Contributors
As youth-led resistance gains more visibility in the global media landscape, how are institutions engaging youth and populations that have long been on the margins of political decision-making?
Presenting multiple perspectives across generations, regions, ideologies, and disciplines, this text activates critical reflection on how to initiate and sustain youth participation and community-led practices during times of crisis and conflict.
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María Loida Andi López is a Kichwa leader from Napo. She is a mother and educational advocate inspired by the health and success of her Amazonian community. Maria holds a Master's degree in Educational Management. She leverages decades of experience in the public and private sector serving as a scholarship coordinator, indigenous life plan systematizer, community president, and the Director of IKIAM University. Maria is currently the lead coordinator of Escuela Viva of the Amazon.
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Gouveia, Helena Branco, 21, is a Brazilian activist and student at the Federal University of ABC, majoring in Public Policy and International Relations. An advocate for youth rights, gender equality, and climate justice, she is an alumna of Women Deliver's Young Leaders Program, The Climate Reality Project Brazil's Youth Climate Ambassador programs and Young Negotiators Academy's Climate Youth Negotiators. Helena contributes to UFABC's Global South Study Group and the Public Policy and Human Rights Clinic.
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Steven Mark Carlson is a seasoned program development manager catalysing impactful initiatives blending transformative learning with community regeneration. With expertise spanning grassroots organizations, schools, government agencies, nonprofits, and businesses across the Americas and Africa, he drives socio-environmental impact. Steven co-founded educational entities and consults for environmental organizations, bioeconomy initiatives, and philanthropy groups. Through the Rhiza Collective, Steven is a technical education advisor for EVA. He holds an MBA from the University of São Paulo.
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Amina Rosa Castronovo is a rising junior at Smith College majoring in Women and Gender studies with a minor in History. She is a union organizer with United Smith Student Workers (USSW), the student dining workers union, and an organizer with Smith Students for Justice in Palestine (Smith SJP). During her high school career she helped to organize the NYC branch of the international climate strike with Fridays For Future NYC, worked towards a plastic free school initiative with Cafeteria Culture, and advocated for environmental justice education legislation with the Climate and Resilience Education Task Force Youth Steering Committee. Parallel to climate activism, Amina was a member of the NYCLU Teen Activist Project and a three-year mentee with Girls Write Now.
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Amanda Costa, 25, is a climate activist, youth adviser to the UN Global Compact, founder of the Sustainable Perifa Institute, and presenter of #TemClimaParaisso?, a program about the climate crisis. Graduated in International Relations, Amanda was recognized as #Under30 in Forbes magazine, TEDx Speaker, LinkedIn Top Voices and Creator and in 2021 she was deputy curator of Global Shapers, the youth community of the World Economic Forum.
Credits
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Diana Chávez Vargas, an Indigenous planner from the Ecuadorian Amazon, focuses on territorial planning, informal settlements, and place knowledge. Holding an MA in Regional and Community Planning from the University of New Mexico, she blends academic expertise with advocacy for sustainable Indigenous development. As a member of the Pastaza Kichwa Nation Council, she contributes to Indigenous frameworks. Diana served as the inaugural leadership coordinator of EVA and remains an advisor.
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Shaheen Chughtai is Save the Children International’s Regional Advocacy and Campaigns Director for Asia-Pacific, providing strategic leadership to the organization’s influencing and engagement work across the region. With 18 years of international humanitarian and development sector experience mostly in Asia and the Middle East, Shaheen holds a BA in Arabic and History and an MSc in International Politics of Asia and Africa, both from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.
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Dr. Diamond is a researcher, who has focused on health disparities and health issues for the last 24 years. Her studies began with looking at Parkinsonism among workers and toxic occupational exposures. In later studies, she focused on autism, and more recently Dr. Diamond has focused on exposure to trauma and violence in the community and home. I have taught research methods, statistics, neuropsychological screening, biological bases of behavior, and other courses.
