“Social justice is at the heart of climate justice”
Welcome to The Ajyal Podcast, a new podcast hosted by Y4N Regional Director for West Asia, Rayan Kassem, aiming to highlight and discuss youth priorities, perspectives, concerns and expertise related to nature and climate in the region. Over the coming months we will be releasing three mini series as part of The Ajyal Podcast and we’re starting next week with series #1: Climate Justice in West Asia!
This series exposes the social struggles that youth face in West Asia that hinder their efforts to act for climate and for nature. We discuss social, economic, political, environmental, and regional variances that youth face in West Asia to try to understand why the actions and movements in the Western world might not apply in West Asia and to learn what is really needed in this region to achieve climate justice. We learned what climate and intergenerational justice mean to youth in West Asia and how other youth around the world can help to achieve or support part of the justice needed there.
We hope listeners around the world will walk away with more knowledge about regional injustices, an understanding of why one method of action does not apply equally everywhere, and information about the ways in which they can support youth in West Asia to achieve climate justice. In short, this series aims to bring experiences of youth from West Asia to the youth of the world and have them be heard on the support they need to properly join the global climate movement.
You will learn about:
The social struggles West Asian youth face hindering their climate actions
The climate movement of Arabian Gulf youth and their call to end fossil fuel dependence
The Palestinian crisis and its relation to Palestinian land rights and resource acquisition
How youth around the world can support climate justice in West Asia
Why it is important to have a local perspective on climate change
Episodes:
Coming May 20, 2021: Militarization and its effects on climate movements in Syria and Yemen with guests Ala Mustafa (Yemen - Global Ambassador at Youth4Nature) and Lama Ranjous (Syria - Water Science Policy)
Coming June 3, 2021: Is there a balance between oil and gas economic growth and climate action in the gulf region? With guest Neeshad Shafi (Qatar - Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar)
Coming June 17, 2021: Palestinian land rights and inequality in resource acquisition with guest Suha Jarrar (Palestine - Al Haq)
Looking for more on the topic of Climate Justice in West Asia? Have questions for our guests? Join us at our Series #1 Finale Webinar, happening happening on July 1 at 16:00 UTC / 19:00 Beirut time!
We’ll start this webinar with a short series analysis from an expert in the field, followed by open space for questions and discussion between the audience and our podcast guests! You’ll have the chance to ask your questions, discuss, and hear what others have to say.
We need to drop fossil fuels asap! But wait? What would happen to the livelihoods and economies that have depended on this for so long? How fast can they adapt to the change? What about those that are importing fossil fuels? Are they responsible as well? Tune in to this episode to hear what Neeshad and Rayan have to say about the supply and demand of fossil fuels and its relation to climate justice in West Asia and beyond.