Archana Soreng belongs to the Khadia tribe from Odisha, India.
She was a Youth Advisor in the first cohort of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change from 2020 to 2023.In this seven-member group, she was the one from Asia and from the Indigenous Community. As an advisor, she advised the Secretary-General on the impacts of the climate crisis on young people and highlighted initiatives led by young people to address the climate crisis.
Archana has been dedicated to reclaiming spaces and amplifying the perspectives of Indigenous peoples in the climate justice discourse. She has been working at global, regional, and national levels, connecting with Indigenous youth on research and documentation of Indigenous knowledge and practices related to climate justice and biodiversity conservation. Archana advocates for the preservation and promotion of these Indigenous knowledge systems and practices. Her work is at the intersection of climate justice, youth, and Indigenous peoples, with a focus on recognizing and enforcing the land and forest rights of Indigenous Peoples.
She was named a Skoll Fellow for 2024 in recognition of her work and participated in the Skoll World Forum this year, an annual convening by the Skoll Foundation.
Archana delivered an address at the UN General Assembly Rostrum on 15 December 2023 during an informal meeting of the General Assembly, commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
She is committed to ensuring that climate finance and climate philanthropy are accessible to young people, Indigenous peoples, and local communities. Currently, she serves as a member of the Steering Committee of the Youth Climate Justice Fund.
Archana holds a Master’s degree in Regulatory Governance from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, 2016 – 2018.