The Youth Negotiators Academy

We caught up with Catalyst Marie-Claire Graf, who sat down for an interview with us. In this blog post, she talks about her current project (co-founded by her) called the Youth Negotiators Academy.

Tell us about your project, the Youth Negotiators Academy.

After having very stressful experiences as a young negotiator, such as negotiating at the age of 23 at UNFCCC COP25 as part of the Swiss delegation, I recognised the lack of tailored training for young negotiators. At the same time, young people are dramatically underrepresented in decision-making processes, and I strongly believe that diversity and inclusion in decision-making are necessary for good and sustainable development.

The Youth Negotiators Academy therefore aims to train young people on how to negotiate and teach the workings of multilateral decision-making in diplomacy. The overall objective is to facilitate the participation and contribution of young individuals in decision-making processes. A big question we ask ourselves is how to be more effective, and how to participate in a system without being crushed by it.

Today, we attract 26 countries with our services and training and are training over 300 negotiators a year, pushing a wave of young people into the field.

What challenges did you face along the way?

We faced different challenges along the way, such as how to tackle the complex problem of the under-representation of young people in the field. This meant that a systemic change needed to take place and a lot of groundwork had to be done (we conducted about 180 stakeholder interviews!). Other challenges we faced were, of course, the question of funding how the project would work financially, and how to advocate efficiently to be heard and get support. As young women starting a negotiators training program, we had to overcome barriers of legitimacy in a very traditional and somewhat conservative field.

What learnings came out of it?

One of my greatest learnings was to continue dreaming big and believing in the cause. Those who questioned the initiative at the beginning became my biggest motivators and ultimately enabled me to strengthen the project. We were able to turn the doubts that people had into applicable and practical wins by tackling the issues one by one.

You were part of the Catalyst Lab cohort 2021-2022. Has this experience shaped your project in any way?

Yes! Although the project was not specifically developed in the Catalyst Lab, tools and methodologies like stakeholder interviews were picked up throughout the 9-month process and proved to be very valuable for the project development. Another thing I definitively picked up, is the language used during the Catalyst Lab. The whole systems change vocabulary has been integrated into my everyday working life and therefore has had a long-lasting impact on how I am now approaching and describing things.

The collaboratio helvetica community and the people I have met along the way have been an important part of my journey, and I am still in contact with my learning companion from the Catalyst Lab. The bonds I made have lasted and flourished into very good friendships, and I still enjoy being included in collaboratio helvetica-related projects, such as being part of the advisory board.