International mentoring programme for female climate action influencers launched in Glasgow

Published: 9 June 2022

An opportunity for young, Glaswegian female climate activists has been launched on World Oceans Day which will see 10 - 20 young people mentored as part of the Women4Climate international unique mentoring programme and announced by council Leader, Susan Aitken during COP26 in November 2021 and part of the C40 declarations.

Glasgow will join a growing number of cities - 20 to date - that have launched their own Women4Climate Mentorship Programme in order to empower the next generation of climate leaders.

Other cities signed up include Auckland, Barcelona, Toronto, Mumbai and New Orleans and there will be also be the chance during the programme for successful applicants to share ideals with the other C40 cities.

The C40 Women4Climate Mentorship Programme matches mayors, city officials, and committed leaders from the business sector, international organisations and civil society with emerging women leaders with a passion for climate change.

Mentors share their knowledge and experiences, supporting the mentees to become powerful leaders in their chosen field, including politics, NGOs, business, media, and community groups.

Susan Aitken, Council Leader, who announced Glasgow's involvement during COP26 at a special Girls@COP26 hosted at Caledonian University to promote gender equality in the climate emergency, is looking forward to track the progress of the programme over the next 12 months and said today: "This is an amazing opportunity for our young people to be part of an innovative mentorship programme and link up with a worldwide group of woman with the same goal - to tackle the climate emergency.

"COP26 taught us that we all need to tackle climate challenges together and we need to give a platform for female voices to be heard across the globe.

"More than 2500 female secondary pupils took part in the special Girls@COP26 event in November and it was fantastic to hear them debate their views and discuss their solutions to stop the harm we are doing to our planet - I know that they are a big part of that solution.

"Over 10 months our mentees will collaborate with one another, their mentors and other female business, public sector and sector leaders.

"They will work to refine their project through the duration of the programme, while aligning with Glasgow's commitments to address climate change."

The application process is now open until the deadline on Wednesday 6 July at 12 midnight.

Full details on Glasgow's programme and eligibility criteria and links to the application process can be found at https://w4c.org/mentorship/women4climate-glasgow

Find out more about Women4Climate and the inspiring work that is going on around the world at https://w4c.org/who-we-are