- 2 months ago
From surviving climate disasters to driving grassroots solutions, young delegates from UNICEF’s ASEAN Children and Youth Climate Summit are pushing for meaningful participation in ASEAN’s climate agenda. They share their journeys, challenges, and visions for a climate-ready future for the region and beyond.
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00:00Hello and welcome to It's About Youth. I'm your host Fahna Shea and today we are at a very beautiful setting here in Langkawi at Frangipani Resort and Spa Hotel at the sideline of the UNICEF's ASEAN Children and Youth Climate Summit 2025.
00:24Now over 100 youth delegates are here from across ASEAN to talk about climate action and to advocate for stronger climate action ahead of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment happening right now.
00:40Beside me are two young delegates from the program, Faith, a delegate from Malaysia, as well as Coco from the Philippines.
00:48Thank you so much for joining us, you guys.
00:50My pleasure.
00:52Let's talk about why you are here and what have you learned so far and where are you from essentially.
01:00So both of you have taken quite unique paths in climate advocacy.
01:04Could you share with me what first sparked your involvement in this space and what keeps you motivated?
01:10Maybe Faith, we can start with you.
01:12Sure thing. I think what initially kicked me off was honestly by accident.
01:16As a person who has been growing up in KL, especially the more urban sector, I don't think I was really exposed to a lot of the environmental and climate issues.
01:26Especially because we've been conditioned to be in malls, to walk across the brick river that has been concretized to the point that I see it more as a drain.
01:36Especially the Klang river in my city.
01:40So that's one point where I only found out like years after when I stumbled upon climate activism.
01:46And that's how I slowly figured out that, oh, there's something wrong, inherently wrong in our perception of the world.
01:54And if we don't focus on something to make some amendments to our future, that there won't be any future for us.
02:01I think that's how I first started. And it's very recent, just two years ago.
02:06I mean, it's very inspiring to see, you know, young climate advocates, you know, being out there and talking about real change.
02:13Kuko, what about you?
02:15I think it's kind of similar to your story, actually.
02:18Okay.
02:19When we experience unnatural events like disasters over and over again, it almost feels like it's the norm.
02:27So I never really questioned it, even if I personally have an experience surviving typhoon before.
02:33It was during the sophomore year of college, I was going through different articles.
02:39And I found a study about the experience of this fishing community in the Philippines after Typhoon Odette.
02:47And when I was reading their stories, I started seeing patterns.
02:50And I said, wait, that's kind of similar to what my grandmother experienced a few years ago during Typhoon Yolanda.
02:56That's kind of similar to what I experienced during Typhoon Ondoy.
02:59And then eventually, putting people at the center of climate education, it becomes clear that it allows us to see the climate crisis beyond this abstract concept or issue to a gut issue.
03:15So it's no longer just about flooding or drought like we usually know in textbooks.
03:20It's also about loss of shelter, loss of livelihood.
03:23So yeah, that's definitely how I started.
03:26It sparked a lot of emotions.
03:28I'm very fortunate to be part of a community of young people, which he is also a part of, which definitely helped me in exploring or processing that emotion and be productive with it.
03:41So I think that's also what's keeping me motivated today to keep working.
03:45Right.
03:46I mean, that's really inspiring.
03:47I think from your take just now, nothing much has changed if you're talking about how your ancestors are experiencing your grandma and then, you know, you yourself.
03:57Do you think we can elaborate or talk a little bit more about, you know, you're a flood and typhoon survivor in the Philippines.
04:04Your advocacy is deeply personal.
04:07How has that experience shaped your perspective on climate justice?
04:12All right.
04:13It definitely made me realize that it's happening to the same people over and over again.
04:19For example, with my grandfather, his house was also flooded around that same time.
04:24We live in adjacent cities and his house was flooded almost past the second floor.
04:29And he would tell me stories about how they his and him, him and his neighbors would build bridges to connect the rooftops from one another so that they could cross and exchange food.
04:40So that was a very traumatizing experience from him for him.
04:43And it was also quite similar to my grandmother, who was a few years later, who was living in a different island and they were basically trying to survive another typhoon.
04:52And in my head, I was thinking it's always happening to the same people who do not really emit that much carbon emissions, you know, if that makes sense.
05:02Like my grandfather never had a car.
05:04Right.
05:05He takes public transportation.
05:07So does my grandmother.
05:08She also plants vegetables at the back of their farm.
