Youth climate activists to give closing address at IFC 2023

The closing address at this year’s International Fundraising Congress will be given by three young activists standing in the face of the climate emergency, the Resource Alliance has announced.

Nyombi Morris, Topaz Zega, and Phoebe Hanson are working across the world to drive intersectional change. Morris is a Ugandan environmental activist whose journey began at 14 when flooding displaced his family and destroyed their farm; Zega is a Mexican climate activist and writer whose experience ranges from content creation to street advocacy to formal policy engagement; and Phoebe Hanson is a politics graduate, Fulbright alumnus, and a multi-award-winning advocate focused on democratising climate solutions, bridging the gap between young people and policymakers.

Ruby Chadwick, Director of Programmes at the Resource Alliance, said:

“In the face of unprecedented challenges, we stand at a crossroads. The planet is teetering on the brink of ecological catastrophe and systems change is coming too slowly for those – often in deprived communities – already impacted by disaster after disaster. Activists like Topaz, Phoebe, and Nyombi are taking change into their own hands, refusing to be shackled by what they are told they can and should do.

“Our theme for IFC 2023 is UNITE. This year’s event is built around how we can – and must – come together in a world that is literally on fire, where every day we hear news of another devastating flood, another temperature record broken, another food shortage. Topaz, Phoebe, and Nyombi are inspiring examples of what’s possible when we unite to take action and create real change.”

They join Erica Chenoweth at the event, who will give the opening plenary. An award-winning political scientist and Harvard professor, Chenoweth’s research on nonviolent civil resistance has influenced global movements like Extinction Rebellion while they have also been named by Foreign Policy as one of their Top 100 Global Thinkers.

Key details

The International Fundraising Congress returns to Noordwijkerhout in the Netherlands this 17-20 October and will once again be presented in a hybrid format, welcoming delegates in person as well as online. Masterclass delegates will be on site from Tuesday 17 October and the standard and online programmes will begin on Wednesday 18 October. As well as the Masterclasses, there are in-person and online workshops, open discussions, and IFC’s Big Debate.

The full programme can be found here.

Discount for EFA members & newsletter readers

Limited tickets are still available and EFA members and Fundraising Europe readers benefit from a discount when booking online. Using the code EFA175 will take £175 off the in-person tickets, while EFAONLINE will take 10% off online tickets.