---
title: Passing the mic to the youngest generation
date: 2020-08-12T08:13:29Z
modified: 2020-12-23T16:38:57Z
permalink: "https://350.org/passing-the-mic-to-the-youngest-generation/"
type: post
status: publish
excerpt: Today on International Youth Day — and every day — we celebrate the leadership of young people.
wpid: 130104
categories:
  - Featured
tags:
  - Indigenous people
  - indigenous rights
  - youth
crosspost-location:
  - Global Climate Strike
featured_image: /wp-content/uploads/2020/08/20190920_Global_Climate_Strike_NewDelhi_RB_4a-scaled.jpg
featured_image_alt: Young activist demonstrating in New Dehli
---

what we once took for granted,
became something we wish we had.
and just like a bird in a cage,
that is meant to fly in the first place,
we are instead unfree and unease.
some streets are now dead empty,
some others are filled with those who are angry.
and some people are also less lucky,
unlike those with a roof on their heads and a loving family.
. . .
we should be impactful to fix our reality.
work hand in hand,
for working together will bring us further.
reflect upon what’s happening,
and thus we shall recover.

— Naifah Uzlah, Youth Climate Activist, Indonesia, [‘Reflection for Recovery: A Letter about the Crisis’](https://globalclimatestrike.net/reflection-for-recovery/)

---

Through **poetry**, **art**, **storytelling** and **activism**, young people across the globe continue to turn up the volume on the climate crisis. Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, they’re still finding ways to [push for climate justice](https://fridaysforfuture.org).

And not only that, they’re stepping up and demanding just solutions to the interwoven crises we face as a global community. They know that the choices we make today will shape our society, economy, health, and climate for decades to come.

This **International Youth Day**, we celebrate the massive contributions of the youngest generation. Their voices echo through the streets of our communities, across international digital spaces, and in the halls of some of the world’s most prominent buildings.

Here is a collection of stories from the new Youth Storytelling Hub. Check it out at [globalclimatestrike.net/stories](https://globalclimatestrike.net/stories/).

### Life in an Urban Bubble

**by Yuk Yi, Singapore**

‘I’m playing with the hand I’ve been dealt. My cards are humble, but I’m fueled with a purpose.’ [Read](https://globalclimatestrike.net/urban_bubble/)

[![Aerial view of green space in Singapore](https://350.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/urban-bubble-700x523.png)

](https://globalclimatestrike.net/urban_bubble/)### The Hummingbird in Me

**by Kaluki Paul Mutuku, Kenya**

‘We cannot afford to go back to “normal” systems that were before this pandemic, based and rooted in historical, environmental, social and political injustices.’ [Read](https://globalclimatestrike.net/the-hummingbird-in-me/)

[![Youth activist Kaluki Paul Mutuku speaking into a microphone](https://350.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/hummingbird-in-me.jpg)

](https://globalclimatestrike.net/the-hummingbird-in-me/)### Supporting Our Indigenous Communities in the Midst of a Pandemic

**by María Teresa Fernández Pérez, Peru**

‘This is why having a connected community is so important, everyone knows the truth and we get to know every member.’ [Watch](https://globalclimatestrike.net/protecting-indigenous-communities-pandemic/)

![Screenshot of a video by youth activist María Teresa Fernández Pérez](https://350.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/supporting-indigenous-communities-pandemic-700x337.png)

### More Stories From Youth Climate Strikers

Take a look at the youth-powered storytelling hub for other stories of activism from young people.

[Read more stories](https://globalclimatestrike.net/stories/)

---

### In Case You Missed It

**Trendsetter:** With a big thanks to people-powered campaigns, Kiwibank is the first bank in New Zealand to commit to being fossil free. And it’s the first bank in the world that has committed to denying coal, oil and gas companies their financial services altogether. How did the campaigns keep up the pressure? [Read on](https://350.org/win-kiwibank-goes-fossil-free/)

**No one left behind:** Indigenous territories and ancestral domains are considered bastions of ecologically sustainable ways of life, yet they continue to be the most marginalized and vulnerable communities in Asia. A just recovery means no one gets left behind. [Read more](https://350.org/towards-a-just-recovery-with-indigenous-peoples/)

### The One to Watch

[![](https://350.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/indigenous-rights-now-700x700.png)

](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=4463001200378440)Indigenous peoples in Brazil have been disproportionately devastated by the COVID-19 crisis. And the continued expansion and public funding of coal, oil and gas in the country is increasing inequality, forced displacement, and ultimately the persecution and murder of Indigenous peoples and communities of colour.

In honor of the lives of **Indigenous peoples in Brazil** and the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on August 9, we draw attention to the injustices these communities face. [Watch and share](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=4463001200378440)