05:11So it doesn't make sense that it happens to the same group of people.
05:16And it made me very frustrated about it as well.
05:21It's not fair that we keep that they have to rebuild every year.
05:26Right.
05:27Because we get typhoons every year.
05:28Right.
05:29It's not about resilience anymore.
05:30That's not resilience.
05:31That's that's forced survival.
05:33So that's definitely that's what made me realize that this is a question of justice.
05:38Right.
05:39I mean, climate change don't discriminate, honestly.
05:42Definitely.
05:43Yeah.
05:44For the young people, for the older people, like you said, your ancestors, even the threat is very real and it's happening, you know, a lot, a lot more these days.
05:53I mean, Malaysia, for example, we have very, you know, a few years back, very horrible floods that affected a lot of people and cost the government billions.
06:02So I think, you know, it's across the region.
06:06It's Southeast Asia is one of the most vulnerable region to natural disasters and climate risk.
06:12Definitely something that, you know, young people like you guys are advocating for better climate action.
06:18So on that, Faith, you know, coming from a youth perspective here, what do young people actually bring to this conversation, right?
06:28What is it?
06:29What is it that your take or the youth's take that is so different from the older generation or other people who are advocating for climate action?
06:38I think the first thing would be the difference in our depth of experiences.
06:44Of course, when the older generations are in a bit of a stark contrast to what Coco said, right?
06:51Because on her side, over generations, they have experienced something that has been there as a constant variable.
06:59But for, I think, my generation, I haven't really had experiences by the riverside as my ancestors did.
07:07Right.
07:08So it's more of a disparity of depth of experiences that I think comes from this idea of different feelings towards the river as well.
07:19That's why, on my perspective, I really struggled to find a deep emotional connection to the river, especially since I perceive it more as a drain.
07:29Whereas I know that my grandparents, that my uncles and aunties, they will tell me how they spend after school sessions by the river to catch fish, to spend time nearby in more rural areas.
07:44It's very accessible to them.
07:46But I, as someone listening to this story in the present day and age, I cannot, for the life of me, relate.
07:58And that also frustrates me to a certain extent.
08:01Because, number one, I feel the heat wave.
08:05Yeah.
08:06You feel the heat everywhere.
08:07A lot, many of the times.
08:08You feel the heat everywhere, yeah.
08:09And for adults that would tell me, you know, you guys are complaining so much that back in my day, it wasn't like this.
08:18Yeah, it was much.
08:19And then I would always have the question, yeah, it wasn't like this, but why do I have to feel this environment at the moment?
08:28Because the environment really shapes us.
08:31Like it or not, we are the results of our environment.
08:34I know a lot of people who migrate out of Malaysia because they say that the heat kills their creativity.
08:40The heat destroys whatever brain function they need to be successful and to be on time to show up for work.
08:48I think that's also why it inspired me to bring more awareness, if not a sense of belonging, or if not action.
08:57Because before we even go to a step to some productive action, there needs to be a feeling of this matters to me.
09:05Which I don't think a lot of young people have.
09:09Even my peers, my closest friends, they struggle to see why I do this.
09:15I mean, I mean, that, I mean, if we're at here, you know, by the sea, we talk about coral bleaching, for example.
09:23You know, the corals used to be so nice, either in Langkawi or Pentian or Redang.
09:28And it's not like that anymore.
09:30Biodiversity loss, you know, species loss and all that.
09:34There's so much that your generation, I guess my generation as well, slightly older youth.
09:40You know, we don't get to experience and you're right.
09:43And we miss out on all this, right?
09:45Okay, before we go for break, you know, many young advocates face barriers.
09:51We know this when it comes to advocating for climate action, right?
09:55So, in your experience, what are some of the biggest challenges you face when advocating and navigating these challenges?
10:02Maybe Coco, we can start with you.
10:04I think I have two answers for that.
10:06One is quite similar to what you just said earlier about these different experiences.
10:12It's quite difficult, sometimes, to remind the older generation of the urgency of this problem.
10:20Because a lot of them have already gotten used, as I mentioned earlier.
10:23When you experience unnatural things repeatedly over a period of time, it eventually appears to be the norm.
10:30Right.
10:31So, for older people, like you said, I've had that experience before with my dad.
10:34I was telling him, it's so hard to commute to school because of how hot it is.
10:39And he was like, I did that when I was younger.
10:42It's different now.
10:43So, we have to understand it changes.
