KATHMANDU: Nepali youth leader Sonika Paudel has been appointed Global Coordinator and Global Focal Point (GFP) of the Mountain Communities and Ecosystems Youth Working Group under the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY).
The newly established working group aims to bring issues affecting mountain communities, Himalayan ecosystems and climate-vulnerable regions to the forefront of international policymaking.
Paudel, who represents Nepal and serves on the Board of Directors of YFEED Foundation Nepal, is pursuing a PhD in Agricultural and Extension Education at Virginia Tech in the United States. Her nomination was supported by the SAARC Youth Platform and formally ratified by the MGCY Secretariat on September 28.
The working group will officially launch its global advocacy through a side event at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on October 9, in connection with the Third Committee (SOCHUM) of the 81st UN General Assembly.
Paudel is scheduled to deliver an official statement on behalf of MGCY, highlighting the climate crisis, glacier melt, landslides and flash floods affecting the Himalayan region, including recent disasters in Nepal.
The group will focus on mountain youth participation in global climate and biodiversity forums, climate justice and disaster risk reduction, and linking academic research and traditional local knowledge with policymaking.
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