 happen with human rights around the world. I'm your host, Joshua Cooper, and we're broadcasting live from Tintak, Hawaii and Honolulu, Huananuiakea. Today, we're looking at the Climate Future Forum, which just took place over the weekend, bringing together over 100 youth from Marcos Hawaii to begin to bring their message of climate justice to the legislature. Today, I'm joined with two amazing guests, Debbie and Ja, thank you both for joining me. Yeah, thanks for having us, Ja. Debbie, how did the idea or the impetus for such an important climate youth forum come into play? And what role were you able to coordinate to be able to make this all possible? Yeah, thanks, Josh, for that question. I mean, many of us in this work, and especially working with young people, we recognize that they really have a role to play in thinking about and taking the steps that are needed to mitigate climate change moving forward. You know, they're learning about climate change in their classroom. They're learning about issues of like biodiversity loss and so many things that are important to their future. And yet, I find that we have found those who came together to talk about this that we're really not setting them up to be at the table in those conversations. So many of us attend events where the panelists tend to be adults, which is great, they have a lot to say too. But I've noticed over the years, it seems that youth organizing a beach cleanup perhaps participating in some recycling effort at their school tends to be the way that youth are involved. And that's just not okay. That's working on a solution and not working on the real crux of the problem. And so as an educator, I care about bringing youth to the table to have those conversations about what we need to do to make systemic changes. That's exciting. And one of the important points, of course, was we were looking at changing and sort of flipping the way that fundamental freedoms and futures and is handled at the legislature. So we were aiming to put youth at the center and for youth to speak and share with us what they care about. In JAW, you were actually opening the entire climate youth forum. Could you share with us what Oli's you opened with and why those are so important to sort of frame our entire day and also discuss the major issues that we wanted to begin to implement here in our islands? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, so the two Oli's that I did end up opening up with is the first one was Ehomei and the second one was Ehohana. And Ehomei is something that I actually learned when I was around sixth grade. This is something that was like established early on in my life to help kind of get you to be in that space of like, you need knowledge, you need that presence of your higher power before you start to make some really critical decisions. So I chose Ehomei and Ehohana because it came straight from monocled protocol. And I felt like both of these also helped to understand that we need unity in the things that we're doing in regards to food policy and advocacy, but also like when it comes to like the separation, we do have separation amongst our organizations, our identity, our political preference and our background. And so these two chance helped to really just bring the unity and bring it together. And one thing that I wanna mention is Ehomei is actually a chant that was originally performed by students. And this is beginning of the class that they would perform it. And so it's to request knowledge and wisdom, but then also to give respect to the ancestral deities and to the knowledge that you're asking for, but then the knowledge that you also wanna go ahead and give. So yeah, and then Ehohana, I feel like this one is always sang or chanted with vigor and you wanna do it really loudly and you wanna make sure that you're saying it in a way where the chant is bringing the motion that you want. So yeah, it's pretty powerful. And both of them were extremely powerful. And then I really thought the program was exciting, Deb, the way that the people met. Could you share with us some of the groups that are behind this important initiative and a brief overview of the entire program of the day with really it being centered around youth sharing their climate justice stories. Yeah, thanks, Josh. You know, I think what was really exciting about bringing this event to happen is that we recognize there are already excellent organizations working with youth out there in our community around different various topics. So we brought together those adult organizers who could bring their youth to the event who could work with youth continued through the legislative session like Blue Planet Foundation. They have their Blue Planet Climate Crew. These are youth that they've been working with for the past few years now. Flu Plus Policy, just a group out of UH West Oahu and Kelsey Amos bringing together college-aged youth and then teaming up with the Hawaii Youth Food Council which is targeted towards youth active around food policy at high school. Which is really cool to combine those two together. And then we had our CCL or climate and economy conversation group working. Then we had Sierra Club at the table working on climate justice and just transition and Dr. McKenna Kaufman at UH Manoa working on infrastructure. And then of course Josh Cooper working on human rights and