Pedro Walpole SJ
An echo of how Indigenous youth in many areas struggle to keep their indigenous land and continue to fear the loss of land and way of life was shared during the second session of the Indigenous Youth Learning Journey to COP31, a series of online learning activities that the River Above Asia Oceania Ecclesial Network (RAOEN) is offering in preparation for COP31 in November 2026.
The awareness of their shared difficulties across many cultures was part of how they introduced themselves and their community. For some youth, it was helpful to know about the diversity of people around the region.
There were different challenges such as poor access to education, no rights to their land, unchecked profit-driven tourism, corporate agriculture, and war. Talking about these difficulties provided some ease for the youth participants as they also shared their hopes and blessings.
It was enriching to listen as all participants had the courage to share.
Reflecting with the Philippine youth group the next day, the response they shared was that “the only help we can give is to listen to them as we ourselves are very limited.” They shared that they also do not know what is happening in the economy and what is being destroyed.
“We should not be laboring on the land and still have debt. We should not be working with chemicals that are destructive. We do not want business that throws out our values. We need a neighborhood that looks after all in community.”
Education is most critical to this generation. The youth must write their stories so they can share them across cultures and find hope in the efforts of others. It is most critical that the education must allow the Indigenous youth return to their place and add to the quality and continuity to community life.
Local youth may lack interest in the community and need ways to be challenged and to find occasions for personal development. Youth who do not feel alive cannot find their way and must be accompanied in faith and hope. Many feel that crop change and climate change greatly affect local land use activities and they are losing their sustainability.
The youth look to what is happening nationally and globally. Some are interested in what is happening in the climate conference (UNFCCC and the COP process) and what they read in the UNEP’s Limiting Overshoot Spotlight Report. The report highlights the climate reality of passing the 1.5°C temperature increase and its growing consequence.
In other ways, the COP process is listening to Indigenous youth and the pre-COP31 meeting in Nadi, Fiji is indicative of this attention to and focus on the Indigenous. The COP30 President, André Corrêa do Lago, is listening to the Indigenous in a way that not only those at the top are heard.
What was learned as very important is how to avoid dividing people and how to engage with the negativity and anxiety but not get stuck. The question remains on how to keep dialogue open among the youth and where to find our hope.
Recognizing the challenges is important and that these are not going to be solved immediately, and most needed are the compassion and shared hope for the wellbeing of all.
Pedro Walpole SJ, Coordinator of the River Above Asia Oceania Ecclesial Network (RAOEN), shares his thoughts on the second session (Gathering Two) of the Indigenous Youth Learning Journey to COP31, held on 5 September 2026. RAOEN offers these sessions as a series of online learning activities in preparation for COP31 in November 2026.