The journal
Showing up for COP, with no badge and no plan
Field notes· Feb 2026· 7 min read· by The YPL delegation
Five of us flew to Dubai with one printed letter and a lot of nerve. Here's what we learned about being heard.
We were not on any official list. We had one printed letter from our network, five borrowed suits, and a shared spreadsheet of every delegate we wanted to reach. Half of what we accomplished happened in coffee queues.
If you are a young leader thinking about going to a major summit without institutional cover, our honest advice is, go anyway, but go in a team, with a single specific ask, and a 90-second version of who you are. The 90 seconds is the whole game.