climate change. So the flow of the day, I thought we really wanted to organize it. So we had some opening, having jaw there was really important and critical to set the stage and ground us. We had some, Roya Dennis from PAC come in and share with the kids about a really cool simulation tool called Enroads that we could use to look at policies and then a framing with Lauren, let's not be at Sierra Club around how we use those tools to look at equity and justice at the same time. And then we had, I got some feedback already that the highlight of the day was really the youth and the adults and the organizations and the elected officials all having a chance to walk around the auditorium to different tables and really get to network and talk with one another around these topics. From that time together, then we asked the youth to make a decision about which room to go in. And I tell you every kid was like, I can't decide, I want to be in three at once. And so note to us organizers that next time we're going to make more opportunities for those. Then I thought the highlight of the day was the youth coming back after lunch after they had worked together for a couple hours on prioritizing policies in their area. And then they got to share it out to the whole group. And it was exciting because the rest of the groups who weren't necessarily in that room got to clap, got to hear what the kids were talking about with their officials and with the organizations. And then closing the afternoon with Dyson, Chi and his work with HYCC to help the kids identify their climate story as a key element of their testimony that all these young people are gonna be writing during the legislative session. So get ready lawmakers because the kids are coming at you this session. No, that was actually great. And I agree, I mean, starting off with the climate youth stories was so powerful. And then seeing the students go around to meet all the different groups and even the groups getting to talk to each other because so often even sustainability groups are in their silos on their aspect of food, of Aina, of sovereignty, of education. And it was great to bring all those voices together. And as you said, it was pretty amazing because it was only one short example of two hour really, not even two hours. It was two hours plus lunch that they were able to come up with really a legislative package. And the only other aspect that I thought was really powerful as well was the representatives and the senators coming and sharing their perspective as an elected official. I think what came out when we look at Ed Case at the US House of Representatives level and then down to the Senate featuring Chris Lee and Carl Rhodes, but then on the House side was they all talked about an inside-outside strategy sharing that the role of the youth would add such a pivotal perspective that it would actually make their work easier and always putting the power on youth. God, I have to youth, do you feel more power after this week and what do you think you'd want to pursue going forward? Yeah, seeing, you know, when you think about that age group 14 to 26 it's actually what they would consider the at risk youth age. So when you think about that in a larger context, you know that this, like making them a part of this helps them with their leadership skills, but then also puts them into that role to be like, hey, your voice does matter. And you can also influence people on a larger level just because you're a youth. And I think when it comes to like this experience with policy, it's good to know that we have children in that age bracket that are actually wanting to know more about the systematics behind it that are actually wanting to know how they can be a part of just testimony. So, and it was really impressive to see the kids really like take a hold of what they were trying to portray, like what they're really trying to say and what they want the future to look like. And then making it happen within like you said, two hours. So it was really impressive. Yeah, coming back to Deb and sharing as well, Chris Lee, you know, he was saying he wasn't involved when he was in high school at this level. He said he was just basically in the chess club, which is important, of course, but the students were trying to come up with a global chess plan of looking at climate justice, looking at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, looking at the Paris Agreement, but also more importantly seeing what we can do here in Hawaii. And when we're going through those sort of shout out and thumbs up sessions, Deb, I know you were getting enthusiastic because it was exciting to see each one of those working groups come up with highlights of what they're aiming to do. And maybe, Deb, you could give us some of the highlights from those different working groups, if that sounds good. Sure, yeah, and you guys can jump in if I miss some of them, but it was really exciting because I think, I wasn't in every room all the time, obviously. I would have loved to be that fly on the wall to really hear those conversations, but when I would pop in, you could really see that there was giving, there was space in the room for the youth to speak, for the adults to speak, everyone comes to that room with a different perspective, a different level of understanding. And that's really what we were after, right? So that we didn't