Plan International and Rockefeller Foundation Launch Youth Leadership Academy for Gender and Climate Action in Asia

New initiative focused on youth leaders in Indonesia, India, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand

JAKARTA, INDONESIA | August 12, 2024 ― On International Youth Day 2024, Plan International, with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, has launched the Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) for Gender and Climate Action addressing the urgent need for leaders in the Asia and Pacific (APAC) region to work together with girls and young people as leaders and influencers for climate action and climate justice. With a $350,000 grant from The Rockefeller Foundation for the YLA, Plan International will invest in 40 youth leaders (70% girls and young women) who are contributing to climate actions alongside their peers and communities in Indonesia, India, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Spanning from May 2024 to Dec 2025, the initiative will start with the formation of a Regional YLA, where 40 young leaders are selected and equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge around climate action. The initiative will progress with intensive three-months academy sessions with experts to enhance participating young people’s capacities. To exercise their knowledge in practice and leadership skills, 40 YLA members will be awarded grants valued at USD 2,000 each to implement youth-led, gender-responsive climate action projects for at least one year. These grants will support eight initiative projects, consisting of two projects each in Indonesia, Vietnam, and India, and one project each in Thailand and the Philippines. Impact stories and evidence from these initiatives will then be documented for the Youth Leadership Summit and future advocacy efforts.

“Plan International has played a significant role in engaging and collaborating with young people to co-create and support their collective action on gender-responsive climate change adaptation. We are delighted to partner with The Rockefeller Foundation in five countries with significant young people populations that are vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis,” said Nazla Mariza, Influencing Director of Yayasan Plan International Indonesia (Plan Indonesia), during the online launch of the YLA for Gender and Climate Action program.

“The climate crisis affects the future of young people, despite their minimal contribution to its causes. Their leadership is essential for accelerating climate action. The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to support Plan International in launching the Youth Leadership Academy, ensuring that young people not only have a seat at the table but also that their unique and innovative perspectives are heard,” said Deepali Khanna, Vice President for Asia, The Rockefeller Foundation.

Bhagyashri Dengle, Executive Director, APAC and Policy & Practice, Plan International, also underlines that this collaboration is part of Plan International Asia Pacific’s commitment to empowering youth to become leaders in climate change actions, saying “This initiative is crucial to our mission and aims to ensure that these efforts reach a broader audience, both regionally and globally. This aligns with Plan International’s global ambition to improve the lives of 200 million girls who will face the threats posed by climate change.”

Leadership of young people, particularly girls in the YLA on climate change, will generate active collaboration with key duty bearers such as the government, disaster risk reduction (DRR) experts, practitioners, academia, journalists, and influencers in achieving gender-responsive climate change adaptation. Beyond these stakeholders, the program will provide opportunities for participants to collaborate on key climate decision-making forums like the Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) and the Conference of Parties (COP).

As part of these youth-led initiatives, awareness of communities and the public on the impact of climate change through youth collective actions will also be mobilized. This will be done through Plan International’s Youth Action Platform and social media engagement reaching at least 2.5 million people in the APAC region. As the final activity of the project, the Youth Summit on Climate Action will amplify youth voices by connecting at least 600 young leaders in five countries with global and regional leaders.

This project will also elevate the voices of the most marginalized groups, such as indigenous communities and ethnic minorities, by bringing their concerns to policymakers, consulting with them to understand how best to add value, and supporting their efforts to achieve positive changes.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

APAC is home to more than 335 million adolescent girls and 4.3 million young. Young people particularly girls are one of the world’s most vulnerable groups to climate shocks whose lives and livelihoods will be shortened and worsened and who have contributed the least to it. They face consequences of natural disasters, rising sea levels, extreme weather conditions, economic instability, health issues, social displacement, and exacerbated gender inequality, all of which jeopardize their possibilities of a good future. Despite being leaders in climate activism, their voices are underrepresented in climate discussions and policymaking, resulting in policies that fail to address their specific needs.

About Plan International

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion, and discrimination. And it is girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, supporters, and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges girls and vulnerable children face. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood, and we enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity.

We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national, and global levels using our reach, experience, and knowledge. For over 85 years, we have rallied other determined optimists to transform the lives of all children in more than 80 countries.

We won’t stop until we are all equal.

About The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation that enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We make big bets to promote the well-being of humanity. Today, we are focused on advancing human opportunity and reversing the climate crisis by transforming systems in food, health, energy, and finance. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn and LI @the-rockefeller-foundation.

About Youth Action Platform

The Youth Action Platform is a digital platform with the primary focus on bringing youth activists across the region together, sharing opportunities and taking collective actions to put the spotlight on Youth Activism in the APAC region. The Platform curates, strengthens and promotes content, engagement opportunities and other services related to youth for empowering and connecting them under a single roof. Join our digital hub for youth activism: youthactionplatform.org/