My name is Maryam Eqan, and I am a young environment and climate activist from Pakistan. Being a young environmentalist, I see youth as a group of individuals who are energetic, spontaneous, and hopeful, who have the potential to cease ecological and climate crisis.
Though we as a youth put a lot of efforts to draw world’s leaders’ attention towards the crisis but we feel that our adults are not that much interested. The youth is raising their voices, they are creating awareness among the masses, and they are making an effort to be on the decision-making tables though it is exceedingly difficult till present time. The adult think that the youth is young, and they are not capable enough to make the decisions. They think that the youth opinions do not matter, and they keep on revolving around the orthodox lifestyle. They do not believe in the innovative ideas of the youth, which is hindering the upward escalation.
Seeing the importance of youth in the eyes of world leaders, I am more concerned about changing the world’s leaders’ attitude towards the sustainability approach. Before raising awareness about climate and environment among the masses, I want to make them realize that sustainability comes from environmental viability and social acceptance – it's not just about the financial gain alone.
Acceptance of youth’s opinion and their appropriate place on decision making tables can help to make the voices of young people be heard, and I am waiting for this to happen.