2024-08-11
Tomorrow’s leaders are all around us. They live in the communities we serve. They work in the organisations we support. They fight for the rights we all hold dear. So to commemorate this year’s international youth day we reached out to young leaders across the globe.
They spoke with us about their experiences advocating for tenure rights, gender inclusiveness and climate action. They even shared a few powerful messages for today’s leaders. Here is a glimpse of what the next generation had to say about protecting communal land rights and tackling global challenges.
“I’m a fighter, a feminist and a defender of human rights, in particular the rights of communities that are victims of land injustice, with a focus on women and young people.”
“Community is not just about people; it’s about the land that has shaped us. Our way of life is threatened as our elders pass and forests fall. Our message remains: Land is not a commodity but a living entity. Land is alive just as we are alive.”
“I grew up in the forest and I’ve learned to secure and protect it because it’s crucial for our daily survival. We face a lot of difficulties with outsiders. We’ve remained very vigilant – me, my wife, and a few of my friends – and continue to monitor activities in the forest to make sure that there are no longer any loggers destroying our forest.”
“It is said that women and men are like the two wheels of a cart. Just as a cart cannot move at its full speed if one wheel is weak, the progress is hindered when both men and women are not active. Similarly, in our households and society, only when both women and men are actively involved, the family and society can move forward.”
“By getting involved in the community and being part of it, you play an important role in defending the rights of our territories, since our greatest wealth is our territories, and our greatest right is to fight for it.”
“Let’s build a collective movement and be ready to make a real contribution to the struggle for land rights and be at the forefront for change and prosperity in people’s organisations!”
Leaders must “do everything possible to guarantee that the rights of Indigenous Pygmies are respected, advocate for the reduction of social inequalities that disadvantage the Pygmy people and urge authorities to build basic socio-economic infrastructures (schools, hospitals, roads) in our communities.”
“My message to world leaders is to take a closer look at this issue of the free Babaçu law, which needs to be much more visible and much more widespread. The law … still suffers from a lot of owners who threaten women. This is a crime.”
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