Jaime Webbe was one of our inspiring youth moderators of the Youth in Southeast Asia special session at the Forests Asia Summit, held in Jakarta in May this year. During this session, Jaime led a group of youth through a ‘knowledge expedition’ to identify the key skills that young people need to engage in and work with climate change issues.
Ahead of the youth activities at December’s Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) in Peru, which will focus on building youth skills and knowledge to become leaders and effectively contribute to discussions, we catch up with Jaime to find out what she learnt from her role at the Forests Asia Youth Session, and her advice for upcoming youth leaders and participants in the 2014 GLF. Register to attend the youth session here.
- Where were you with your career before the Forests Asia youth session in May 2014? What’s changed the most for you during the last 6 months? What projects are you currently working on?
Since Forests Asia I have been very fortunate to work with some amazing people on some incredible projects – whether sitting in a sauna in Helsinki brainstorming on ecosystem based approaches to adaptation or locked in a basement in Bonn considering the legal framework governing geo-engineering – my career has been varied, if nothing else. With two young children, working as a consultant offers me a unique opportunity to balance my career with family life. As a young professional this is a challenge that is not uncommon. Over the past 12 months I have started travelling more for work and am increasingly focusing on mainstreaming gender into environmental management.
- What was the most concrete benefit or opportunity you gained by participating in the Forests Asia youth session?
I went into Forests Asia with expectations on what skills people would see as important for careers in climate change – I was largely wrong. I benefited immensely from the views of the participants in my session, both from the youth and from the established climate change professionals. From them I learned the value that is placed on innovation, teamwork and communication skills. Having the opportunity to practice these skills myself at the conference with amazing support from the CIFOR staff has certainly made me better at what I do.
- What do you think has been one of the most important moments for youth engagement in climate change, land use or sustainable development and what should we learn from this?
With regards to youth engagement in climate change, I think the best successes can be found at the local level. Youth in their community mobilizing to reduce the carbon footprint of their friends, families and leaders, innovative adaptation mechanisms research – explored and implemented by youth – are the actions that are affecting real change.
- Do you have any advice for the youth leaders and participants in the upcoming youth session in Peru? (this could be related to their participation, career advice that you have received etc).
When you approach any session, be ready to make commitments. It is too easy to name and blame in this political environment of inaction, but it takes courage to lead by example. Think carefully about what you can do before the session to increase involvement, what you can do during the session to offer constructive solutions and innovative options, and what you can do when the session is over to keep the momentum going. Youth have a unique opportunity to be heard in climate change negotiations, more so than in many other international processes, so go ahead and use this opportunity to set an example.
This belongs to a blog series profiling youth leadership in landscapes. Tell us your youth story – submit blogs to landscapes.youth@gmail.com
