Indigenous youth from Asia and Latin America gathered online in a juntanza (meeting) and shared their local realities and aspirations, how their climate actions draw other youth in their communities, and as students, how learning is experienced in practice and lived out in community engagement, not just in books. The youth came from Bangladesh, Malaysia, from Bukidnon, Philippines, and from Colombia and Guatemala.
The juntanza webinar is part of a series of youth reflection meetings that Fe y Alegría International is coordinating, Encuentro de Reflexión: Camino a la COP30 (Reflection Meeting: On the road to COP30), and invited RAOEN to co-organize on 30 July 2025 as RAOEN also has an ongoing series of learning sessions with indigenous youth on the climate crisis and COP30.
The Pulangiyēn and Umajamnon youth from Bukidnon, Philippines reminded all that peace and unity are practices rooted in tradition and the wisdom of elders. While vulnerable to the climate crisis, indigenous communities are leaders in ecological healing and guardians of ancestral wisdom and know that they are not the problem and are part of the solution. The youth shared about paglaum (hope) as fragile yet vital and found in moments when they are able to speak and be listened to, especially the youth who are losing hope and disconnecting from their communities.
From Cartagena, Colombia, the youth spoke about their work in mangrove restoration as an ecological and cultural action. Protecting mangroves reduces the damaging impact of climate change and safeguards fishing livelihoods. Yet they also spoke of the destruction of waterways poisoned by untreated wastewater, which is not only an ecological crisis but a violation of human dignity.
From Guatemala, corruption, pollution, and climate disruption were named as daily realities. Still, the youth plant trees as a way of restoring not only ecosystems but relationships with the land, with each other, and with the future. The youth invited all to listen more deeply to how hope grows in places where the world sees only vulnerability.
Their messages to those in power and making decisions: 1) to think of the future, not only the present; 2) to understand local realities so that the leaders remain connected to the struggles of the communities and the wisdom of those who live on the land; and 3) to ensure that communities are united in seeking solutions to concerns that affect them daily.
Despite the distance of continents and the challenge of languages, the youth affirmed that they are not the problem but are part of the solution. They called on fellow youth to gather and make other futures possible.
