Pushing for Change: Youth and Political Participation Young Changemakers Brianna Fruean Samoa In the not too distant future, climate change and rising sea levels could pose serious risks to life on Earth, most of all to the young people who live on small islands. But Brianna, a 17-year-old student from Samoa, is proving that even small steps can make a big difference in countering the environmental degradation being caused by global warming. At the age of 11 Brianna founded Small Voices, a voluntary organisation that mobilises children and young people to campaign for more effective action by governments and citizens to tackle climate change. Since Small Voices was born in 2010, school children from all over Samoa have joined its networks to take the lead in protecting the environment by initiating community-based projects such as planting trees and cleaning up waste. Brianna drew inspiration from her mother, an environmental worker herself. ‘My mum used to take me to work with her when I was a child. I’d listen in on the climate change talks and hear about the problems and solutions on climate change. I decided I want to do this: to save my little island. My mum said, “ok, when you grow up.” But I said “no, I want to do it now.” I was a very impatient little girl.’ In 2015 Brianna became the youngest-ever winner of a Commonwealth Youth Award for excellence in development work. The threat that climate change poses is huge but Brianna firmly believes young people are ready to take it on. She dedicated her award ‘to the climate refugees, to the people living in the Pacific islands and other small islands that suffer from the effects of climate change every day and to my fellow Pacific warriors fighting for climate justice.’ Achaleke Christian Leke Cameroon Achaleke is a peace activist and the national coordinator of Local Youth Corner Cameroon, a youthled organisation promoting peace and countering violent extremism. Seeing many of his peers in his home town of Kumba turning to violence during his adolescence, 25-year-old Achaleke instead chose acting and theatre as a way of spreading the gospel of peace among his friends. He then volunteered with a civil society organisation where he campaigned for youth empowerment, inclusion and participation in development and governance. Achaleke has developed a youth training manual on peace-building based on his experience and that of his peers. Over 5,000 young Cameroonians have benefited from the manual’s lessons on peace-building, countering violent extremism and nation-building. Achaleke has not allowed the scarcity of funding or support to become a barrier to his mission. He has used the tools of social media to power his campaign for peace and to mediate dialogue among young people on peace-building, share examples of good practice and highlight the important role young people are playing all over Cameroon to promote peace and counter violent extremism. Achaleke was named the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year for 2016, and used his award money to create a skills development and networking programme for young men in prison, in order to help them build positive and fulfilling lives. ‘I represent young people across Africa,’ he believes. ‘Recognition and support for the work of young people remains a major challenge we face every day.’ \ 73