UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany (November 6-17) |07 November 2017

‘Seychelles’ youth have so many opportunities to become great and to do great things’

Stephanie Stacy Nair is a young Seychellois working with the James Michel Foundations as a social media manager.  She is part of the Seychelles youth delegation attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) which is taking place in Bonn, Germany.

Stacy Nair is the only daughter in her family and she is a mother to an energetic four-year-old boy. 

“Being a mother has taught me a lot of qualities which I now apply to my daily life,” says Stacy proudly.  She describes herself as an open-minded person with a strong personality and a good sense of humour to accompany it.

“After all laughter is the best medicine,” says Stacy, who also enjoys swimming and yoga.

Stacy says she is immensely fascinated by current global issues and have a special interest in climate change and the Blue economy.

“The James Michel Foundation has a strong vision to sensitise people about the Blue economy, climate change and its impacts on Seychelles and the world,” says Stacy. 

The Foundation promotes environmental protection, encourages sustainable development, and it also promotes, advocates for and raises awareness on the cause of small island developing states.

“This reflects my passion and interests,” she says.

For Stacy climate change is indeed a real threat and she believes that everyone must act now to preserve the future.

Stacy says her participation in COP23 will enable her to witness sophisticated policy making processes and international negotiations firsthand.

“It will also provide me with the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences, build new networks and develop creative ideas to fight climate change,” Stacy said in an interview before she left for Germany.

The following are excerpts from the interview:

Q: How did you get the opportunity to attend the climate change conference?

A: It was only a few months ago when I started posting about all the different competitions that an international organisation call ‘Climate Tracker’ was organising and through these contests young people could enroll and get a chance to win a trip to Germany to attend COP23...but little did I know that I would be attending as well. 

But then I read about the Commonwealth Climate Change Advocacy and Diplomacy Training that was to be held in Seychelles, in collaboration with Climate Tracker…and I immediately applied for it. It was an amazing experience. It was during this training that we were informed that the initiative was also a preparation for the actual COP23 and that there maybe will be a chance for Seychellois youth to attend. This is how it all started.

(By participating in this one week training programme Stacy became eligible to later apply to attend COP23).

Q: What do you hope to achieve at COP23?

A: As youth we are going to help shine a light on the problems we face in Seychelles and share our experiences as small island developing states. By adding our voices to the debate, we will put pressure on the advanced countries of the Paris Agreement to increase their actions to slow down climate change in vulnerable societies, like ours.

This meeting (COP23) is so important that I feel citizens of Seychelles should be part of the process even though they are not physically there, so the next best thing is to document it on social media.

The event will be hectic but I will do my utmost to involve everyone in the journey to COP23. On this note I invite everyone to please like the Facebook page ‘Seychelles Eco-Warriors Abroad’ (run by SYAH –Seychelles). This is where all of the youth climate advocates will be posting”.  

(Stacy hopes that after her participation in COP23, she will come back to Seychelles with brand new ideas and with more motivation and inspiration to actively raise more awareness on climate change and its effects and the threat that it poses for Seychelles. She also plans to raise a lot of awareness through social media).

Q: Any last word?

A: I remember former President James Michel once said that ‘Beyond the horizon there are infinite possibilities’. Therefore, the youth of Seychelles should not limit themselves as they have so many opportunities to become great and to do great things. They need to play their part and get more involved in the fight against climate change. We are not the youth of tomorrow or the future we are the youth of today. On this note I would also like to extend my gratitude to the James Michel Foundation for believing in me and for supporting my trip to COP23.

Compiled by S. M. Barbé