For this article, we decided to go a little bit more practical and brought in an expert, Kaluki Paul Mutuku. Kaluki is an environmentalist, the Regional Director for Africa with Youth4Nature and he is particularly passionate about creating spaces where young people can play a key role in fighting the climate crisis. In his chat with Heizal, he offers some pretty amazing insights, experiences as well as tips on how young people can play a key role in fighting the climate crisis.
HEIZAL NAGGINDA
Tell us about yourself and where you are based?
KALUKI PAUL MUTUKU
My name is Kaluki Paul Mutuku, I am based in Nairobi, Kenya and my background is in Environmental Conservation and Natural Resource Management from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. I’m a climate activist and environmental defender. I love nature, learning and exploring the outside world.
HEIZAL
Tell us more about your work. What inspired you to become an environmentalist?
KALUKI
I’m involved in several things. I do environmental education with communities on conservation and restoration work, I am a writer on environmental action and grassroots leadership for nature, I work with Youth4Nature, an International Youth-Led Organization, as Regional Director for Africa, leading in mobilization of youth to lead in restoration and climate action. I also recently co-founded Kenya Environmental Action Network, a national facing initiative bringing together environmental enthusiasts to collaborate on on-the-ground projects in communities, and share knowledge among ourselves.
When it comes to the inspiration behind my work, many things inspired me to become an environmentalist. Most of those were about how I witnessed the environment in my village community changing, forests being cleared and women and children covering many kilometers to look for water. I also got inspiration from the late Prof. Wangari Maathai whose dedication to activism and environmentalism interested me.
HEIZAL
From your experience, what do you think is the biggest challenge young people are facing when trying to get into the climate space and how can they get involved?
KALUKI
The climate movement has evolved a lot, and for the better. Young people are continually stepping up and demanding change world over. But there are some things that hinder youth engagement.
One of them is Tokenism. A lot of youth, especially Global South and Indigenous youth, are only being engaged just to tick the box. This does not help in the movement. If you intend to work with youth, do it objectively, and give them the platforms to tell their own stories and experiences.
Another is mental wellbeing. Eco anxiety is a common issue affecting many passionate youth activists. They strive to fight for climate action but at times, there are no avenues for them to learn how to deal with depression, anxiety and other shocks. Lastly, other young people may want to engage in the space, but do not have resources and finances to facilitate their participation in activities.
I think one of the ways young people can get involved is to find or start local groups where they can engage without incurring costs. Also, there are funds out there to support youth activism, so they can check them up and apply for such opportunities.
HEIZAL
What are some of the ways in which we can make climate spaces more inclusive, diverse, collaborative and accessible to young people across the globe?
KALUKI
For starters, we need to listen to every voice equally. We cannot achieve much if some voices are constantly silenced. We then need to encourage and implement representation across different youth groups, and embrace intersectionality lenses in environmental conversations.
Societies and individuals from privileged backgrounds should also fundraise amongst each other in order to support young people from marginalized and the Global South who often miss out on opportunities because of lack of or insufficient resources.
Finally, we have to create a learning for a that helps youth understand inclusivity, diversity and ethics on checking and using privilege to amplify others voices.
HEIZAL
As a conclusion, what gives you hope for the future?
KALUKI
The Youth. We are the generation standing up and fighting for solutions. We are starting grassroots initiatives. Youth are leading the way, and that is just what the world may need, for us to create great leaders for this and the next generations to come.
HEIZAL
How can people reach and connect with you?
KALUKI
I am @kalukipaul on Instagram and Twitter, Kaluki Paul Mutuku on LinkedIn and Facebook.