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Timm Fabian Döbert has a PhD in Global Change Ecology from the University of Western Australia based on fieldwork in tropical Southeast Asia. He researches the human footprint on natural ecosystems, underpinned by a drive to safeguard wild spaces and wildlife. Timm is an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Commission member in the Commission on Education and Communication (CEC) and the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA). He holds fellowships in the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS), the Scientific Exploration Society (SES) and the World Explorers Collective. He is an Explorers Club member (MI ’12), an ambassador for the Athlete Media Group (AMG) and a Global Sustainable Sport (GSS) partner with purpose. He is the founder of the Wings of Survival initiative, through which he blends a love for sports, nature, research, education and storytelling to protect, restore and rewild the planet's biosphere, in line with the UN Biodiversity Targets. Timm uses sports to drive nature-positive outcomes across the world’s flyways, envisioning a life in harmony with nature.
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Luis, 24, grew up in the south of Spain. At 17, he received a scholarship to complete an International Baccalaureate (IB) at UWC Mahindra College in India. Two years after graduating he went to Ecuador with the organization Global Citizen Year, where he worked as an English teacher at a public school. He completed his degree in European Studies at Amsterdam University in 2023.
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Rajib Ghosal has 28 years of experience working on humanitarian response, development, and climate change. He has worked with leading agencies and collaborative platforms like Save the Children International; The Green Climate Fund; The Loss and Damage Collaboration; Project Drawdown; ARNEC Secretariat; UNDP; UNICEF; UNOPS; ADB; WB; CARE; Aga Khan Foundation; Natural Resources International. Rajib holds a Master’s in International Relations from the UK and a Bachelor’s in International Studies from the US.
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Jean Sebastian Pedreza Paez is a Colombian youth leader, with significant experience in rural youth issues. He has worked on a variety of social and rural development projects in different parts of Colombia and throughout Latin America. He has been a speaker on rural youth issues at international conferences with institutions such as IFAD, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Procasur, and Rimisp. In 2021 Jean was selected as one of 12 Youth Changemakers by the Kofi Annan Foundation.
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Valery Molay is a dedicated social justice activist with extensive experience in fostering youth participation in environmental policy. She has spearheaded numerous initiatives aimed at amplifying youth voices in policy development. Notably, Valery facilitated the youth consultation process for 'Shaping Ireland's Electricity Future,' a collaborative project between the National Youth Council of Ireland and EirGrid. Additionally, she played a pivotal role in designing and implementing Ireland’s first-ever Children and Young People’s Citizen Assembly on Biodiversity Loss.
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Uyunkar Domingo Peas Nampichkai is an Ecuadorian Indigenous leader from the Achuar Nation and President of the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Alliance or Alliance de Cuencas Sagradas Amazonicas for the protection of the Napo-Marañon River basins. Domingo's longtime leadership in the Amazon has supported the defense of the rights of indigenous nationalities and Mother Earth, especially in his Nation where petroleum activities have been successfully kept out. Domingo remains a principal advisor for EVA.
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Abinash Lahkar is the Regional Climate Change Specialist with Save the Children International, Asia Regional Office. He has 18 years of experience in the humanitarian sector, climate change, resilience, disaster risk reduction, school safety, and technology for development, having worked with Save the Children India, Oxfam India, and Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS). Abinash holds degrees in Master’s in Communication from Pune University and a Bachelor’s in Economics from the University of Delhi.
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Jennifer Lauren is the editor of Global Youth Protest, Climate, and Education. She has worked globally on youth development, education, and sustainable livelihood initiatives with multinational agencies, the private sector, grassroots organizations, and academia including UNESCO, OECD, UNICEF, Visa, Reporters sans Frontières, New York University, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She holds Dual Master’s Degrees in International Affairs and Global Communications from the American University of Paris, France, and serves as a Research Fellow at Montfort University’s Media Discourse Centre.
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Over the last 20 years, Udi has been active in ethnographic and participatory action research, writing and filmmaking on issues of social, ecological, and epistemic justice and regenerative practices that can bring human and ecological flourishing. Udi has taught social anthropology, communication, and sustainability in universities in the UK, US, Brazil and Costa Rica, and collaborated with communities in Europe, the Pacific, Asia, North America, and Latin America. He co-founded the Enlivened Cooperative and the Ecoversities Alliance which, like the work he is passionate about, brings together multiple knowledge systems and practices (from Indigenous and grass roots communities, scientific disciplines, art, and design) towards collaboration and co-learning for hopeful futures.