10:45So, that's definitely one of the challenges.
10:48But tapping into the stories of youth organizations and young people like us, especially maybe referring to these youth organizations that I work with in the Philippines,
11:00who are actively trying to address climate change.
11:04One of their biggest challenges right now, really, is securing funding.
11:08And we're talking about sustainable funding.
11:10It's not just like a one-time thing.
11:12One-off thing, yeah.
11:13Yeah, one-off thing.
11:14They need a support, institutional support, that recognize that what they're doing is important, so that they could continue doing it, and then give the leadership to the next generation, so that they continue the progress in all of that.
11:27So, I think those are the gaps that we need to work on, especially now that we are recognizing that the crisis is becoming more complex.
11:38Right.
11:39Faith?
11:40Faith?
11:41Faith?
11:42I think there are two layers to this question.
11:44One would be for people who want to be involved in this action, but they don't know where to reach out, or maybe it's their first step, and they don't know how to gain momentum to that first step.
11:58That would be a lack of platforms that are actively reaching out to these swaths of people that are available, or even they have a twin in their heart to be like, okay, I know that this is wrong.
12:09I need to be actively involved.
12:11Yeah, where do I start?
12:13Where do I go?
12:14And in a world with so many distractions, to be easily sucked into the digital media where you can just be a Netflix subscription away from forgetting all your troubles.
12:23Yeah.
12:24We're all guilty of that sometimes.
12:26Yeah, it's really tough to capture their attention and to have a retention rate, which is why I think platforms are really important.
12:35Even though there are many established platforms in Malaysia, as a young person myself, back in the day, I do know about their existence, but how are they reaching out?
12:46How is the retention rate that makes them feel something on an emotional level rather than a spoon feeding you to a thought level?
12:57I think that's the first stage.
12:59And the second layer?
13:00The second layer in terms of the hardship would be yes, definitely funding, but also I feel is the lack of resources available, creative resources, because funding is just one form of resource.
13:16There's also the resource of time, the resource of talent, the resource of experience, which I feel many people are, organizations especially, especially for those who mean well but are stuck in silos.
13:28They would need to have a platform again to reach out for different resources that are available, perhaps in different people who specialize in specific drainage systems, people who specialize in media to connect drainage to the public.
13:44Right.
13:45You know, all these are, it's hard.
13:47Yeah.
13:48It's not easy.
13:49Yeah, I get it.
13:50It's inspiring that you two take the time to actually, you know, talk about this and actually do, you know, on ground work.
13:57But sometimes I'm scared, you know, even when we talk about this here, when we go back, this thing is being sidelined or put to the back because there are so many other issues that are put at the front, you know, cost of living, you know, all that.
14:11So we want to talk more about your personal, you know, climate advocacy in your countries, but we have to go for a quick break.
14:20So stay tuned.
14:37Welcome back to It's About Youth.
14:38It's About Youth.
14:39We are here in Langkawi, French and Penny Resort and Spa.
14:43And I'm here with two young delegates from UNICEF's ASEAN Climate and Youth Climate Summit 2025 at the sideline.
14:53And we also have the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment happening right now.
14:58We have discussed just now about, you know, their climate advocacy work, some of the challenges and some of the barriers that they face.
15:06I want to dive a little bit deeper on, you know, ASEAN is a region.
15:10We have both someone from Philippines and someone from Malaysia to talk about this.
15:13So, Faev, let's start with you.
15:15You know, the Klang River Festival, that's the climate advocacy that you work in.
15:21You focus on co-developing youth-led solutions, right?
15:25So what lessons from local actions that can be scaled up to inform national or even ASEAN-wide strategies?
15:34I think for my organisation, we prioritise the spirit of kongsi.
15:40So it's the kongsi and it's the spirit of sharing resources.
15:43And I think this, at a youth level, it's almost very intuitive because in the classroom, we have friends, we have colleagues even, like, to discuss and to share our life experience that bleeds into our work.
15:57And even after school, I think that would also apply to, if we scale it up, it would apply to different organisations.
16:05Especially once we get out of school, where do we find the classroom mindset again?
16:09Where do we find the people that are readily available with different experiences to do that?
16:14I think one very ready example is where we are right now.
16:18That we can have a talk with people from ASEAN from different countries and the vast difference in our experiences sometimes shocked me as well.
16:26There's definitely a bit of a culture shock involved.
16:30But that's helpful. It sparks growth.
