The world’s youngest citizens make a critical plea on the UN’s biggest climate stage By Julia Zacharenkova, OPEC Fund FOUNTAIN
OF youth
A midst the maze of the more than 100 pavilions in COP27’s UN- managed Blue Zone, one in particular stood out: the first-ever Children and Youth Pavilion to be hosted at the UN’s annual climate change conference. The space was filled with positive energy, but most importantly, a demand for change and action from the people who will have to live with the consequences. It provided a place for discussion, education and creativity to amplify the voices of young people and drive action on global climate policies vital for securing a livable future. As the conference in Sharm El- Sheikh progressed, 33-year-old Indian artist Shilo Shiv Suleman hand-painted a mural outside the pavilion with a brief, but direct message: “Fearless”. Suleman founded the Fearless Collective movement, which creates public art interventions with women and under- represented communities across the world. This is exactly what youth globally represents: a group of bold and determined young individuals taking their future into their own hands. Suleman’s mural portrays three young women who are finding purpose in a time of crisis and are using their voices to inspire others to act. The painting depicts larger-than-life figures
whose work is itself larger-than-life: Puyr Tembé, a campaigner from the Amazon for indigenous tribes, Ugandan climate justice activist Vanessa Nakate and Pakistani environmentalist Ayisha Siddiqa, the co-founder of Fossil Free University, a training course for climate activists, and Polluters Out, a global coalition for the protection of indigenous lands. “This mural is a testament to the fearless activists from the Global South who are calling for reparations and resurgence at the frontline to world leaders that look at the earth as a commodity,” wrote the Fearless Collective on their Instagram channel. Just as the painting represents the variety of people in the fight against climate change, so does young people’s involvement in climate advocacy. “We are activists and students and policy makers and commentators and youth reps,” reads a sign inside the pavilion. From young children, well-known climate activists, students and volunteers, to
young business owners and employees, youth from all over the world are stepping up and demanding change to secure a livable future for generations to come.
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