Young Voices from the Middle East and Southeast Asia Take the COP30 Stage with 51Talk’s Push

What happened, where and who it was for

In mid-December 2025, 51Talk sent a group of young speakers—mostly children from the Middle East and Southeast Asia—to appear at COP30 in Belém, Brazil. The move was part of a company-backed effort to put youth voices from those regions onto a global climate stage. According to the company’s public statement, the participants were school-age children who had prepared through 51Talk’s BELEM program, and they joined panels and short speeches aimed at bringing local climate concerns and personal stories to international negotiators and attendees.

Who 51Talk and BELEM are, in plain terms

51Talk is an online education company that builds English-learning services for children and families across several regions. BELEM is the company’s program that focuses on preparing young learners to speak in public and to discuss global topics in English. The package usually blends language lessons with coaching in presentation and public speaking, and it is pitched as a way to give non-Western students a clearer voice in big international forums.

The company has run similar outreach efforts before, using online lessons and small grants or scholarships to let selected students join events abroad. BELEM borrows its name from Brazil’s Belém, the COP30 host city, and the platform aims to mix language training with civic confidence-building for children who otherwise get little international exposure.

How the COP30 program worked and what 51Talk did

According to 51Talk’s press material, the initiative combined a few things: several weeks of online coaching through the BELEM platform, travel support and logistics for the young delegates and their chaperones, and placement on a mix of panel sessions and short speech slots during COP30. Organizers described both one-on-one speaking opportunities—where a child shared a personal climate story—and small-group panels where several young speakers answered questions from moderators.

The company acted as sponsor, trainer and coordinator. It handled the language coaching, helped select participants from partner schools and community groups, and covered travel and on-the-ground support in Belém. Local organizers at COP30 provided the stage and a spot on the program, per the company’s announcement.

What people said and the limits to the idea

The initiative drew praise from some parents and local education leaders quoted in the company’s materials, who said the opportunity gave children confidence and a rare chance to speak directly to an international audience. For observers focused on climate communication, putting young people from underrepresented regions in front of negotiators can make discussions feel more urgent and real.

But the plan also raises familiar questions. Critics point out the risk of tokenism: a few polished students on a global stage do not by themselves change national policy or funding gaps. There is also the issue of access—most children in the regions named still lack steady internet, quality schools, or funds to travel. Language coaching helps, but it can’t erase the structural barriers that keep many local voices unheard.

Finally, the impact depends on follow-through. A moving speech at a conference can be quickly forgotten unless organizers and funders back it up with ongoing community programs, measurable outreach, or local advocacy work tied to the stories the children shared.

Why this matters and what could come next

Initiatives like this sit at the meeting point of education and climate outreach. They matter because personal stories can change how decision makers and the public feel about an issue. They also matter because online language programs make it easier for a wider group of children to prepare for international engagement—if those programs reach the children who need them most.

What to watch now: whether 51Talk or other groups publish follow-up reports showing the program’s reach and lasting results, whether more scholarships or community workshops are announced, and whether similar youth delegations appear from other underrepresented regions. The company’s December 2025 press release outlined immediate plans and named partners; readers interested in the official account should consult that announcement for specifics from the organizers.

In short, the Belém appearance is a clear public-relations win and a real chance for the children involved to be heard. Its value beyond that will depend on whether the work continues back home—in classrooms, in communities and in policies that respond to the issues those children raised.