Youth Forum on Climate Finance Shanghai

British Council organised a “Youth Forum on Climate Finance” conference in early September at the 2010 Shanghai Expo. This conference brought together young people who are taking part in British Council Climate Change projects in different countries around the world. The Youth Forum gave the participants the opportunity to voice their opinion about economic and financial solutions/approaches to tackling climate change, and form a declaration at the end of the session, which will be submitted to negotiators from all participating countries before or at COP16. The following is a report by the Finnish Climate Advocates (Juha-Pekka, Laura, Elina and Maria) that took part in the Youth Forum.

Creative Cities

Creative Cities was an international project designed and managed by the British Council. It shared experiences from across Europe on the ways in which creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation can help to improve people’s lives – making cities better places to live, work and play.

The Creative Cities project explored new ways to improve the quality of life in urban communities by involving young professionals from diverse backgrounds. The project enabled them to acquire knowledge, networks, skills and tools to strengthen their voice in making decisions on the environment they live in. Discussions covered a range of issues, including public spaces, arts and social activities, the contribution of creative industries to city development, and the role of cultural policy.

The project worked in partnership with a range of cities and organizations active in developing innovative approaches to city policy. Involvement in the project provided an opportunity for cities to establish a competitive advantage for themselves and attract creative talent, which contributed to their future economic growth.

The project was organised with partners representing the private and public sector and involving European cities from the UK, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia. Project was finished in 2011.