The Youth Who Love Egypt Foundation has concluded its participation in the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), held in Nairobi from November 29 to December 13, 2025. The engagement involved direct monitoring of the Assembly’s proceedings, including the Youth Environment Assembly, the Open-Ended Committee of Permanent Representatives (OECPR), meetings of Major Groups and Stakeholders, and the closing plenary of the Assembly.
The Foundation participated under the session’s theme “Towards a Resilient Planet,” represented by its Chairperson and Executive Director, Ahmed Fathi, who moderated the Major Groups and Stakeholders press conference. This conference served as a platform to present the core demands of civil society and youth, conveying their priorities as raised throughout the negotiation days—directly and without mediation or reformulation.
Throughout the Assembly, the Foundation closely followed the negotiation process and the proposed decisions, issuing a near-daily newsletter via LinkedIn across six consecutive editions. This newsletter reached over 45,000 followers and professionals worldwide, with more than 15,000 actual readers, enabling the sharing of inside developments from the negotiation halls with a broader audience of youth and those interested in environmental action. Within its capacity, the Foundation also facilitated the participation of several international youth by supporting their acquisition of event access badges.
In terms of outcomes, the Assembly adopted a number of significant resolutions. These included resolutions addressing wildfire management, coral reef protection, handling Sargassum blooms, and one concerning glaciers and the cryosphere. Resolutions also covered governance areas, including supporting youth engagement in environmental work, highlighting the role of sports in sustainable development, enhancing coordination among multilateral environmental agreements, and addressing artificial intelligence issues. In the same context, the ongoing negotiations for a legally binding international instrument to address plastic pollution received clear political support from the Assembly.
The high-level discussions accompanying the session reflected several key messages, most notably the affirmation of the Ministerial Declaration as a political reference for the upcoming period, and the highlighting of the persistent implementation and financing gap—which remains the greatest challenge to translating resolutions into concrete action on the ground. The pivotal role of the UN Environment Programme was also emphasized, alongside growing political ambition on interconnected issues such as climate, nature, and One Health, contrasted with the constraints imposed by the need for consensus among member states.
Commenting on the participation, Ahmed Fathi, Chairperson and Executive Director of the Youth Who Love Egypt Foundation, stated:
“Our participation in UNEA-7 was not symbolic. We were present in the halls, engaged in the discussions, and conveyed the voice of youth and civil society as it is. The resolutions adopted by the Assembly are important, but the real test begins now: Will sufficient means of implementation and financing be made available, or will these commitments remain confined to paper?”
This participation is part of the Foundation’s broader regional and international presence. Its delegation in Nairobi coincided with another team from the Foundation participating in the Barcelona Summit for the Mediterranean Basin countries in Cairo. This parallel engagement reflects the expanding scope of the Foundation’s work and its role in bridging international negotiation processes with the on-the-ground reality of working with youth.
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