Leadership matters – help us make positive change!
Applications Due: 30th October 2026
Are you passionate about making change? Are you keen to learn more about how international negotiations work? Are you determined to ensure that young people are included in the process of climate policy- and decision-making?
The Future Leaders Network is seeking passionate young people to represent us as part of our delegations to the Y7, Y20 and COP.
What delegations can I apply for?
At FLN, we organise delegations to the yearly Y7, Y20 and COP events. Applicants can choose to apply for either one, two or three of these programs when completing the form.
Y7
Youth7 (Y7) is the official youth engagement group of the G7, a group of advanced democracies who work together to address the world’s biggest global challenges. As a UK Y7 delegate you will negotiate with other young people from across the G7 nations and represent the UK youth’s views to government officials and stakeholders involved in the G7.
Y20
Youth20 (Y20) is the official youth engagement group of the G20, a forum of major economies that collaborate to address global challenges. As a UK Y20 delegate, you will collaborate with young leaders from across the G20 nations, contribute to policy discussions, and advocate for the perspectives of UK youth to government officials and stakeholders involved in the G20.
COP
COP (Conference of the Parties) is the annual UN climate summit where countries come together to tackle global climate challenges and negotiate policies under the UNFCCC. As a UK COP delegate, you will collaborate with representatives from around the world, engaging in discussions and advocating for policies that reflect the priorities of the UK on climate action.
When and where do the Y7, Y20 and COP events take place?
The delegations will be attending their respective events in the following locations:
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- Y7: TBA
- Y20: TBA
- COP: Ethiopia
As the dates of these events are often first announced only a few months prior, we are unable to communicate exact timings at this point. However, they usually take place in the following months:
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- Y7: April - May
- Y20: May - August
- COP: November
Who can apply?
We welcome applications from young people from all parts of the U.K., and from all backgrounds. We want the U.K.’s delegates to the Y7 to be representative of the full diversity of U.K. youth.
The only eligibility criteria you must satisfy are:
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- You must be aged 18 – 30 by 14 January 2027;
- You must be a U.K. citizen OR have lived in the United Kingdom for 5 years; and
- You must be able to fully commit to the full term and time commitment of the opportunity.
We gather diversity data for equality monitoring purposes only – we DO NOT use it to determine the outcome of your application. Your diversity data will be treated in the strictest confidence, in accordance with our Privacy Notice, and will not affect the outcome of your application in any way.
What does the role involve?
Please carefully read through the Opportunity Descriptions to understand what being a delegate involves:
Y7
Y20
COP
- Opportunity: U.K. Delegate to the Youth 7 (Y7)
- Expected Commitment: 7 hours per week on average. You also must be able to attend the full duration of the week-long Y7 Summit – expected in June, exact dates TBC.
- Duration: 12 months (January 2027 to January 2028)
- Location: The majority of your activity (e.g. pre-Summit preparations with your delegation, pre-negotiations or Post-Summit Initiatives) is expected to take place remotely. The Summit itself is expected to take place in: TBA.
- Costs: Future Leaders Network does not charge any fees to apply to or participate in this opportunity. In-country costs (accommodation and board) are usually covered by the host organisation. Please Note: Successful candidates will be required to pay for all costs of participation, including travel to/from the Summit and any other costs not covered by the host.
About the opportunity
Being a Y7 delegate – or a youth representative to the G7 on the behalf of the U.K. – is a huge privilege and a huge responsibility. Your role is to champion the voice of U.K. and international youth at the highest level of international decision making.
You’ll be responsible for gathering evidence about what young people in the U.K. care about and want G7 world leaders to take action on. You’ll develop ambitious, actionable and achievable policy recommendations for world leaders on behalf of the young people you represent. You’ll campaign, tirelessly, for those recommendations to be adopted – by your international youth counterparts, by the U.K. government, by the G7, or by business or community partners.
You can download the full role description here.
- Opportunity: U.K. Delegate to the Youth 20 (Y20)
- Expected Commitment: 7 hours per week on average. You also must be able to attend the full duration of the week-long Y7 Summit – expected in November, exact dates TBC.