have the outcome be more of a measured policy action that we're sort of used to hearing, but getting to see it from maybe a young person who doesn't have the same background or the same maybe roadblocks in the way. And so some of the things that I heard, what I love to hear actually was a combination of things that clearly the adults in the room who've had experience in that work are gonna be sharing. I recall the Oregon initiative to use taxes on big box retailers to help fund policy. And I thought the kids had a good, the youth in that room had a good understanding and were able to share about how that works. Chex, can you guys help me? What else do we learn about? Remember, Ja, would you like to? I know the one I remember off the top of my head was they actually wanted more courses. Like it's one of those crazy things where people think youth might be like Pink Floyd saying you're another brick in the wall, but they're actually saying they want another foundational course on climate change. And we're saying that that should be funded with sort of a green tax or when tourists come and visit us. So I know that was one thing where students were actually clamoring for more classes and for more creative curriculum to teach them about the issues that then was useful for them as they pursue their careers in climate justice. Yeah, that's right. That was exciting for me to hear as a teacher, the more that youth are speaking up for the kind of education that they want, the time that's well spent in the classroom or outside the classroom that really contributes to a better future for everyone. Yeah, there's... I remember Deb, then just while you're recollecting your thoughts is they were even talking about a four-day school week, but then the fifth day would be a day that they would actually go out in Makahane Kaike, like in the action that is where the knowledge is and Jaws an amazing farmer. And it's been great working with her on the Leahi Millennium Peace Garden as well as the Diamond Head Garden as well. So it's exciting that they were saying, you know, enough of the theory, enough of the classroom, we don't have time. We have six years on the climate clock till we reach irreversible harm. We wanna get out there and put our hands and our head and our heart altogether to make a change. So those are some aspects that I see Deb. And if you have another one or a job and then we can keep going about some of the things that came out of the groups. Yeah, various topics. I just, yeah, I wanted to comment. Thanks for reminding me, Josh, about that four-day classroom learning, one day in the, you know, out in the work, Makahane Kaike, as you said. And the cool thing about that, wasn't it, was that the kids came up with a tax of tourists who are coming into Hawaii. And I know we had some discussions about that, you know, doing that. Cause a lot of us here in Hawaii wanna fly as well. So, you know, making sure that that's not dipping into our own pockets. But yeah, very cool. Go ahead, Josh. I actually wanted to mention about that four-day schoolwork and then the fifth day actually being vocational. And I thought that was actually a really great idea because when it comes to like, when I think about theory and practice, theory and practice, the reason why I learned better when I was in college was because we actually got to go and practice the things that we were learning, whether it be in the garden or also be where our internships were or anything in that, you know, demeanor. No, those are really good points. And I think the last one I remember was, they were excited because Hawaii's been the first in so many things at the legislature which Senator Chris Lee shared about that we were the first for 100% renewable then California following us. Last year we were the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, first one to adopt. But we also have adopted the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the 2030 agenda here in Hawaii into our law and also the Paris Agreement. So Hawaii has been a leader but when you see the vision and hear what the youth are talking about, they were also talking about other international instruments that can bring down to our island level. They give them more tools to demand justice. So it was exciting to see them share that as well in the Climate Justice and Human Rights Group. I think I remember as well, some of the earlier groups were all talking about their vision for Hawaii. And I think that was really the essence of this climate future form. It was normally would be the keynotes come in and speak for 30 minutes and then the youth get to ask a question or two if there's time. But what we did at this one was it was climate justice stories from the youth to start peppering in our politicians and public policy makers then going back to the youth. And Deb, I agree with you. I mean, I think going forward, maybe they get two choices where they go into two different groups to share because like you said, we had 11 in one group and if we had two groups that they get to go into for a amount of time and come back out we'd have even more ideas for legislation that they really want to see happen going forward. Yeah, I remember that's great. I remembered one more thing from the Climate Justice Group and I heard these conversations happening and just ties in with what you're saying about our community