Kahil Lloyd will soon represent Australia as only one of seven youths nationwide selected to attend the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Qatar.
The 23-year-old Griffith law/arts student will join the Global Voices delegation and have the opportunity to witness and influence international negotiations among a range of world leaders.
Chosen from a field of hundreds of applicants, the Griffith University Honours College student says this trip will lay a good foundation for what he hopes to be a life-long career in tackling global issues.
“Climate change is one of the biggest issues facing my generation and I feel a sense of responsibility to work towards being part of a solution,” he said.
“It will be a truly amazing experience to see how the international community can come together and work towards an agreement for putting new strategies in place for a sustainable future.”
This is not the first time Kahil will travel across international waters for his passion, having already spent two months in the Netherlands at the start of the year undertaking a short course in International Environmental LawwithMaastricht University.
It was this that ignited his interest in the legal mechanisms involved in tackling climate change — a topic he is now exploring in a research fellowship.It is this same area that he hopes to pursue as a career upon graduation.
“I’d love to be a part of the development of public policy both in Australia and overseas and the United Nations is obviously the pinnacle of this work,” he said.
In preparation for Qatar, Kahil and the other youth delegates recently visited Parliament House in Canberra, where they met with former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, current Foreign Minister Senator Bob Carr, Climate Change Minister Greg Combet, Shadow Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, Shadow Environment Minister Greg Hunt, Leader of the Greens Senator Christine Milne and Australia’s Ambassador for Climate Change, Dr. Justin Lee.
He says this was “a great experience — being able to spend two daysat our nation’s capital to meetanddiscuss global issues with our country’s leaders.”
“I now can’t wait to meet with international leaders and I’m grateful to the Griffith Honours College and Global Voicesfor this one-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The 18th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in Doha, Qatar from 26 November to 7 December 2012.
Global Voices was established in 2011 to promote an understanding of and participation in international diplomacy by young Australians.