2023

September 2023: WCC supports member Angelica Mantikas to attend COP28

WCC is supporting our member, Angelica Mantikas, to attend the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), COP28 international climate change conference to be held in the UAE in December.

About Angelica and her purpose for attending COP28

Hailing from the island of Chios, Greece, but having grown up in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, as a first-generation Greek-Australian, Angelica's island roots have garnered her a close connection to the natural world and the complex web of life it supports. Her strong connection to her island, culture, and family traditions have led to a passion to fight for the natural world and the stable climate on which it relies to thrive.

Angelica is a board member and project lead for Australian Youth For International Climate Engagement Incorporated (AYFICE). As part of her role, she has founded the inaugural Oceania Climate Stories project - a publication compiling the perspectives, stories, experiences, and voices of youth from across the continent.

The Oceania Climate Stories project seeks to bridge the gap between local realities and high-level decision-making spaces, particularly ensuring that the voices of youth who cannot attend COP are still heard. As part of this project, coordinated by Angelica and her colleagues, AYFICE is sending four youth delegates to share their stories in person via the AYFICE COP28 Youth Climate Delegate Program.

Angelica will coordinate a number of events at COP28, notably the launch of the Oceania Climate Stories publication, which will occur in the Australia Pavilion alongside youth delegates who will be sharing how climate change has impacted their communities as well as their unique solutions. She will also coordinate a Youth Stakeholder Roundtable series at the Monash Pavilion, aiming to bring together youth from across Oceania throughout COP to plan a way forward in pushing for stronger climate action, particularly in the lead-up to COP31. 

Why WCC is supporting Angelica to attend COP28

Angelica joined the WCC earlier this year and has brought a valuable youth perspective. She has already attended a number of WCC online events and is keen to work with us to disseminate the Charter to younger women and increase membership and engagement among that age group.  

In Australia, the WCC Advocacy Circle has built a relationship with the Australian Government negotiating team at the Department of Climate Change, Energy and Water. Having a WCC member attend COP28 as part of the Australian delegation, further strengthens this relationship. 

Internationally, women are increasingly mobilising around action on climate change and WCC is excited to be a part of this movement. Angelica's attendance at COP28 will help develop our existing networks and open up new ones. This is particularly important as we move towards COP31 which Australia is bidding to co-host with other Pacific Island countries. 

The Oceania Climate Stories project that Angelica is taking to COP28 (see below) is an exciting initiative that aligns with many WCC values, including our WCC Charter for Change; and the importance of storytelling and the arts at the core of public discourse and in promoting social change (WCC Charter Action 7: Support artistic imagination and creative thinking at the centre of society).

Angelica previously attended COP27 as a youth representative pushing for stronger youth representation in national delegations and negotiations and has taken lead roles in other international youth leadership campaigns. She does all this whilst studying full-time for a Bachelor of International Relations at the Australian National University!

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