here in Hawaii is they were able to articulate the importance of shifting decision-making to communities. I thought that was so powerful when they came up with that and involving the community in appropriate planning and zoning codes and all the rest. And it's not to say that it's never happened before but I'm excited that the youth find that so important. It is, I called it Place Bates Public Policy. Yeah, there you go. It was exciting to see that as well. I totally agree. Debbie, maybe you could share with us as well what was coming out at the end from the HYCC and explaining who the HYCC is and their role in this entire process. Yeah, so Hawaii Youth Climate Coalition is a group of young people who've been around for a few years and they've been leading efforts to bring young people together, most notably through some of the strikes that they've organized at the Capitol and other sites. Now, really bringing youth in and having voice and giving voice to this work is so critical. We wanted to do with the Future Forum is combine that with the hard work of coming up with the policies of prioritizing the policies. I did wanna share one more comment that I think is kind of fun to think about in each of the rooms that was a little different. And while we weren't being really micromanaging and saying come back with three policies, it was fun how some groups did come back with two or three because they were clearly focused on what could get done in the next session and other groups came back with, I went, 10 or 12 major initiatives. So it was really interesting to see the whole, know how that all played out. It's true and I remember seeing the youth, we had the computer set up in the room and they wanted to go upstairs for a little fresh air and was so exciting when I logged them into the computer, they all logged in really quick, sent emails to each other, then sent the link for the PowerPoint presentation and for them started writing all at the same time and working, so it's exciting to see what's going on and to see the amazing way that they really took the agenda and made it their own. And as you said, it is true. It was at first meeting, it was exciting to see, but Deb as we look, what might be some of the follow-up steps? Because there's two things we did look at. One was, I know in the group I was looking at, they actually started coming up with why they're there that day, why they care about the AINA, and more importantly, what they think should be a solution. So those are almost two paragraphs of a testimony and then they decided, oh, we have two paragraphs and we'll just be ready for that 24 hour notice that the public access room told them about and just add one to two paragraphs at the top and at the bottom to make sure their voices heard. Yeah, that's key. Thank you for doing that work. That's really the next step for the participants is getting those ready. Those testimonies are hard for us adults, we're busy, but think about kids who've got tests coming up and all these things, these demands at school and their sports they're involved in. Having that ready to go was our goal from the event. Not to say it was ready to go on Saturday, but our follow-up to that is supporting the participants and developing that before the hearing start. So we're planning to make some other touch points, they might be virtual, they might be in person, the capital we're working on those, ideally at least once a month, we get everyone together. And then for the groups that we're working together, having additional support by those organizations that were involved is really the key. They're the ones on the ground communicating with the young people, reminding them of when the hearings are coming up, getting their testimonies together. So lots of work going forward, and certainly didn't end on Saturday, that was just the start, that was the launch and just wanna keep building from here. It was exciting to see the youth activate to legislate. It really, as you said, is really the first step. And what's so exciting is that it really worked on multiple levels. One, it was reaching out and connecting with our elected officials in the House and the Senate. Two though, it was groups dedicated to making change on the ground here in Hawaii to talk to each other and work together and not just say we want to really bring the youth into our issues, but more importantly, help guide and steer the canoe. And then three, the youth coming together. They had so much good research. The one youth from Kaiser who was sharing about the refill being established with the sunscreen, and she had three next steps that need to get done. So it's so exciting because the youth are actually so into school and learning and want to apply all that they've learned. Sean, could you share how you've maybe taken that transition from University of Hawaii West O'ahu now to your first gig to do good here in Hawaii and some of the lessons you learned from the classroom that then you're able to incorporate into your work as a nonprofit leader? Yeah, so recently some of the projects that I just, one that I actually completed this year actually, and it wasn't totally affiliated with my work here at OACA, but it was branched off into our P20 initiative. So I actually went to Oahewa Middle School and helped a sixth grade classroom build a color bed, a raised color bed. And so this is something