- Duration: 12 months (January 2027 to January 2028)
- Location: The majority of your activity (e.g. pre-Summit preparations with your delegation, pre-negotiations or Post-Summit Initiatives) is expected to take place remotely. The Summit itself is expected to take place in: TBA.
- Costs: Future Leaders Network does not charge any fees to apply to or participate in this opportunity. In-country costs (accommodation and board) are usually covered by the host organisation. Please Note: Successful candidates will be required to pay for all costs of participation, including travel to/from the Summit and any other costs not covered by the host.
About the opportunity
Being a Y20 delegate – or a youth representative to the G20 on the behalf of the U.K. – is a huge privilege and a huge responsibility. Your role is to champion the voice of U.K. and international youth at the highest level of international decision making.
You’ll be responsible for gathering evidence about what young people in the U.K. care about and want G20 world leaders to take action on. You’ll develop ambitious, actionable and achievable policy recommendations for world leaders on behalf of the young people you represent. You’ll campaign, tirelessly, for those recommendations to be adopted – by your international youth counterparts, by the U.K. government, by the G20, or by business or community partners.
You can download the full role description here.
- Opportunity: U.K. Delegate to COP
- Expected Commitment: 7 hours per week on average. You also must be able to attend the full duration of the week-long COP Summit – during November 2026, exact dates TBC.
- Duration: 12 months (January 2027 to January 2028)
- Location: Ethiopia.
- Costs: Future Leaders Network does not charge any fees to apply to or participate in this opportunity. If COP takes place in-person, you will be required to pay or secure funding for all travel, accommodation and expenses.
About the opportunity
For nearly three decades the United Nations has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits called the ‘Conference of the Parties’ (or COP for short). World leaders will arrive in the host country, alongside tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses and citizens for several days of talks to agree collective actions to tackle climate change.
You’ll be responsible for gathering evidence about what young people in the U.K. care about and want world leaders to take action on in relation to climate change. You’ll develop ambitious, actionable and achievable policy recommendations for world leaders on behalf of the young people you represent. You’ll campaign, tirelessly, for those recommendations to be adopted- by your international youth counterparts, by the U.K. government, by the United Nations, or by business or community partners.
You can download the full role description here.
How will my application be assessed?
Throughout the application process we will be assessing you against the Essential Criteria as set out in the Role Descriptions above. You should feel free to bring evidence from all parts of your life – personal, professional, voluntary etc. There is no ‘right answer’ – all we’re looking for is evidence against each of the Essential Criteria, which can come from any sector or any experience you have had.
You are encouraged to adopt the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format to give specific examples when you have demonstrated the Essential Criteria. Remember to be specific about what actions you took, and the impact you had.
What do I need to include in the application?
To apply, please complete the application form at the top and bottom of this page. In the application form you will be directed to answer the following questions.
Q1 – This question has two parts.
a. Tell us about why you would like to become a Y7/ Y20/ COP delegate and how would it progress your personal and professional ambitions.
b. What skills have you gained from your experiences to date that would make you a great Y7/ Y20/ COP delegate.
You have 500 words in which to answer both parts of the question. You can choose how many words you would like to use to answer each part but the two parts together must be 500 words or less.
Q2 – Tell us about a time you have made a positive change in the world. What was the problem, how did you resolve it and what was the impact?
You have 500 words to answer this question.
When should I apply and when will I hear back?
Applications for 2027 Delegations close in:
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Apply By:
Friday
Outcome:
Friday
Please pay close attention to the following timeline and note that you must be available to complete the various stages of the application process at the following times:
Application Submission:
Written applications must be submitted by 23:59 GMT on Friday 30th October 2026. Applications submitted after this time will automatically be considered for the following year’s delegations, unless informed otherwise by the applicant. Unfortunately, due to the number of applications we receive, we cannot make any special considerations for late submissions.
Application Outcome:
All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application on Friday 25th January 2027.
… still have questions?
