• 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 2026 to January 2027)
• 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 France.
• 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. 

Here’s what you need to know about this opportunity and working with FLN:

1. You are an ambassador for all young people across the United Kingdom.

This isn’t a platform for your personal cause. You are here to represent all young people from across the United Kingdom. You should expect to be exposed to new perspectives; take forward ideas that aren’t your own; and be held accountable to the young people you serve. You will be committed to behaving professionally, ethically, respectfully and with integrity,  recognising that your actions speak for more than just yourself.

2. You’ll be rewarded with opportunities to develop your leadership skills, build your network and access unique and exclusive experiences.

We do everything we can to give young people unparalleled access to leadership opportunities that help them develop themselves, their careers and ultimately, to change the world. In previous years, this has included introductions to thought-leaders; expert mentorship; access to a wide-ranging and exciting training programme; and nominations for media and speaking opportunities. You should be excited about personal growth, learning new things and challenging yourself. Many young people talk about how their lives have changed as a direct result of the work we do – we hope yours is too!

3. Our opportunities have been designed to fit in with any work or study obligations you may have, but they still require a commitment. 

This opportunity will require a time commitment of 7 hours per week, though this may vary throughout the year and sometimes may exceed 7 hours (see below for full list of responsibilities). You will take responsibility for your actions and be accountable for the quality and timeliness of your work and attendance. Whilst we recognise that work and personal life can sometimes throw you curveballs (and we are committed to supporting you in a compassionate, respectful way), if you’re not fulfilling the demands of the opportunity, or simply not showing up, we will have to ask you to step aside.  You’ll be expected to attend:

• • Weekly virtual meetings with your U.K. delegation;
  • Weekly virtual check-ins with your FLN mentor;
  • Regular meetings with your international partners – expect at least monthly international meetings, but most likely weekly calls in the run up to your Summit;
  • The full duration of your Summit (normally 1 week long). Partial or limited participation will not be accepted.

Key responsibilities of the opportunity

1. Policy Development

You’ll need to develop policy recommendations for G7 world leaders on behalf of young people across the United Kingdom. You will: 

• • Carry out desk-based research into your policy track. You will need to evaluate existing quantitative and qualitative data on the main problems or issues in relation to your policy area. You will also need to investigate existing interventions or policy solutions, evaluating their effectiveness.
  • Lead the delivery of public consultations with young people from across the United Kingdom, to gather further evidence on the scale or nature of the issues relating to your policy track, and generate ideas for potential policy solutions to those issues. You will work tirelessly to engage young people from a diverse range of backgrounds, listening to their stories and gathering data about their priorities and ideas. To do this, you will work closely with the U.K. Youth Forum, a group of  young people from across the U.K. who have lived experiences of the policy tracks, developing a wide-reaching public consultation plan. You’ll deliver your consultations in a way which ensures all voices – including some of the most marginalised – are heard.
  • Develop pragmatic, innovative and proportionate policy recommendations on behalf of young people in the United Kingdom. You’ll develop a consistent U.K. position in relation to your policy track, in collaboration with your Y20 and COP counterparts. You’ll need to weigh up the evidence you have gathered from your desk-based research and your findings from public consultations. You will need to balance any competing priorities, come to reasoned conclusions, and understand financial, operational and political constraints in regards to what you’re recommending.

2. Advocacy and impact

You’ll work tirelessly to ensure those recommendations are adopted at a national and international level. You will:

• Engage early, regularly and professionally with decision makers and partners to explain the U.K. youth position and influence them to adjust their strategies or support your ideas.  These partners could include the U.K. Government; the Japanese G7 Presidency; business, industry or civil society leaders. You’ll need to be able to build trust with senior stakeholders, and present the youth perspective in a credible and compelling way.
• Negotiate with and influence youth delegates from G7 countries, aiming to persuade your international peers to adopt the policy position preferred by young people in the U.K. You’ll draft a set of internationally endorsed policy recommendations (known as a communique) for world leaders, on behalf of G7 youth, which you will launch at your Y7 Summit.
• Promote the U.K. (and international) policy recommendations through traditional and social media. You’ll build a programme of work to raise awareness of, gain interest in and secure support for the policy recommendations you develop. You’ll seek out or participate in speaking engagements, write opinion pieces or develop social media campaigns to ensure the world knows what young people want from world leaders and hold them to account on delivering those changes.
• Deliver meaningful change in your own community through the delivery of a Post-Summit Initiative (PSI). This will involve you taking personal responsibility for delivering one policy recommendation (either from the U.K.’s position or your negotiated communique), translating the words you wrote into real-world action and outcomes.

3. Team leadership

You know that leadership doesn’t have to come with a position or a title. It comes from the actions you take, and the intentions you have. You will: 

• Play your part in creating a high performing team. You will take responsibility for creating a positive team culture, working collaboratively and effectively with your U.K and international peers. You’ll be willing to muck in when the going is tough, to support your peers, and to have fun! 
• Identify your personal strengths, and take the lead where it matters. You’ll know what you’re great at, volunteer to lead on items that suit your strengths, and not be afraid of taking the first step. If not you, who? If not now, when?
• Support with 2025 recruitment – a big part of your role will be legacy and working with FLN to identify the next cohort of Y7 delegates.

• 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 2026 to January 2027)
• 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 the United States.
• 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. 

