In July 2025, RRI convened its first Global Youth Forum in Bali, Indonesia, in collaboration with Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN) and Barisan Pemuda Adat Nusantara (BPAN). This historic gathering brought together 55 IP, ADP, and LC youth leaders from 22 countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Participants built cross-regional solidarity and co-created the Global Youth Roadmap for engagement and collective action. The roadmap established five shared priorities for youth participation and leadership development, positioning youth as decision-makers within the RRI coalition rather than beneficiaries.
Building on this momentum, the coalition’s youth launched the RRI Global Youth Network, connecting regional youth movements to a unified global platform. A scoping study of 113 global youth organizations confirmed that RRI’s Global Youth Network fills a critical gap: There is no existing platform that meaningfully convenes Indigenous, Afro-descendant, local community, and allied youth at the intersection of tenure security, climate justice, and biodiversity conservation.
“The Global Youth Network is more than an alliance; it is active hope. It represents the collective strength of our roots and the determination to transform the climate crisis into justice, where Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local youth are protagonists and not just witnesses to change. It is our time to be heard.”
Given RRI’s mandate to constantly add value and ensure complementarity within the sector, it then facilitated the Global Youth Forum’s participants to develop a Youth Climate Justice Statement for COP30 in Brazil, marking their coordinated entry into international climate advocacy. RRI officially launched this Statement alongside the Global Youth Network and Roadmap at COP30 to maximize its global outreach.
Together, these initiatives lay the foundation for sustained youth leadership and participation in global environmental governance in 2026 and beyond.
Youth participants pose
for a photo at RRI’s first
Global Youth Forum.
Photo: Matata
RRI and AMAN, 2025
