YCI’s Youth Climate Leadership Program supports young people in the GTHA, aged 19-25, to grow leadership skills and enhance their careers while engaging their communities and driving climate change action.
Join us in this exclusive opportunity to build skills, network and make a real impact in your community!
YCI’s 6-month Youth Climate Leadership Program provides young people exclusive access to training, mentorship and experience leading a team to create and catalyze community-based climate action initiatives that make a positive impact.
Gain skills and experience in youth mobilization, project design, community development, social innovation and more.
Connect with 300+ youth and change-makers across the GTHA, including customized coaching and mentorship to support your growth.
Engage like-minded youth to design and implement a community-based climate action initiative that makes a real impact.
MEET OUR CLIMATE LEADERS
Click on the Leaders below to learn more about their climate action initiatives.
Mandy
Michelle
Karen
Amanda
Rachel
Leila
Angelina
Devanshu
Sydney
Nikita
Arya
Sylvie
Hurmat
Rachel
Divya
Maham
Emily
Jane
Alexandra
Eneria
Rosemary
Megan
Liam
Purvangi
Thalia
Jaden
Marina
Afreen
Miranda
Jill-Anne
Jenny
Aliyah
Nicole
Alexandria
Iman
Jonathan
Quincy
Saumya
Tarunpal
Claire
Ayesha
Jasia
Jyoti
Kanishka
Umair
Reinald
Amrit
Liz
Taylor
MarleneCatalyze a community-based climate action project as a YCI Climate Leader. Climate Leaders receive comprehensive training on designing and growing sustainable projects, youth mobilization and community development as well as climate science and traditional ecological knowledge. Climate Leaders also receive customized coaching, mentorship, and more.
Leadership & Youth Mobilization Training
Learn about leading with courage and mobilizing other youth by identifying your values and challenging your limiting beliefs.
Climate Action 101
Learn the basics of climate change, the importance of local context and climate communications best practices.
Design Thinking: Unpacking Complex Problems
Learn about breaking down complex problems, gathering insights through design research and exploring the opportunity space.
Design Thinking: Designing Innovative Solutions
Reframe your problem and opportunity + learn more about design thinking, ideation, and brainstorming.
Design Thinking: Design Development & Building Strategy
Develop and refine your project idea, learn about the Theory of Change and build a pilot project strategy.
Design Thinking: Project Planning
Dive into the nitty-gritty of planning your project, including resource mapping, milestones, budgets and partnerships.
Grant Writing Workshop
Learn the basics of grant writing and how to access seed funding for your pilot project.
Special Topics and Guest Speaker Sessions
Gain knowledge and learn from guest speakers in specialized areas such as Policy Change and Advocacy, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and more!
Am I the right fit?
You’ll fit right in if you:
- You want to make a real impact on climate change in your community.
- Want to learn and grow climate action leadership skills.
- Are excited about engaging other like-minded young people to take action.
Am I eligible to apply for this program?
- You’re 19-25 years old.
- You live in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area (GTHA).
- You want to build your leadership skills, engage with other youth and design a climate action project to create positive change in your community.
How do I apply for the leadership program?
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis as they are received. Successful applicants will be contacted within 2 weeks to schedule an interview. Apply early and don’t miss the chance to participate in this unique program and join our Climate Action Network.
Do I need to have a pre-existing project or project idea to apply
No, you do not need to have an established project or project idea to apply. To be eligible, you need to show passion and commitment to growing leadership skills and creating a positive impact through engaging your community in climate action.
What is the time commitment?
Participants can expect 3-5 hours weekly for virtual training sessions, asynchronous learning and project implementation. Training sessions are held on weekday evenings once per week for the first 2 months then staggered biweekly for the remaining program. There is also 1 half-day weekend Leadership Development session.
In addition to structured training sessions, participants are expected to dedicate time outside of training to iterate and implement their climate action project. This time commitment can vary based on the scope of the climate solution.
How do I get access to funding?
You will access funds through a grant proposal process which will be evaluated on a set of criteria and approved by YCI before funds are administered.
How are you defining a climate action project?
A climate action project can be broadly defined to address, whether directly or indirectly, the causes, inputs and/or symptoms of climate change.
Can I participate as a team?
Your participation in the program will primarily be as an individual. The program invests in both your personal leadership and your project. However, YCI encourages and will provide opportunities for you to engage others in your project and in the program. Some programming may be made available to your broader team, if applicable.
I see that part of the program is about engaging other young people in the design or implementation of my climate action project. What is the requirement for engaging other youth?
Your participation in the program will primarily be as an individual. The program invests in both your personal leadership and your project. However, there will be opportunities for you to engage others in your project and in the program. Some programming may be made available to your broader team, if applicable.
Each participant is expected to engage a minimum of 2-6 other young people in their project in some way. Engagement can range from recruiting team members to help design your project, consulting with youth on solution design or engaging youth in spreading awareness of and/or access to your solution. The purpose of the program is to harness the potential of youth to drive positive climate action. YCI encourages many different forms of youth engagement to achieve this.
- YCI Climate Action Network member
YCI’s Youth Climate Leadership Program gives youth the opportunity to lead, create and implement community-based climate action initiatives thanks to funding from Ontario Trillium Foundation.
