Lab session, I learned that passion-driven demands like "climate justice now" must be translated into specific, actionable policy proposals that negotiators can work with. This realization fundamentally shifts my advocacy approach. Previously, I focused on raising awareness, but I now understand that influencing COP outcomes requires speaking the language of negotiators while maintaining activist urgency..”
This was a complete change in their approach. They stopped just stating problems and started learning how to build support and craft smart arguments to win people over.
Fasasi Sodiq, Founder Fasasi Youth Foundation described his key lesson: "This session completely reframed my understanding of climate advocacy. I moved from seeing COP as a platform for raising my voice to understanding it as a complex diplomatic arena with its own rules, procedures, and ethics. I'm better equipped to navigate the negotiation process itself."
This new mindset gave them a clear and unified mission for COP30: to present a unified African front, demanding direct funding for community-led adaptation and a just transition to clean energy.
New Confidence and a Clear Path Forward
The training successfully replaced the intimidation of the formal UN process with practical know-how. This shift was perfectly captured by Comfort Apeh Francis, who stated, "I feel more empowered to actively engage and contribute solutions to the ongoing climate crises, understanding negotiation skills and learning how I can add my voice to advocate for a sustainable planet." Her words underscore a critical outcome: participants moved from feeling like overwhelmed spectators to feeling equipped as confident problem-solvers, now possessing the specific skills to translate their passion into actionable advocacy.
"The Negotiation Café equipped me to engage with clarity, confidence, and conviction," added Akachukwu Fred Ijeoma, SouthEast Regional Coordinator at the Digital Climate Emergency Advocacy Nigeria.
This new confidence immediately turned into action. Participants didn't just feel ready for COP30; they left the workshop with a concrete game plan, already strategizing how to apply their skills.
This was evident in their immediate next steps: Ifechi Anikwe stated she will now focus on "researching Nigeria's national positions and identifying specific negotiation texts where youth input matters," moving from general advocacy to targeted policy influence. Meanwhile, Oko Victor Ehoche, Senior Research Officer at the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency is combining his science background with his new negotiation skills to push for technically sound and robust adaptation plans, ensuring his expertise has a direct pathway into the official process.
For this newfound momentum to translate into lasting impact, participants were clear that their preparation must be met with opportunity. They identified one major, persistent hurdle: simply getting into the room where decisions are made.
As Akachukwu Fred Ijeoma pointedly noted, the issue is "Limited access to decision-making spaces," where youth are often included just for tokenism. This acknowledgment moved the conversation beyond skills-building to confront the systemic barriers that often nullify youth participation.
The proposed solution from the delegates was straightforward and practical: to overcome this, they need ongoing mentorship to navigate the political landscape, dedicated funding for travel and accreditation to critical meetings, and authentic roles on national delegations that come with real responsibilities, not just symbolic titles.
A New Generation Has Arrived
The journey from the sidelines to the center of the debate is complete. The ten participants of the Negotiation Café are no longer just passionate advocates; they are strategic, skilled negotiators. They came in with questions and left with a clear game plan, proving that with the right investment, youth can move from being observers to becoming architects of climate solutions.
As Oko Victor Ehoche stated, they bring a "redefinition of leadership itself—one that is bold, evidence-based and deeply rooted in empathy for future generations."
The old question, Are young people ready to lead? has been definitively answered. They are not just ready; they are already leading. The new, more pressing question is this: Is the system ready to embrace the bold, empathetic, and evidence-based leadership that this generation offers?
The Negotiation Café has equipped them to walk into COP30 not to ask for permission, but to claim their rightful place. The table has always been theirs. Now, they are prepared to pull up a chair and get to work.