17 August 2009: The largest-ever youth gathering on climate change opened in Daejeon, Republic of Korea, on 17 August 2009, and will conclude on 23 August.

The Tunza International Youth Conference is hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in cooperation with UNEP National Committee for the Republic of Korea. The conference is organized around the theme “Climate Change: Our Challenge” and will include a Seal the Deal Global Townhall and a Global Debate.
The Conference is expected to result in a statement to world leaders demanding that they ‘seal the deal’ on a new agreement to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in Copenhagen, Denmark, this December, as well as an action plan for promoting actions on climate change.
More than 800 young people from over 100 countries are participating in the conference. Hundreds of other youth will be linked to the meeting via a global town hall meeting to agree on a message to send to world leaders. A social networking platform for youth on climate change – my.uniteforclimate.org – will also be launched. [UN press release][Conference website]