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Dr. Musleh is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Sciences at Bethlehem University in Palestine and the VP for the Research Committee/Sociology of Youth affiliated with the International Sociological Association for the MENA region. Her research interest focuses on youth community development, collective action, youth engagement, and agency. Dr. Musleh has served as coordinator of the MSW social work program and oversaw the training of counselors and social workers for UNRWA, specifically on livelihoods on gender-based violence.
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Fié Neo is an interdisciplinary artist who makes socially engaged works through participatory practice, wearable art and film. In 2017, she set up INSEP (International Network for Socially Engaged Practitioners) which brings together people from around the world in the field of socially engaged practices, to share knowledge and exchange learning. Fié has performed and shown her works at Royal Albert Hall, London Design Festival, New Zealand Fringe Festival and more. She hosts a podcast called Onions Talk that features socially engaged practitioners on their change making journey.
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Sylvain Obedi, 28, is a disability rights and climate justice activist, and national gender equality advocate. At 20, he founded Enable the Disable Action (EDA) where he is currently Executive Director. He holds an international certificate in Public Policy and Leadership from the American Foundation of the ITC University and a degree in National and International Public Law from the University of Peace of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (UNIP-DRC). He advocates for the participation and engagement of youth with disabilities in decision-making spaces, with a focus on sexual and reproductive health rights, civic engagement, the eradication of violence against girls and women in war zones, and the implementation of universal inclusive education and universal health reporting standards. Fighting social discrimination and promoting inclusive climate action, Sylvain dreams of seeing an inclusive Congolese society that attests that each person with a disability can realise their potential as an equal member of the community.
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Lucille is a Gender, Quality & Social Inclusion Specialist with 10 years of experience integrating gender and diversity in programs and operations within development contexts in civil society, international organizations, and government. She is a specialist in providing technical advice and programming in sexual and reproductive rights (SRHR) energy, climate change, and agriculture. Experienced in conducting research, capacity building, advocacy, gender analysis and gender mainstreaming, public policy analysis, gender-responsive budgeting, and gender audits and evaluations.
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Mora is a graphic designer, art director, and illustrator with over seven years of expertise, specializing in branding, editorial, and packaging design. Her focus lies particularly in sustainability projects and working with conscious brands where she finds her work can achieve the most meaningful impact.
Website
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Nicolás Paris Vélez was born in 1977 in Bogotá, Colombia, and lives and works in Bogotá. His practice is oriented towards three essential interests: architecture as a model, education as a system, and drawing as a tool. His works aim to develop pedagogical experiences more than a record of events; they intend to be experiments and exercises that speak about suggestions. Utilizing chronicles and reinterpretations of collective work and its work methods, supported by drawings, workshops, installations, and videos as visual aids, the public space for art is transformed into a non-hierarchical and temporary classroom. His solo exhibitions have been featured at the Berardo Collection Museum, Lisbon (2015-2016); the Kadist Art Foundation, Paris (2013); the University Museum of Contemporary Art, Mexico City (2012); the Museum of Modern Art, Medellín (2009); MUSAC, León (2008); among others. He has developed projects for the XII Biennial of Havana; I Chicago Architecture Biennale; XXX São Paulo Biennale; IX Shanghai Biennale; II Triennial of New Museum; XI Biennial of Lyon; LIV Venice Biennale and VII Mercosur Biennial. He participated in in group exhibitions in museums and institutions such as CRAC Alsace; Carrillo Gil Museum, Mexico City; MOCAD, Detroit; Grazer Kunstverein, Graz; CEAAC, Strasbourg; EACC, Castello; Manchester Art Gallery; CCS Bard Hessel Museum of Art, Annandale-on-Hudson / NY; CCA Wattis Institute, San Francisco; Banco de la República Museum, Bogotá; SFMOMA, San Francisco; MOCA North Miami; Drawing Room, London; MUSAC, León; Antioquia Museum, Medellín; among others. His works are part of public collections MUSAC, Leon; Jumex Collection, Mexico City; Tate Modern, London; MoMA, New York; La Caixa, Barcelona; among others.
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Roshan Paul is an award-winning social entrepreneur with over 20 years of global experience on 6 continents. He co-founded Amani Institute, which guided 10,000+ people from 65+ countries under his tenure as CEO, and was the leading talent development organization for social impact based in the global south. He co-authored the Amazon #1 bestseller The New Reason to Work: How to Build a Career that Will Change the World. Roshan has spoken at over fifty universities and other institutions around the world, including delivering a commencement speech and two TEDx talks.
