Ready to Run the World: Laetania Belai Djandam on Student Activism, Climate Advocacy & Community Building

When we think about protecting our environment for future generations, the job at hand seems really big. Huge, even. But what if the solutions to these problems start with actions that seem kind of small? What if parents and teachers start getting kids engaged with the natural environment in their own communities from a young age?

This week, we meet Laetania Belai Djandam, a 22 year-old Indonesian Indigenous environmental activist. She was raised to care for her local landscape and people, with the understanding that if similar dedication was applied by everyone around the world, the Earth would be in a much better state.

A member of the Dayak tribe, her main focus areas are Indigenous land rights, climate justice, and climate intersectionality. A 2023 University of Sheffield graduate, she earned a Bachelor of Medical Sciences, Health and Human Sciences, and has worked for organizations like Healthcare Without Harm to create a more equitable and sustainable world through planetary health. She believes that young people are creating positive change in the world and that right here, right now, powerful people are listening to what youth are saying about how we use and misuse our natural resources.

In this episode, we’ll cover all of that, plus lessons about why Indigenous land rights are so significant, how to detect “youth washing,” and why connecting with your own community is crucial in securing support for climate advocacy. Belai shares her own journey with us and offers empowering advice to anyone feeling too small to make a big difference.

Listen along with your friends, parents, and teachers as we share discussion questions and helpful definitions...there’s even a quiz at the end of the episode to practice what you learned.

Highlights:

• Learning about Belai’s homeland and Dayak heritage (2:29)
• How to increase climate curriculum in schools (9:44)
• Local Weather Report: Bogor, Indonesia (12:35)
• Why indigenous land rights are such an important issue (13:43)
• What is climate intersectionality? (20:18)
• Youth empowerment but also “youth washing” (24:57)
• Climate advocacy career advice (29:30)

Links:

Belai on LinkedIn

Belai on Instagram

Article: Why This Youth Climate Activist Insists on the Importance of Joy

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