SMALL
GRANTS
PROGRAM
Raised in small grants to support Global South activists and movement leaders, and for movement building activities including CultureCOP at COP27
Youth activists & delegates supported to attend from the Global South and Indigenous Communities
Countries represented across the Global South
The CJ-JT provided $700k in grants to 140+ individuals and communities working on climate justice and just transition efforts to enable their participation in high-level events and CJ-JT convenings as part of its movement-building efforts.
Momentum building summits such as the UNFCCC COPs, Bonn Intersessionals, Davos World Economic Forum and New York Climate Weeks (NYCW) are important opportunities for front line CJ-JT groups and communities from the Global South to make their voices heard and connect and challenge those in power.
Activists and movement leaders, especially young people and those from Indigenous communities and across the Global South, often lack the resources and support to participate in key events like the COPs.
Over the last 18 months provided over $725k in grants supporting over 140 individuals from 31 developing countries including youth activists, party delegates and movement leaders to participate in COP26, Bonn Climate Change Conference (SB56) and COP27.
In response to calls from the field for small, more nimble funding, we delivered an innovative small grants programme based on trust and flexibility to support activists that helped them influence policy-making as well as convene their own high-level events and movement building activities to advance CJ and JT inside and outside the UNFCCC negotiations.
We supported groups such as Minga Indigena, a broad collective of Indigenous leaders and knowledge holders from across the Americas, and Fridays for Future Most Affected Persons & Areas (MAPA), among others. This impact was made possible by rapid turn-around of additional funding to CJRF/NVF from the Climate Emergency Collaboration Group (CECG) for COP26 and COP27.
COP27
COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh was the largest COP in history with 49,704 attendees, surpassing by 11,000 the previous record held by Glasgow. The COPs are becoming an important site for holding Parties and powerful players to account as well as for movement building. Our small grants programme helped bring over 40 Global South grantees, many of them youth, who worked tirelessly to help put climate justice and just transition centre stage at COP27.
COP26
In November 2021, the CJ-JT Donor Collaborative supported front line groups, youth, indigenous peoples and leaders from vulnerable countries to come to Glasgow to participate in COP26. The majority of our funding was given to the Minga Indígena – an organisation that brought indigenous peoples from North, South and Central America – to help with core costs of flights, visas and accommodation, as well as technical and media support to help them convene several high profile political and cultural events.
These events started in the run-up to COP in London at the British Museum on 25th October. They culminated in high-profile ceremonial meetings with Nicola Sturgeon on the 30th October, the Council of All Beings on 31st October, and the ceremonial meetings with the UK Presidency in Week 1 at which the Minga formally handed their demands for COP26. The Minga Indigena brought over 100 people to COP26 representing the second largest single delegation at COP (the largest being the fossil fuel industry, which had 500 people). The Minga delegation liaised closely with the 55 countries in the Climate Vulnerable Forum and with COP26 Coalition and were honoured to headup the Global Day of Action march on 6th November through Glasgow which had 100,000 people.
The Minga delegation also held their own Minga Summit in the institutional premises of Tramway and the Hidden Gardens producing a total of 26 events and talks, as well as a 4D sound immersive art installation showcasing sounds from the Ecuadorian Amazon and messages from local female indigenous leaders. The climate justice youth activists, the CVF Presidency and the Minga delegation held a high level press event in the last days of COP26 to press for higher ambition and inclusion of climate justice and indigenous demands.
Another nine Global South delegates from small islands, Latin America, Africa and Asia were directly supported with small grants to cover visas, flights and accommodation.