Latest book / LinkedIn / Newsletter
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Rabab Rabbani is the Regional Senior Coordinator of Climate Change at Save the Children International, working with more than 15 countries across Asia. She has 10 years of professional experience in the climate change and environmental protection sector and has worked with the Government of Pakistan’s Ministry of Climate Change, Environmental Protection Agencies, OECD, and the World Bank. Rabab has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in environmental engineering with a specialization in climate policy and renewable energy.
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Maria Virginia Solis Wahnish is an Argentinian social entrepreneur passionate about co-creating bridges and building vehicles for social and environmental impact globally. She has a Master’s degree in Global Entrepreneurial Management from the University of San Francisco. She is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of The Farm of Francesco and is the Co-founder of Matera. She is the author of La Granja de Francesc, published in March 2023. Maria serves as the Senior Coordinator of the Agriculture & Justice Village for the Economy of Francesco and is a Board member of The Laudato Si Action Platform. She is the Co-Leader of the Economy Sector and Co-coordinator of the Finance, Law, and Economics Working Group for the Young Scholar Initiative.
LinkedIn
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Arianna Schindle is an educator, organizer, and healer whose projects focus on building the capacities for resilience and resistance of communities and social movements. Arianna has worked in a variety of settings across the U.S., Asia, and Central America ranging from urban public schools, mental health clinics, nonprofit organizations, worker’s centers and labor unions, to private and public foundations. Arianna has more than 10 years of experience as a facilitator conducting workshops on the trauma of oppression, community organizing, and creative campaigning. She has spent many years consulting and supporting non-profits to develop integrative leadership development and peer support models, as well as addressing how systemic power impacts their values and purpose. As a healer, she has worked with individuals and communities struggling from the impacts of interpersonal and structural violence, displacement, and racial injustice. Arianna works on liberation from the inside out - building grassroots leaders, creating democratic organizational structures, developing transformative pedagogy, and fostering connections across organizations and movements. Arianna received her graduate certificates in urban public health and clinical social work at Hunter College.
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Ngawang Rigsar Wangchuk is a social development practitioner, currently working for SHIFT - a child and youth-led campaign accelerator - housed under Save the Children. He has six years of international experience working at the intersection of social change facilitation, civic space growth, youth empowerment, content creation, and campaigning. He is currently working with UCL and the Consortium for Street Children to bolster developmental outcomes on urban marginalization and resilience of street-connected youth in a post-COVID-19 world.
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Juliana Steiner is an independent curator and researcher from Bogotá interested in transdisciplinary practices in contemporary art that incorporate experimental humanities, pedagogy, architecture, and long-term projects with communities. Her research focuses on more-than-human species, environmental justice, and the transformations of landscapes. She curated the Network Project in Colombia, as part of the Common Ground Biennial at Bard College, resulting in a program called, “Ectone: Chagras, Payasos, and Camellones.” As a member of entre-rios, she has worked on the upper basin of the Bogotá River, re-thinking this body of water as a subject that transforms landscapes and shapes memory. She is the co-founder and artistic director of La Reserva Guatoc, a multidisciplinary residency in Barichara that seeks to create critical thinking through experimental forms in a cross-territorial dialogue between Latin America and the Caribbean. She also co-founded Espacio Odeón, a contemporary arts center housed in an abandoned landmark movie theater in Bogotá’s city center. She holds a BFA in Visual Arts and a BA in Business Management from Universidad de Los Andes and an MA in Art Administration from New York University. Juliana has taught as an adjunct professor at the Universidad de Los Andes School of Architecture and is currently a Fellow at the Center for Human Rights and the Arts at Bard College. Her most recent publications are Mihique || Suna gue || Water Paths (District Institute of Arts, 2023) and How to take care for a River (entre-ríos, 2023).
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Jamil Wyne is the co-founder of Riffle Ventures, the founder of Climate Tech Bootcamp, and the lead author of the Climate Tech Opportunity. He is a climate investor and has worked with USAID, the Development Finance Corporation, the World Wildlife Fund, the Clean Energy Ventures Group, UNICEF, and national governments on climate projects. He is a Forbes contributor and has been featured in Stanford, Brookings, McKinsey, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, CNN, and World Bank publications.