If you missed the third and final webinar in the “We are not waiting” series, you can catch up on the meaningful conversations here, covering grassroots advocacy, mutual aid and youth-led action.
Daniel Creutzfeldt, Educere Alliance, moderated the session, which brought together passionate young leaders from around the world to discuss how communities are tackling the climate crisis and systemic challenges from the ground up. The contributions from participants were truly inspiring, generating valuable discussion and sharing of ideas.
Here is your low-down on the key takeaways, powerful stories and practical advice shared during the event.
Meet the speakers
Sarah Kpoh (Ghana): An educator, youth climate advocate and disability inclusion officer for the Ghana Youth Environmental Movement. Kpoh runs the Read to Shine initiative, the Pearl Sunray solar project, and has co-created innovations like the “Rehab Mate” AI app for stroke survivors and the “Right Is Board” for students with hand and grip disabilities.
Jean-Salman Marre (Bangladesh): A strategy manager at Friendship, a Bangladeshi NGO operating in one of the most climate-vulnerable regions in the world. With a background in theoretical physics and business strategy, Marre bridges frontline humanitarian delivery with systemic strategy across health, education and climate adaptation.
Core themes: mutual aid, peacebuilding and creative action
The webinar focused on three core themes from the youth anthology project:
- Mutual aid and communities of care: young-led networks and community initiatives are stepping up to tackle pressing problems through genuine connection and care. For instance, in Bangladesh, 18-year-old flood volunteer Molita built a bamboo raft independently to save 24 people from her community during a disaster.
- Peacebuilding and social cohesion: communities treat repairing existing fractures and promoting social unity as fundamental steps towards collective climate solutions. In Bangladesh, early-career community legal aids (mostly individuals in their early twenties) prevent child marriage and help communities access governmental assistance.
- Alternative channels of creative change: young leaders are using technology, education, creativity, stories and art to drive change outside of traditional, slow-moving bureaucratic channels.
Key takeaways for young changemakers
- Youth are the present, not just the future: in vulnerable regions like Bangladesh—where extreme weather shifts geography by kilometres each season—young people take on heavy economic and social responsibilities by age 18. They do not have the luxury of waiting for “token help”.
- Perfection is the enemy of progress: both speakers emphasised that waiting for perfect conditions or a flawless solution halts action. Sarah Kpoh noted from personal experience that waiting too long to perfect an assignment caused her to miss a deadline, proving that starting small and evolving over time is far more effective.
- Listen genuinely to community needs: Marre stressed that anyone entering a community must genuinely listen to what people say and what they leave unsaid, rather than arriving with preconceived ideas or chasing short-term visibility.
- Shift the storytelling narrative: when telling your story, focus on the “why factor” rather than self-praise or ego. Sharing the core motivation behind your work helps inspire others to use their own stories to create change.
How to overcome barriers and claim your space
Facing structural hurdles like funding shortages and a lack of formal recognition can feel overwhelming. However, the speakers shared practical ways to push past these barriers:
- Don’t wait for permission or a seat at the table: if formal structures do not allocate space or resources for youth, start small with your peers, pool resources together and show your genuine commitment. Decision-makers often respond when they see real passion and proactive initiative in action.
- Embrace imperfection: accept that your first steps will be imperfect, but remember that a growing, evolving solution will always beat standing still.
- Build international and cross-community solidarity: use digital tools and technology not just for casual social media sharing, but to connect with global peers, share innovations and fight for a collective cause.
As Kpoh reminded attendees, quoting Nelson Mandela, it is in our hands to make the world a healthy and wealthy place, and we must take action now.
An open-access anthology
‘We are not waiting’ will produce an open-access anthology of six chapters. This will not be just a collection of essays, but a durable, policy-relevant record of youth-led systems change in practice. Young people themselves will write, review and edit it, grounding it in real-world practice.
Call for abstracts
Whether you are organising your community, restoring ecosystems, building alternative economies or using art to shift narratives — your experience is what this anthology is looking for.
This call is open to anyone aged 14–35 who is actively working on one of the six themes. You do not need to be an academic or an established writer — and you do not need to have all the answers. What matters is that you are doing the work.
You may submit as an individual or as part of a small team. Write in your own voice, clear and simple. Abstracts should be no more than 500 words. Contributions from the Global Majority and indigenous communities are especially encouraged.
If you select an abstract, we will invite the author to develop a full piece of approximately 2,000 words for the anthology. Our editorial team will support you every step of the way.
Deadline: 31 August 2026
How to submit
Further information
You can watch the recording of the webinar, ‘The human side of systems change: peacebuilding, mutual aid and cultural transformation’, here:
Interested in contributing to the Anthology? Find out more here.