News & Insight | The Elders

"In the end, what we need is justice": Born into the climate crisis

Championed by Ban Ki-moon, Mitzi Jonelle Tan from the Philippines writes about the frightening and devastating impacts of climate change and calls for an urgent end to the burning of fossil fuels.

“When the ocean suffers, we all suffer”: Tackling the crises of plastics and climate change

17 September 2021

Eighteen-year-old climate activist Hannah Testa from the US writes about the links between ocean pollution and climate change and calls forcefully for urgent action taking a holistic view on the climate crisis.

The next level of climate advocacy: Beyond fake smiles and fruitless handshakes

Sudanese climate activist Nisreen Elsaim advocates a comprehensive view on climate justice that considers intergenerational, geographical and gender justice, regardless of personal and national wealth.

The impacts of climate change: Why biodiversity matters

Priyanka Lalla, a 14-year-old climate activist from Trinidad and Tobago, on the links between biodiversity and climate change, and how and we urgently need to restore nature’s balance.

What does it take to reach our full potential as climate activists?

Young siblings Jayson and Jayrose 'Mika' Capelle from the Marshall Islands write about their experiences as climate activists in a climate-vulnerable island state, and how the climate crisis is about more than climate change.

La igualdad de género, la justicia climática y la educación van de la mano

La activista por la justicia climática Julieta Martínez de Chile reflexiona sobre la intersección del cambio climático, la igualdad de género y la educación, y llama a abordar la crisis climática desde una perspectiva feminista.

Gender equality, climate justice and education go hand in hand

Climate justice activist Julieta Martínez from Chile reflects on the intersection between climate change, gender equality and education and calls for the climate crisis to be viewed from a feminist perspective.

Leading the Youth Climate Movement in the Arab World

Youth climate activist Neeshad Shafi from Qatar emphasises the important role the Arab region ought to play in climate action and calls for civil society engagement to ensure climate action is inclusive and open to all.

Changing the narrative on gender justice

UN Youth Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake writes for The Elders about gender justice and how to continue to advance access to justice for women and girls amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Days marked by death tolls”: Finding hope amid global despair

Youth climate activist Nikayla Jefferson from California writes about her experience as a Black, queer woman in the youth climate movement and how, for her, the climate crisis is one of many existential threats.

Why democracy needs to open its doors to young people to tackle the climate crisis

Linus Dolder, a young climate activist living in Germany, shares his thoughts on youth participation in political processes and why it is crucial to ensure leaders treat the climate crisis with the urgency it requires.

Winning the fight against climate change: The pivotal role of young people

Chibeze Ezekiel, a climate activist from Ghana, reflects on the power of grassroots and youth activism in forcing climate action and the need to allow young people to co-create their futures.

Fronteras cerradas e injusticia en la vacunación: COVID-19 y la migración en América Latina

Mauricio Viloria y Diana Ortiz Viloria, de MECoPA, hablan sobre la necesidad de reconocer el camino en el que las restricciones impuestas a la migración forzada aumentan los riesgos en la salud pública.

Closed borders and vaccine injustice: COVID-19 and migration in Latin America

Mauricio Viloria and Diana Ortiz Viloria of MECoPa write about the need to recognise the ways in which restrictions on forced migration amplify risks to public health.

Stories from the frontlines: Refugee-Led Organisations in the Shadow of COVID-19

Three refugee-led organisations share their reflections on a challenging year for people who have been forcibly displaced.

Putting GBV survivors at the centre of data collection efforts

Nadine Tunasi from Survivors Speak Out highlights the importance of a survivor-centred approach to data collection within and beyond conflict zones

Grassroots organisations are essential to empowering the communities they serve

Frontline justice defenders Nazdeek explain why work like theirs must be urgently and flexibly funded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gender-based violence and COVID-19: Why justice is essential to response and recovery plans

Stacey Cram from Namati outlines the intersection between access to justice, the pandemic and violence against women and girls.

Peacebuilding is at the heart of resolving our personal, institutional and societal grievances

In a guest blog for The Elders, Yasmine Ouirhrane discusses her experiences as a peace mediator highlights the obstacles young women face both from the diaspora and in the MENA region

Masahiro Sasaki: on surviving the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, his sister Sadako and his mission to advance peace

Masahiro Sasaki, the only surviving brother of Sadako Sasaki - whose actions sparked a peace movement, blogs on surviving the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Each of us can bring something valuable to the quest for peace

Sue DiCicco, founder of The Peace Crane Project, explains the importance of Sadako and Masahiro Sasaki to the story of the origami peace crane, and the message of hope it represents today.

My name is not Greta Thunberg: Why diverse voices matter in the climate movement

Xiye Bastida, an 18-year-old Mexican-Indigenous climate justice activist based in New York City, pushes back on click-bait and lazy journalism around coverage of the climate movement.

Why medical students are calling for a healthy recovery

Omnia El Omrani, a medical student & climate activist from Egypt, reflects on the impact of climate change on public health and calls on governments to recognise investing in health is a key facilitator of sustainable development in the COVID-19 recovery.

On the frontline of the climate crisis in Marshall Islands

Litokne Kabua, a young climate activist from the Marshall Islands, highlights the experience of small island communities living with the impacts of climate change. He implores world leaders to take action before it is too late.