I'm in! Where can I apply?
Applications for all three programs can be completed through our form at the top of this page – click here.
How do I know if my application has been received?
When you submit your application, you should receive a confirmation email to the inbox you supply for your contact.
If you have not received this confirmation email, please be sure to first check your spam folder.
Due to the number of applications we receive, we kindly ask that you only contact us regarding your application if you need to update your contact details.
Application done! What happens now?
Congratulations!
After submitting your application, you should have received a confirmation email from us. This means your application is safely in our hands.
You will also be added to our applicants mailing list, where you will receive updates on the application process, as well as FLN news.
Oops - I'm one day late with my application! Can I still be considered?
Unfortunately, due to the sheer number of applications we receive each year, we are unable to accept applications that are submitted past 23:59 on the deadline date.
All applications received after this time will be automatically considered for the following year’s delegations.
How does the selection procedure work?
After the application deadline, all submissions are carefully reviewed by the FLN team against the criteria outlined on this page.
All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by email on the alotted date, regardless of whether they are successful or not.
How can I improve my application?
So, when you’re looking at the Essential Criteria in the role description, and asking yourself, “Have I got that?”, the answer is probably “Yes!” Over the years we’ve heard amazing examples of evidence for Essential Criteria from a huge range of backgrounds – from candidates’ experience as a member of a team sports club, from their part-time job in retail, from their time in education, or from a disaster family holiday. We encourage you to draw upon all of your experiences as a young person and to bring evidence to us from any part of your life. The skill developed in negotiating with your persistent younger sibling is, to us, equal to the skill developed in negotiating with suppliers in a big company. Bring it all, folks.
There is no such thing as an ‘ideal candidate’. You do not have to come from a certain part of the country, have a certain educational history, or be employed in a certain sector. Yes, we ask for those details at the start of the application process – but that’s only so we can carry out an anonymised equality assessment at each stage of the selection process to ensure we’re not disadvantaging young people from one community to another. Your assessor will never see that information – in fact, the assessment of the written application is entirely name- and background-blind.
We also encourage you to use the ‘STAR’ (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format in your answers, where appropriate. You’ll see that under each question, we’ve included the Essential Criteria we’ll be assessing you against. Help us out, make it clear how what you’re writing relates to what we’re looking for. One of our mantras in assessor training is “Evidence not assertions”. Don’t tell us “My interpersonal skills are off the charts” – that’s an assertion that we have no data to back up. Instead, give us a specific example of “A time when…” and give us lots of information about what you specifically did to achieve the result. You might think it’s boring and granular – but to us, it’s evidence which helps us to build a picture of how you might perform as a delegate.
Finally, if you’re worried about the policy recommendation element, just remember what we’re looking for is critical thinking and problem solving. We don’t really care about the subject matter of the issue you’re trying to solve – it could be tackling homelessness or reducing poverty, or it could be increasing the number of carrots your partner eats each day. What we’re looking for is that you’ve researched and properly diagnosed the problem; that you’ve evaluated other existing solutions; and that you can explain why your solution would work, hopefully referencing how it solves the issues that previous solutions didn’t.
How will I know the result of my application?
All applicants will receive an email from us regarding the outcome of their application on Friday 25th January 2027.
I didn't get accepted. What are my options now?
Every year, we receive hundreds of applications for our delegate positions. Therefore, we hope that you don’t feel discouraged if your application is unsuccessful.
You are welcome to reapply again for the following year, and in the meantime, we encourage you to keep strengthen your experience, skills and knowledge by getting engaged in our other opportunities at FLN.
Will I receive feedback on my application?
Due to the sheer number of applications we receive for our delegations each year, we are unfortunately unable to provide feedback on all of them.
If you have not been accepted but would like to apply again the following year, we recommend using the resources on this page, as well as reviewing the profiles of our previous delegates to work on strengthening your submission.
Terms and Conditions:
All applications will be kept in accordance with our Privacy Policy and by submitting an application you are agreeing to our Terms & Conditions.
… and good luck!