Watering Our Community: Youth, Health, and Climate Resilience

Atmospheric Tales

In this episode, we discuss:

• The role of (North African) youth in climate change mitigation and adaptation
• Intersections of climate change, health and mental health
• Building resilience from the grassroots level to the global level; planetary resilience
• Introducing vulnerability and care in climate change discussions

Guest | Dr. Saad Uakkas

Dr Saad Uakkas is an expert in youth and organisational empowerment and engagement in climate and health. He holds a Master’s degree in public health from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), with a Chevening scholarship. With over 9 years of experience in leadership positions across global youth NGOs and networks, such as the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations, the World Healthcare Students’ Alliance, and the African Youth Initiative for Climate Change (AYICC), he is an expert in events organisation, project management, organisational development, partnerships and fundraising, advocacy, and youth leadership. He is also a TEDx speaker, a Diana awardee, a One Young World Ambassador, a Gates Foundation Goalkeeper, and a Global Shaper. He has organised 10 global campaigns, and led over 30 global events and conferences, including the COP27 and COP28 Children and Youth Pavilions. He is currently the AYICC Executive Chair, leading youth climate engagement across Africa.

Interviewer | Dr. Rosa Rantanen

Dr Rosa Rantanen is the founder of the Safer Climate network (Initiative for a Safer Climate), that brings together research, civil society and the arts. She currently works as a Research Coordinator at the Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research at the University of Helsinki, Finland. She wrote her Doctoral thesis on the ethical desirability of human life extension, at the University of Turku, in Finland as well. Rantanen has also worked on various interdisciplinary projects across several civil society organizations, including the Finnish Red Cross. Currently, she specialises in working not only on civil society engagement, but also themes such as climate security, climate and death, and war and its effects on climate and the environment. Her work is part of the Atmosphere and Climate Competence Center (ACCC) program.

Episode notes and references:

• COP28 UAE Declaration on climate and health
• Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change
• Does Africa have a voice on climate?

Music by: Ritesh Prasanna

Podcast website: https://atmospherictales.com

Transcript: https://atmospherictales.medium.com/watering-our-community-youth-health-and-climate-resilience-f6b64d100c14