U7+ Worldwide Student Forum 2021: final reports

Read the U7+ Worldwide Student Forum 2021 final reports here

On behalf of the U7+ Alliance, UCL was privileged to jointly convene the U7+ Worldwide Student Forum 2021 with Northwestern University and the U7+ Student Leaders Board.

This year’s Forum was centred around the theme of “Climate Change: Intergenerational Conflict or Intergenerational Alliance?” 

Alongside the G7 summit in June and the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in November, the U7+ Worldwide Student Forum 2021 brought student voices to the centre of creating solutions in a way that takes the interests and rights of future generations into account.

94 student delegates from 24 U7+ partner universities, across 12 countries, were nominated to participate in this year’s Forum. Over the course of five months, they engaged in a wide variety of activities, debating and learning from each other, through academic events and skills masterclasses hosted by UCL.

The student delegates proposed ways to incorporate the interests and rights of future generations into climate action, policy and planning. Their final reports, compiled in the document above, will be presented at the U7+ Presidential Summit 2021 at the end of the month.

UCL President & Provost Dr Michael Spence said: "These students came from a broad range of academic backgrounds, including lawyers, climate scientists, geographers, anthropologists, psychologists, engineers and more. Such a variety of views, expertise and experiences can pose a challenge to generating consensus and the student delegates should be proud of how they turned their differences to their advantage when formulating the arguments presented here.

"It is evidence, if any more were needed, of the benefits of interdisciplinarity and diverse perspectives to support humanity in addressing pressing global issues."

For the latest news about UCL’s international activity, partnerships and opportunities, subscribe to the bimonthly Global Update newsletter.