Asia-Pacific Youth Rise Up: A Call for Climate Action and Disaster Resilience
17 October 2024
With nearly two billion people under the age of 24, the Asia-Pacific region has a large youth population that faces significant risks from the impacts of climate change and disasters. Environmental hazards, health risks, and socioeconomic challenges converge to threaten the well-being of millions of youths.
To protect these vulnerable youth, it is essential that they are actively involved in climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction efforts. The Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) serves as a platform for young people to contribute their insights and drive meaningful progress in mitigating climate risks and building resilience across the region.
This year’s APMCDRR 2024 in Manila, Philippines, provided a platform for young people to express their concerns, aspirations, and innovative ideas about the climate crisis and disaster risk reduction. Stevi was one of them.
Stevi: Empowering Communities Through Climate Action
As a dynamic and dedicated young leader, Stevi is set to showcase her work on empowering marginalized communities through innovative climate resilience initiatives. As the Ambassador of the Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) by Plan International with support from Rockefeller Foundation and the founder of Greeneighbour Indonesia, she has been a driving force in advocating for energy transition and climate adaptation, particularly within coastal and vulnerable communities in Indonesia. Her work focuses on raising awareness about the intersection of climate change and its impacts on everyday lives, especially for marginalized groups such as fishermen and people with disabilities.
At APMCDRR 2024, Stevi will emphasize the role of youth in shaping the future of disaster risk reduction (DRR). She will present key insights from her projects, including a successful community-led initiative that introduced solar panels to reduce fossil fuel dependency among local fishermen in North Jakarta. This project, funded through a youth-led crowdfunding campaign, demonstrates how collaboration, innovation, and youth leadership can build resilience in communities facing climate and disaster challenges.
“We decided to work hand-in-hand with Adidaya Initiative Energy to give a soft-approaching education on building a common understanding about climate change and how it ties with their daily lives. We bought them a solar panel, and we assisted our local fisherman at North Jakarta to install it on their boats. We share the knowledge of how solar panels could reduce their cost of buying a not-so-cheap energy like solar diesel and how it could help them to adapt with the climate change and disaster impact,”
“It’s important to acknowledge that youth are known for their collaborative spirit. They thrive in community-driven environments, and this characteristic has been instrumental in our approach. By harnessing their energy and creativity, we can drive meaningful change in our communities,”
“Crowdfunding as a medium to actualize Greeneighbour’s solar panel installation for the marginalized group like local fishermen in North Jakarta which proves how this innovative strategy becomes the best tool to engage youth in building urban resilience.”
Rex: Call for Proactive Disaster Preparedness
Along with Stevi, Rex, a Youth Leadership Academy Ambassador from Eastern Samar, Philippines, shared his experiences at the APMCDRR 2024. Living in a coastal community in the typhoon belt, Rex has witnessed the devastating effects of frequent typhoons, including Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. This recurring threat has left his community struggling to recover and prepare for future disasters.
Rex strongly believes that preparedness must go beyond merely responding to disasters after they occur. He advocates for proactive approaches, such as early warnings, weather forecasting, and anticipatory action.
One of the projects he actively supports in his community is B-READY (Building Resilient, Adaptive, and Disaster Ready), an initiative that emphasizes preparing for typhoons before they strike by providing vulnerable households with cash transfers. Through the B-READY project, Rex emphasizes the importance of cash transfers, not just for basic needs but as a tool for protecting vulnerable groups, particularly girls and women.
At APMCDRR, Rex’s message is clear: youth are not just beneficiaries of disaster preparedness plans; they are crucial partners in designing and implementing these strategies. “The future is ours to shape, and we can’t wait for others to make decisions for us. Our participation is not optional—it’s essential,” Rex asserts.
A Call to Action
In line with the underlying goals of the 10th APMCDRR which focuses on the theme, “Surge to 2030: Enhancing ambition in Asia Pacific to accelerate disaster risk reduction”, the Asia Pacific Coalition for School Safety (APCSS) launched the report titled Advocates for Change: Asia Pacific Children and Youth’s Voices & Perspectives on Climate Action and Disaster Risk Reduction. This report is a joint effort of many individuals across national and regional offices of World Vision, Plan International, Save the Children and UNICEF, as well as communities and national partner organizations.
The report highlights the severe impacts of climate change and disasters on children and young people in Asia and the Pacific, affecting their health, education, and livelihoods. While youth are eager to take action in climate and disaster risk reduction, they face challenges due to a lack of knowledge, resources, and support. The report calls for greater investment in education, preparedness, and mentorship to empower them in addressing climate change and disaster impacts.
The Children & Youth Stakeholders Group, consisting of the Sendai Stakeholders Children and Youth Group (SSCY), UNICEF, IFRC, Plan International, World Vision, and the Asia Pacific Coalition for School Safety (APCSS), also launched The Asia-Pacific Children and Youth Call for Action. This initiative draws primarily from the previously mentioned report and aims to amplify young people’s voices and perspectives, urging governments, disaster risk reduction (DRR) partners, and practitioners to take specific actions in line with the goals of the 10th APMCDRR.