Why The Climate Movement Must Unite Behind The Black Lives Matter Movement

Jamie Margolin, an 18-year-old Colombian American student, author and climate activist, shares a letter to fellow climate activists calling on them to recognise that the “fight for climate justice and the fight for social justice are inseparable.”

Why are we not speaking about the intersection of health and climate change?

Noting that it took a global pandemic to raise the importance of public health, David Imbago Jácome, a medical doctor from Ecuador, calls for a healthy recovery that takes care of both the most vulnerable and the planet.

Climate Change: a threat to human health in Nigeria. Let’s take action!

Adegbile Deborah Morayo, a 12-year-old climate activist from Nigeria, writes about living with the impacts of environmental degradation and how this drives her passion to be a climate activist advocating for the right to a clean and healthy environment.

What is Broken and What is Beautiful: Creative Climate Adaptation

Championed by Ban Ki-moon, Brianna Fruean, a climate activist for Samoa, writes about three things she has seen, learned and been inspired by, across the globe during our current struggles.

The COVID-19 response shows the real potential of what united climate action could achieve

Erin Fowler, a young climate activist from Scotland, UK, recalls the passion of local communities as they work together with global citizens to tackle transborder issues like climate change and plastic pollution.

The connection between people and nature

Howey Ou, a climate activist from China, says that just as the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the whole planet, so too does the climate crisis. Warning against inaction, she calls for a collective effort to achieve climate justice.

The climate crisis is already here: Why we must listen to voices in the Global South

Vanessa Nakate, a young climate activist from Uganda, outlines the devastating impact of climate change and warns that those on the frontlines must be engaged in finding solutions. She also highlights the challenge of climate activism in the Global South

Not losing hope: Climate action and lessons to learn in India

Ridhima Pandey, a 12-year-old climate activist from India explains the motivations behind her environmental activism and why she seeks to raise awareness about caring for the planet.

Too young to understand climate action? Actually, young people are leading the way

Theo Cullen-Mouze, a young climate activist from Ireland, argues that the COVID-19 response shows the capacity of the world to collaborate, mobilise vast resources and take radical action in times of crisis. He calls for intersectional climate justice.

Universal Health Coverage: an urgent call for increased public financing

Young health leaders joined Gro Harlem Brundtland in a dialogue on achieving Universal Health Coverage. This thought-piece was co-authored by six participants to the discussion, following One Young World’s 2019 Summit in London, UK.

We need new voices in the nuclear disarmament debate

Britt Vegting, a medical student from The Netherlands and advocate for meaningful youth participation in discussions on abolishment of nuclear weapons, writes about her experience as activist raising awareness about the threat of nuclear weapons.

Nuclear weapons are Issue Zero

Cecili Thompson Williams, executive director of Beyond the Bomb, highlights the importance of youth activism and leadership to ensure a nuclear weapons-free future

Nothing About Us, Without Us: the Global Refugee-Led Network

As the Global Refugee Forum takes place on 17-18 December, our guest bloggers, Mohammed Badran and Sana Mustafa explore the importance of refugee voices in the decision-making process.

Women, girls, and non-binary leaders are demonstrating the kind of leadership our world so badly needs

Women, girls, and non-binary leaders are demonstrating the kind of leadership our world so badly needs

"We are made of the forest" - Defending the Amazon

Movimento Ipereğ Ayũ is a Munduruku resistance movement of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and one of The Elders' Sparks of Hope. Kabaiwun Munduruku is a Munduruku leader, she shares why she and other women have formed part of this movement.

Listening to and learning from girls

For International Day of the Girl Child, Swatee Deepak, Director of With and For Girls, discusses how to provide meaningful support

How can we support communities trying to protect their land and natural resources?

Increased and smarter financing of access to justice is urgently needed to empower communities to protect their lands, writes Sam Szoke-Burke and Kaitlin Y. Cordes of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment.

The climate and human cost of intensive farming

This month, the IPCC released a new report highlighting the serious choices that will need to be made about how humans interact with the land systems that provide our societies with the food and water we need to survive.

Dialogue must be routine, not reward, in the fight against conflict

As the new chair of the UN Security Council takes the seat, The Elders’ Head of Programmes, Jane Kinninmont, reflects on the need for states to institutionalise dialogue to avoid conflict.

Delivering justice for all in South Africa: the power of paralegals

Dr Winnie Martins of the Centre for Community Justice and Development highlights the crucial role played by community paralegals in responding to day-to-day justice problems.

Deon Shekuza a Youth Agent for Sustainable Development

Last month, Namibian youth advocate Deon Shekuza and Mary Robinson held an intergenerational dialogue on climate justice, on the sidelines of the Climate and Sustainable Development High-Level Meeting in New York. In this interview for TheElders.org, Deon

Safeguarding future generations: how Wales is leading the way on climate justice

As Elders’ Chair Mary Robinson calls on UN Member States to prioritise the interests of young people, Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales explains how the Welsh Government is giving young people a voice in political decision-making.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

On the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (IDERD), Caroline Kamana from Nelson Mandela: The Official Exhibition’s Education team, explores the power of Nelson Mandela’s legacy.

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