Here’s what you need to know about this opportunity and working with FLN:

1. You are an ambassador for all young people across the United Kingdom.

This isn’t a platform for your personal cause. You are here to represent all young people from across the United Kingdom. You should expect to be exposed to new perspectives; take forward ideas that aren’t your own; and be held accountable to the young people you serve. You will be committed to behaving professionally, ethically, respectfully and with integrity,  recognising that your actions speak for more than just yourself.

2. You’ll be rewarded with opportunities to develop your leadership skills, build your network and access unique and exclusive experiences.

We do everything we can to give young people unparalleled access to leadership opportunities that help them develop themselves, their careers and ultimately, to change the world. In previous years, this has included introductions to thought-leaders; expert mentorship; access to a wide-ranging and exciting training programme; and nominations for media and speaking opportunities. You should be excited about personal growth, learning new things and challenging yourself. Many young people talk about how their lives have changed as a direct result of the work we do – we hope yours is too!

3. Our opportunities have been designed to fit in with any work or study obligations you may have, but they still require a commitment. 

This opportunity will require a time commitment of 7 hours per week, though this may vary throughout the year and sometimes may exceed 7 hours (see below for full list of responsibilities). You will take responsibility for your actions and be accountable for the quality and timeliness of your work and attendance. Whilst we recognise that work and personal life can sometimes throw you curveballs (and we are committed to supporting you in a compassionate, respectful way), if you’re not fulfilling the demands of the opportunity, or simply not showing up, we will have to ask you to step aside.  You’ll be expected to attend:

• • Weekly virtual meetings with your U.K. delegation;
  • Weekly virtual check-ins with your FLN mentor;
  • Regular meetings with your international partners – expect at least monthly international meetings, but most likely weekly calls in the run up to your Summit;
  • The full duration of your Summit (normally 1 week long). Partial or limited participation will not be accepted.

Key responsibilities of the opportunity

1. Policy Development

You’ll need to develop policy recommendations for G20 world leaders on behalf of young people across the United Kingdom. You will: 

• • Carry out desk-based research into your policy track. You will need to evaluate existing quantitative and qualitative data on the main problems or issues in relation to your policy area. You will also need to investigate existing interventions or policy solutions, evaluating their effectiveness.
  • Lead the delivery of public consultations with young people from across the United Kingdom, to gather further evidence on the scale or nature of the issues relating to your policy track, and generate ideas for potential policy solutions to those issues. You will work tirelessly to engage young people from a diverse range of backgrounds, listening to their stories and gathering data about their priorities and ideas. To do this, you will work closely with the U.K. Youth Forum, a group of  young people from across the U.K. who have lived experiences of the policy tracks, developing a wide-reaching public consultation plan. You’ll deliver your consultations in a way which ensures all voices – including some of the most marginalised – are heard.
  • Develop pragmatic, innovative and proportionate policy recommendations on behalf of young people in the United Kingdom. You’ll develop a consistent U.K. position in relation to your policy track, in collaboration with your Y20 and COP counterparts. You’ll need to weigh up the evidence you have gathered from your desk-based research and your findings from public consultations. You will need to balance any competing priorities, come to reasoned conclusions, and understand financial, operational and political constraints in regards to what you’re recommending.

2. Advocacy and impact

You’ll work tirelessly to ensure those recommendations are adopted at a national and international level. You will:

• Engage early, regularly and professionally with decision makers and partners to explain the U.K. youth position and influence them to adjust their strategies or support your ideas.  These partners could include the U.K. Government; the Japanese G7 Presidency; business, industry or civil society leaders. You’ll need to be able to build trust with senior stakeholders, and present the youth perspective in a credible and compelling way.
• Negotiate with and influence youth delegates from G20 countries, aiming to persuade your international peers to adopt the policy position preferred by young people in the U.K. You’ll draft a set of internationally endorsed policy recommendations (known as a communique) for world leaders, on behalf of G20 youth, which you will launch at your Y20 Summit.
• Promote the U.K. (and international) policy recommendations through traditional and social media. You’ll build a programme of work to raise awareness of, gain interest in and secure support for the policy recommendations you develop. You’ll seek out or participate in speaking engagements, write opinion pieces or develop social media campaigns to ensure the world knows what young people want from world leaders and hold them to account on delivering those changes.
• Deliver meaningful change in your own community through the delivery of a Post-Summit Initiative (PSI). This will involve you taking personal responsibility for delivering one policy recommendation (either from the U.K.’s position or your negotiated communique), translating the words you wrote into real-world action and outcomes.

3. Team leadership

You know that leadership doesn’t have to come with a position or a title. It comes from the actions you take, and the intentions you have. You will: 

• Play your part in creating a high performing team. You will take responsibility for creating a positive team culture, working collaboratively and effectively with your U.K and international peers. You’ll be willing to muck in when the going is tough, to support your peers, and to have fun! 
• Identify your personal strengths, and take the lead where it matters. You’ll know what you’re great at, volunteer to lead on items that suit your strengths, and not be afraid of taking the first step. If not you, who? If not now, when?
• Support with 2027 recruitment – a big part of your role will be legacy and working with FLN to identify the next cohort of Y20 delegates.

• 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 2026 to January 2027)
• Location: The Summit itself is expected to take place in Australia.
• 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).  The date and location for COP30 have not yet been confirmed but it is likely to take place during November 2025 in Belém, Brazil. 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.

FLN has been granted NGO (non-governmental organisation) observer status to the UNFCCC. This means we are able to nominate representatives to attend the Blue Zone of negotiations for the duration of COP30.

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.