By Robert A Emmanuel
Mya Symister has been selected among 10 Caribbean nationals by the Caribbean Climate Justice Leaders Academy (CCJLA) to travel to Dubai to take part in COP28, the UN annual climate summit.
According to a press release by global network Island Innovation, Symister and her delegation will meet with international delegates, participate in panel discussions and interact with other young climate leaders, as they develop additional skills and experiences to further their own work in the Caribbean.
Symister – who was the country’s Island Scholar in 2021 – said she was “beyond excited” at the opportunity to be chosen to take part in the climate summit.
“There was sort of a build-up to this moment because being a part of the Caribbean Climate Justice Leaders is kind of me.
“There was a lot of courses and conversations so I kind of got the chance to figure out where I stand in terms of climate justice,” she expressed.
The CCJLA, with support from the Open Society Foundation—the world’s largest private funder of independent groups working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights—had previously selected 35 young people from every Caricom nation to take part in the Academy earlier this year.
During a 10-week programme, the participants developed their knowledge on environmental sustainability, climate resilience, international policies and how they impact the Caribbean.
“This programme, being the Climate Justice Academy, is one that the Caribbean didn’t know it needed but was necessary, so it gathered 35 youths…and basically brought us into this virtual space where we could learn from each other, network, and interact.
“There were guest speakers coming in to speak on topics such as climate action planning, intersectionality and climate justice, public health marketing, social media, basically a range of topics and some skills that would be beneficial to a climate justice advocate,” Symister said.
Symister said she particularly enjoyed the two courses where her analytical and data skills came to the fore.
“The first one would be the assignment where we got to analyse climate policy. I am a mechanical engineering student so I work with a lot of numbers, labs and experiments so it was quite interesting within this programme to sit down and analyse a policy document,” she said.
She added that it was “eye-opening” to review current environmental policy from her home country where she saw the number of initiatives taking place on the island as well as allowing her to give improvements.
“It also shifted my perspective because as you know, we sometimes can have a skewed perspective of politics, but it was the government working towards all these climate justice solutions, but you just need to know where to look and you need to be informed,” she added.
The second favourite moment of the programme was preparing a pitch on why she wished to attend COP28, where she got to understand more about her own stance on climate issues and how she would wish to affect change.
On a personal level, she hopes that attending COP28 will develop her own skills as she pursues her future career.
“As a mechanical engineering student, I am coming with a technical, data-driven perspective but really what this programme has taught me, and I know that my experience at COP28 will elaborate and enhance, is the importance of data, specifically gender and environmental data,” she said.
The CCJLA was originally planning to select five members from the group to travel to Dubai but due to the outstanding results and involvement of participants, organisers added a further five participants.
Island Innovation CEO James Ellsmoor said the group was a true inspiration, commenting that, “It is our first year setting up and running the Academy and we could not have asked for a higher level of participation.
“When we look at the effect climate change has on island communities and the lack of representation of these same communities at international events like COP, you realise that there is a need for climate justice – the Academy will help amplify the voice of Caribbean youth, and we are excited to support them at COP28.”
Stacey Alvarez de La Campa, Programme Manager at Island Innovation, added that, “Everything about this programme was ground-breaking: From the breath-taking diversity of the participants and the nuanced appreciation of the complexities of climate justice, to the powerful levels of personal development and solid bonds of friendship that were forged in mutual respect and empathy.
“There was a palpable, enduring confidence that bloomed as everyone felt increasingly empowered, and I am deeply humbled by the qualities of leadership that came shining through from these exceptional young champions of climate justice.”
Alongside Symister, Luciano Doest of Suriname, K Lisana Dyer of Dominica, Kerese Elliott of St Kitts and Nevis, Raeann Gervais of Trinidad and Tobago, Muskaan Khemani of Curaçao, Yemi Knight of Barbados, Dejea Lyons of the Cayman Islands, Christine Samwaroo of Guyana, and Oriana Wouters of Aruba were selected to travel.
Symister said she was excited to be fully engaged in what will be shared and discussed at the climate summit, including gender justice, period poverty, water and sanitation, affordability and access and sustainable consumption.
She mentioned that she was also excited about visiting Dubai itself and experiencing all that the city has to offer.
She expressed that the idea of COP28 and climate advocacy was social responsibility and hoped the public would play a role, whether it be through a school environmental club, advocating at work or even by writing to the government about climate issues.
“This whole concept of Caribbean-led climate justice is for everyone and in my case, I have been very fortunate going through the avenues that I have to go to COP and experience the wealth of information and innovation that we can bring back and further climate justice,” Symister added.