The ITU Secretary-General delivered a special video message for Girls in ICT Day 2023.

This annual observance highlights the critical role of women and girls in the information and communication technologies sector, encouraging their participation and empowerment in digital fields.

Raghav Kalyanaraman delivered a speech at the Brower Youth Awards ceremony.

The event was held at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California, on October 18, 2022. For more details, visit: broweryouthawards.org.

Lauren Ejiaga delivered a speech at the Brower Youth Awards ceremony on October 18, 2022. The event was held at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California.

Further details about the awards are available at broweryouthawards.org.

Hamid Torabzadeh delivered a speech at the Brower Youth Awards ceremony on October 18, 2022. The event took place at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California.

For more information about the awards, visit broweryouthawards.org.

Annika Weber delivered a speech at the Brower Youth Awards ceremony.

The event was held on October 18, 2022, at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California. For more details, visit broweryouthawards.org.

Ilana Cohen delivered a speech at the Brower Youth Awards ceremony, held October 18, 2022, at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California.

For more information, visit: broweryouthawards.org.

Amara Ifeji delivered a speech at the Brower Youth Awards ceremony, held October 18, 2022, at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California.

For more information, visit: broweryouthawards.org

Amara Ifeji, 20, recognized the lack of environmental opportunities in marginalized communities. In 2018, she began facilitating environmental learning for students of color. She later became a director for the Maine Environmental Changemakers Network, an intergenerational group of 400+ youth promoting a just, inclusive, and equitable environmental movement.

Amara elevates youth voices in state and federal policy. In 2021, she coordinated Maine’s first climate education summit, gathering young people’s visions. This led to her helping create and implement a bill funding over $2 million for climate education in the state. Learn more at broweryouthawards.org.

Annika Weber, 18, co-founded the Northwest School Carbon Neutrality Task Force in early 2021. Observing widespread burnout among youth activists, she sought to combine youth passion with adult experience for sustained, tangible results. The task force, including students, parents, and faculty, researched how her high school could achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

They surveyed the community, collected baseline data, and presented a report to school leadership. The school is now finalizing the adoption of these recommendations. If implemented, it would be the first 6-12 school in the U.S. to target carbon neutrality by 2030 without carbon offsets.

broweryouthawards.org

Since high school, 17-year-old Hamid Torabzadeh has volunteered with the American Red Cross, empowering youth to prevent and alleviate human suffering amidst increasing climate and public health disasters.

He leads the Los Angeles READYteens Program, educating high school students on disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. READYteens trains youth in CPR/First Aid and emergency communications, prioritizing vulnerable communities most susceptible to climate-related emergencies.

Hamid's efforts have reached over 10,000 youth volunteers nationally, trained 350 LA students, and educated 1,000+ LA households on fire and earthquake safety.

broweryouthawards.org

In 2018, Ilana Cohen co-founded the New York City chapter of Zero Hour and organized one of the nation’s first Youth Climate Marches, spurred by political inaction. As a Harvard student, she relaunched the Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard campaign, securing a historic victory when the university pledged to divest its $53 billion endowment from fossil fuels.

Cohen, 21, later co-founded Fossil Free Research, an international grassroots campaign. It unites students and experts against Big Oil’s influence on climate research, aiming to protect academic integrity and accelerate a just energy transition. The campaign has published an open letter signed by over 740 academics, staged international actions, and formed campus coalitions.

broweryouthawards.org

In 8th grade, Lauren U.C. Ejiaga's science fair project on ozone depletion and Louisiana's marsh grasses won a top prize at Broadcom MASTERS. This experience highlighted the importance of environmental awareness alongside research, inspiring her to educate peers.

Now 17, Lauren leads multiple native plant restoration projects as a cohort leader for the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. She also founded the "Conservation and Restoration Conjunction," a series of workshops promoting STEM education and coastal protection among youth. She recruits national science fair winners to speak about STEM careers.

broweryouthawards.org

High school senior Raghav Kalyanaraman has dedicated two years to restoring North Texas's Blackland Prairie Ecosystem. This vital habitat, with less than 0.001% remaining, supports over 500 native species, prevents soil erosion, and replenishes aquifers.

Leading hundreds of youth volunteers, Raghav has restored five acres at the Heard Museum. His work includes clearing invasive species, planting native flora, installing 118 waterbars to mitigate trail erosion, and constructing enclosures to aid dwindling box turtle populations. He also founded Eagles For Environment to further community involvement. Learn more at broweryouthawards.org.

A showreel was developed for wildlife conservationist Mya-Rose Craig.

This project was undertaken by filmmaker Josh Dury.

The Bradford Literature Festival Digital Education Programme 2021 featured environmental activist and campaigner Mya-rose Craig. Learn more at [bradfordlitfest.co.uk](https://www.bradfordlitfest.co.uk).

Craig emphasized the importance of recognizing diverse environmental voices beyond well-known figures like Greta Thunberg. She stated, "We keep on hearing about the same names... there are so many people all around the world doing amazing things." Discover more activists on EarthSayers.TV.

On June 27, 2022, a discussion explored Blue Shield's latest Youth Climate Survey, focusing on how climate change impacts the mental health of young people.

The event featured insights from David W. Bond (Director of Behavioral Health, Blue Shield of California—Promise Health Plan), youth environmental activist Kat Lee (APEN), and student representative Maya Gomez (Mind Out Loud, Whitney High School). Additional speakers included Antoinette Mayer (Senior Director, Corporate Citizenship, Blue Shield), Joel Castro (President, Cesar Chavez Service Club), and co-host Michelle Meow (Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show").

For the Climate Justice Movement to achieve true "justice," it must be radically inclusive, intersecting with social, racial, gender, and disability justice movements. Alexia Leclercq, a Brower Youth Award winner and environmental justice organizer, passionately advocates for these rarely discussed aspects of intersectionality.

Leclercq delivered this talk at the 2021 Bioneers Conference. Learn more at www.bioneers.org.

Young people worldwide are actively addressing the climate crisis and demanding action from leaders. Our Creating Citizens initiative provides a forum for youth to connect with peers and civic leaders on pressing issues.

Join us for a special panel featuring young climate activists discussing their work and the power of youth to tackle climate and social injustice. Educators and students registering receive a free copy of Vanessa Nakate's book, *A Bigger Picture: My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis*.

Additional books are available at the Club's online bookstore. Support our work: Become a Member.

Following his COP26 speech on November 8, 2021, President Barack Obama joined youth climate activists, including Columbia students, at a private roundtable. Co-sponsored by the Columbia Climate School and the Obama Foundation, the discussion explored the future of climate action and what inspires hope.

The session featured Andrew Fagerheim (SEAS'24), Eduarda Zoghbi (SIPA'22), and Columbia Obama Scholar Christian Vanizette.

Watch the entire session on C-SPAN: https://bit.ly/3ofNEoC