that I feel like in the community it's really important to try to get the youth to understand their place. And so I did let them know the origin of where they're coming from because Oahewa is a spiritual realm. And then I went into like more of the Mo'olelo that it's actually considered Le Hue, the old name, and there is where only the Ali'is would reside and where they were actually birthed. And so I had to bring it back to them, understanding that you have to understand where you're from and the origin that you're coming from to create the change in your community that you want. Just by planting Kalo into the ground at your campus already started the change because you're re-establishing that connection from the plant to the Maqailana, the person, the farmer, the person who's gonna nurture that. So it's so coming from that perspective from education and then going further into getting to teach them and understand more about just their place here. And that was the exciting part is that youth seem to understand the indigenous rights perspective much quicker, understanding that you can't be doing all this work without Kanaka Mali, without the vision. And that's the aspect of course that came up as well as walking forward in the footsteps of our ancestors really became sort of a theme as people shared about ways to go forward. Deb, could you share briefly some ideas of an impetus that you have for going forward? You talked about once a month meetings, but what are some of the cool things you're doing that Puno as well as in the community? Yeah, you know, I really take the call to action of what we are doing in the classroom, to support teachers at Puno and other teachers in our community. I looked back through the notes of the presentations and you do see education on almost every page like climate justice education. What does that look like? And so this spring I'll be gathering together some educators from across the state and we're going to work on, it's gonna take us a bit of time but we're really gonna look into that. We have climate change curriculum. We know youth understand the science now for the most part. We still need to continue that work of course but what's the next piece of it? How do we help young people feel connected, feel inspired, feel empowered to raise their voice, to come up with the solutions, to work with adults on these solutions and be the next leaders in Hawaii. So that kind of works really exciting to me. I really like focusing on what's happening in the classroom and I think we should put together that bill for the four days, one day out. It needs to happen. That's the future for education. So I'd love to be involved with projects like that and envisioning how we can make those kinds of changes. Da, how about you? What do you see next steps coming out in 2023? Well, with the whole face-based and community-based doing it within our community, it's really just re-establishing the beliefs that we already had in the ancient Hawaiian systems, ahupua'a. So everything that you need is within your ahupua'a and you don't have to leave your ahupua'a to go and find the resources that you need. Your shelter, your food, your clothing, the love that you need is all in your ahupua'a and if you're going into the next ahupua'a, you have to ask permission. So it's just a matter of re-establishing the beliefs and the systems that we've already had. That's true. It's really looking at protocols that are rooted in the culture, but then also the deeper philosophy of the way we can live in the climate future forum was really focusing on engaging you to participate regularly in advocacy to advance legislation committed to social change and dedicated to sustainability and solidarity. Those multiple working groups did explore generating ideas and initiatives and I'm excited to see those ripple across the legislature and as well as across Hawaii. One final thing is I remember Debbie was saying different things where we're headed. I know some of the thought that came out was definitely to change the way the legislature meets a bit. The legislature meets during the times when students are in class. So one idea was on opening day to invite all the youth down for more of a powhana time, maybe that three to five o'clock so they can go meet the elected officials. Another one was around human rights day on International Women's Day, March 8th to bring youth down and make sure that their bills are still alive and they meet with people. And then finally, the last one I think was Earth Day, April 22nd, that would be a great time because it's one week before the final votes on a bunch of those bills. So I really thought the other idea that was great that you brought was bringing the public access room and for them to share a bit of 3,000 bills get introduced in only 300. But I think Deb and Ja the conference and the way the forum was set up, it inspires youth to think they can at least get 330, at least 30 of their bills adopted as well. Deb, thank you so much and Ja for coming and sharing with us and we look forward to participating at the next climate future forum throughout the legislative cycle. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please like us and click the subscribe button on YouTube and the follow button on Vimeo. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn and donate to us at thinktechhawaii.com. Mahalo.