Vinay Karthik ’25 is set to embark on the opportunity of a lifetime. He was selected to be part of the Global Coordination Team (GCT) for YOUNGO, the youth constituency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The GCT is made up of about 40 leaders around the world who help organize UN climate conventions, conferences and events.
Vinay was chosen as one of the 15 youth around the world to be on the Communications and Media Team and will represent the mainland United States as the Logistics Manager for COP28 in Dubai. Vinay departed for Dubai on Nov. 28 and will participate in the conference for 10 days. His primary role will be planning, scheduling and managing all of the media events at COP28.
“What really excites me is that this COP28 is more focused around youth,” Vinay said. “We’re going to have a Youth Day with different activities and sessions about youth climate action. The main goal of the media team is to talk about the different deliberations the parties are having about climate policies and action, and to make it more accessible and understandable to youth and people around the world.”
Vinay is already equipped with superior management skills from his role as Editor-in-Chief of the Beacon, the school’s student-run newspaper. He’s also the leader of the Citizens Climate Lobby youth action team.
“I’m really interested in spreading awareness more about climate issues and topics through social media and communications,” Vinay said. “This is really a huge opportunity for me to explore that interest and actually be on the ground and see where the climate policy decisions are being made.”