16:32And it also gives me a lot of material to work with when thinking of what the future holds in my programmes.
16:40And I think these can definitely be scaled up into a national level, if not a regional level.
16:46It's, I think, sharing resources and best practices as well and your shared experience when it comes to climate change.
16:52You know, the Philippines, for example, Indonesia with transboundary haze.
16:57And you have Cambodia, you have Myanmar, we have Thailand.
17:00You know, all these people are experiencing some sort of natural disaster or climate risk that we can really, you know, lay down.
17:08You know, what's the root causes of this and what can we take to our country, right?
17:12Koko, your work touches on climate justice, gender and regional cooperation, right?
17:19If you can explain a little bit what you do and how can, you know, ASEAN member states make space for youth perspective, especially when policies are often state-centric.
17:31I really think there's a need to invest on these youth-led initiatives.
17:37Again, I work with a lot of youth organisations in the Philippines and they've been doing a lot of great work in their local communities.
17:44And you're right, there's different kinds of ways to support them because there's different kinds of support that they would need from financial to time and all of that.
17:56But they're all able to do this in a creative way.
17:59Right.
18:00And imagine what they could do more with actual institutional support.
18:04So I think what ASEAN as a region could do is to really tap into these youth organisations, bring down all of these, bring down opportunities for them to be able to showcase these opportunities,
18:19showcase these programs and initiatives and maybe be able to help them scale that from a local, from grassroots level to provincial level.
18:27And then maybe start doing best practices, exchange across cities and something like that.
18:32And something that I've also been talking about with members of our network of young people, we've talked about this desire to be part of the entire process,
18:44not just at the beginning when they're asking about what to add in the commitments, what to sign.
18:49I mean, all of that's good.
18:51It's not a token.
18:52Yeah.
18:53Token participation.
18:54For this to be actually youth participation, I think it would be great if in the process of implementation, for example,
19:00they tap into our network and then see how we can support at the same time.
19:06Other than that, maybe for the evaluation process, if there's any way for us to also comment on it or to provide our feedback so that we are part of the entire process,
19:18from start to finish.
19:20So I think that's what true youth participation means.
19:23Right.
19:24Not just from the beginning where you ask, where organizations ask about what we want, what our demands are.
19:31Right.
19:32Yeah.
19:33I mean, I definitely agree.
19:34And I think the summit hosted by UNICEF ACYCS, I think really opened, you know, the eyes of a lot of youth and hopefully a lot of policymakers as well.
19:44You know, when we talk about policymakers and experts, when we talk about, you know, climate action, it's always very top bottom approach.
19:51Yeah.
19:52And, you know, they include all this, you know, net zero carbon capture, but they lack the real impact when it comes to how youth are having climate anxieties.
20:02You know, in fear of what the future is going to hold.
20:06I think those are the ones that are missing in our conversation these days when it comes to policies.
20:11Right.
20:12Right.
20:13I see you're smiling, so I must be right.
20:14Right.
20:15Okay.
20:16So, leading up to, well, the ASEAN AMME is happening right now as we speak, and some of the delegates will actually go and present their climate recommendations to the ministers there, to the ASEAN ministers there.
20:31So, I want your take now.
20:32So, following the meeting, the MME, what would you like ASEAN ministers to hear directly from your mouth, from young people in terms of priorities, whether it's adaptation, climate finance, community resilience, you name it.
20:49What's your take on this?
20:51Do you want to start?
20:52Yeah.
20:53I think repetition is key to repeat what we've said just now.
20:58We don't want to be just tokens.
21:00Right.
21:01We also recognize very well that without the help of the people who are actually doing policy work, the people who are on a ministerial level, without their help to show us the way, to give us a pipeline to where they are right now, it's definitely two different worlds that we are looking at.
21:17And we cannot just muddle around with a lack of productivity when there's no solution of a stepping stone for the youth to go step by step to generate this level of stewardship in everyone that all these organizations that we are in.
21:38So, it definitely, from my perspective, in my organization as well, it's a pipeline that I want to envision that I believe everyone will feel less lost once it is ingrained in our system.
21:52Yeah.
21:53I mean, I feel like a lot of youths, you know, at the summit just now have a lot of already groundwork, you know, grassroots initiatives.
22:01And I think, like you said, the problem is you have this and you want to keep it going, but you don't know where to go next without the creative resources that you mentioned, the funding that you mentioned, the pool of people.
