Friendship youth delegates from Bangladesh visit the European Parliament to spark meaningful conversations on climate change with their peers and world leaders.
by Iffat Ara Sharmeen,
24 June, 2025
Eusuf, Mizan, Sakia, and Munni recently returned from a transformative trip to Europe, an experience of a lifetime for them. With confidence, they shared a clear message: climate-vulnerable Bangladesh needs global attention, especially from those most responsible for climate change.
The UN Ocean Conference 2025
The delegates began their tour with a discussion at the UN Ocean Conference 2025 in Nice, where they shared stories and challenges from the char islands with French students, highlighting how the Connected Schools programme supports their education despite geo-logistical and socioeconomic barriers.
The most charming experience for them was the ‘Rivers to Oceans’ session. “I still remember what Paul Watson quoted in the session, that we need oceans, but the oceans don’t need us. We need to keep the oceans alive to survive,” Eusuf recalled.
They believe more such conferences need to take place in Bangladesh so that attendees can meet real victims of climate change and communities can be more aware.
“We met many global leaders and indigenous community members. We even met a musician who composed a song about whales. When she performed that song, I truly felt that I was in the world of whales,” Eusuf shared.
After the UNOC event, the youth delegates spent some time with a French School in Lyon, France, from the Connected Schools programme. The students gave them a warm welcome and organised a picnic full of homemade meals for them. Their warm camaraderie made the delegates feel at ease and forged new, unforgettable friendships.
Three Days in Strasbourg
After Lyon, the youth delegates participated in the European Youth Event 2025 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg alongside six students from Luxembourg and six from France.
Speaking to a diverse audience on the first day, Eusuf shared, “We face floods, river erosion every year. My family had to shift homes four times in the last five years due to river erosion. Since most tasks must be completed before dark, we prepare our day very carefully. In the evening, we study using solar lights or lamps. Life in the chars is full of challenges, but it teaches us resilience and responsibility from an early age. We are all connected globally, but globalisation cannot happen without us. We should work together to solve these problems. I think it is everyone’s responsibility to pay attention to our hardships, because the climate is changing for all of us.”
The delegates presented their future project, ‘Floating Schools Powered by Green Energy,’ as a sustainable solution to education disruptions during floods. On the third day at the ‘Climate Justice and Solidarity’ session, Sakia and Munni shared their views in groups and presented recommendations, such as solar energy.
Friendship’s youth delegates highlighted climate challenges from Bangladesh’s char islands on two global platforms in France, calling for global solidarity to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The French leg of the tour ended with a train journey to Luxembourg to meet fellow Connected Schools students.
