An explosion of youth activists in recent years, has re-energised the climate movement. 350.org has been involved from the beginning. We support Fridays for Future (FFF), born in 2018 from Greta Thunberg’s school strikes, and its affiliates. This includes Most Affected Peoples and Areas (MAPA) and Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP, aka: FFF, Philippines)
In FY22 we supported MAPA leadership, funding their participation in international events, while coaching and mentoring them and amplifying their voices in the media. One such event was the UN Stockholm +50 conference, in which we took MAPA activists under the banner: The next 50 years: Youth demands for Stockholm+50.In September, we supported a new wave of Global Climate Strikes, this time focused on reparations for losses and damages caused by climate impacts, and transformative justice. The mobilisations across 450 cities, united under the banner #PeopleNotProfit.
25-year-old Mitzi Jonelle Tan is the co-founder of YACAP, a prominent leader of MAPA, and one of the main voices in the Global Climate Strikes of September 2022.
“350.org support is very concrete. They are the only NGO who is just asking ‘What do you need? How can we help?’ without putting conditions on it, or asking for something in return. It is real camaraderie, it goes well beyond training and money. They also help to facilitate the conversations with FFF International. The most important thing? They do not tell us what to do. They guide us towards the solutions that we find ourselves.”
Mitzi’s activism is strongly based on the principles of climate justice and collective action. Together with YACAP and FFF she fights for urgent climate action in the Philippines and on the global stage. We are so proud to be part of her story!