22:14There needs to be a sharing of resources all through circular economy.
22:19Okay.
22:20Coco, you're at the table and ASEAN ministers are in front of you.
22:24What will you say to them?
22:25Co-create with us.
22:27I think, again, within the network that I'm a part of, and just to, if it's okay to say the name, we're called the Kabataang Resilient Network or Resilient Youth Network.
22:37There's so many different youth organizations in the Philippines who are doing a lot and really good things to advocate for climate justice and just transition and all that.
22:48And I think what matters right now is that we're provided a seat at the table, not just at the sidelines so that we could comment.
22:56Not just for the photo op.
22:57Exactly.
22:58That came from you.
23:00But to also co-create these decisions and these plans with us.
23:05I'm not sure what's the hesitation with this, but we're definitely more than capable if provided the chance.
23:12And just one look at all of these things that young people have already accomplished all over Southeast Asia, just in Southeast Asia.
23:18I'm not even talking about the entire globe.
23:20You'll see that young people are capable when given the opportunity.
23:24So please, co-create with us.
23:27Right.
23:28I mean, I can concur.
23:29I've been doing this show for quite some time already.
23:31And I have a lot of young, passionate, you know, people on here who have very bold ideas and who are ready for change.
23:40But are sometimes just stuck.
23:42And, and I think, you know, it's people like you guys who are here who are trying to voice out like, Hey, look at us.
23:49We're trying to do something.
23:50Please help us.
23:51I think we need more of that.
23:53Definitely.
23:54All right.
23:55We only have time for one more question.
23:57Finally, what advice would you give to young people across Southeast Asia who would want to join climate movement, but don't know where to start?
24:07Okay.
24:08I think as much as I try or with other organizations try to be the platform for people to come, if you have the wish or if you feel an urge to begin something, you just do it.
24:22No matter how small, it would have a ripple effect because you cannot underestimate how powerful your voice is.
24:30It will compound.
24:31And just like interest over time, you would, you would, you would thank your past younger self on your actions to make, to be a better person.
24:42Because that choice would also shape your environment at a time.
24:46And those decisions that you make to shape your environment will further compound to shape who you are today.
24:52Yeah.
24:53And hopefully it will stop the cycle that you mentioned just now.
24:56You know, the ancestors and the grandma and you and future generations.
25:01Stop the cycle of, you know, climate risk affecting across generations.
25:06Right?
25:07Yeah.
25:08I think community is important.
25:11When I started, after reading that article that I mentioned earlier, it took me two more years before I could actually start working in the movement because I felt like everyone already knows what they're doing.
25:24They already have their groups.
25:25I don't know exactly what to specialize on.
25:28That's even a thing.
25:29So I think community is very important.
25:31For those who are already starting, for those who are already part of the movement, I think it would be really, a really good idea to start networks or communities where you can welcome in new people who are still trying to navigate this movement that we're trying to do.
25:46So in the Philippines, that's exactly what my work is with Kabataang Resilient Network.
25:50We're trying to gather all of these young people, not only to provide them the platform to participate in decision making or to provide them with the support they need with their projects, but also for them to talk with one another.
26:03We want a unified and cohesive movement, especially youth movement.
26:08And you would see that all of these really good projects happening in different islands in one country, they can do a lot with just like meeting and like sitting down on a table and talking with one another.
26:18We did this last time about this project or this problem.
26:21And this exchange not only provides a safe space for people who are still navigating the movement, but also it also provides a platform for young people who are already in the movement to strengthen and expand their work, what they're currently doing at this point in time.
26:41Right. I think I think I think that's that's a nice way to end it.
26:45I think from our discussions here, one thing I can take away is support, right?
26:50It's the community support, resource support, funding support, network support.
26:56It's the key to get the ground running for a lot of youth led organization that you both are part of.
27:05And we thank you for for, you know, just doing it and being out there and doing the dirty work at dirty work and making sure that your voices are heard.
27:15And I think we can just all hope for change, especially now we're at, you know, MME and we have the ASEAN ministers here and we want to talk to them and make sure our voices are heard.
27:27So, yeah, thank you so much, both of you, Faith and Coco for being here with me to talk about climate advocacy and how youth are leading in driving solutions.
27:40That's all the time we have here in Langkawi.
27:43It is very, very beautiful setting and at the sideline of the ACYCS summit in the lead up to MMME.
27:51That's it. I'm Farina Shea. Thank you for watching. Bye.
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