 Dominika, can you hear me? I think, OK. Hi, everyone. My name is Dominika Lesota. I'm a 20-year-old climate justice activist from Poland and is a member of the Global Youth Movement Fridays for Future. Together with my friends from across Europe, I used to fight for a safe and just future. But on 24th of February, we stopped fighting for a future. Because when your friend from Kharkiv goes you to say that he is running down to a bomb shelter because, as I quote, it all started, Dominika. And he promises to call you soon, whatever that means, you know that this fight is no longer for any hopeful tomorrow. It is about survival and it is about now. From that paralyzing Thursday morning in the cold February, the Russian aggression became the new daily reality for us. And what came to light is that the addiction of our societies to the fossil fuels, most importantly, Putin's fossil fuels, was making the unspeakable possible each day with nearly a billion euros spent on gas, oil, and coal by the European Union to Putin every single day. And so in the times of a fossil fuel-driven climate crisis, here we are. Facing a fossil fuel war in the continent that for decades has been repeating its promise that no such brutality would ever happen again. But to say that all of this was unpredictable wouldn't be true. Because as Marian Turski, a very, very renowned Polish survivor of Auschwitz, once said, wars do not fall from the sky. And the current war did not fall from the sky either. But it is a result of a political and economic system that is designed by those in power for crises and for wars to happen. We have been betrayed, and I as a young person, especially if you'll be betrayed, having to repeat for all of those years at school in Poland that we will never make this happen again. I feel betrayed by the politicians who for decades have been choosing profits and friendship with dictators over people, over our lives, over my life, over the lives of my Ukrainian friends. And so what we are left with now is a world in which my friend in Ukraine needs to hide in a basement to survive, a world in which a friend from India texts me that thousands of the people in her town suffer from unlivable heatwaves, a world in which my friends in Uganda have to worry if they wouldn't be forced out from their houses so that another oil pipeline can be built, or a gas infrastructure, as happens in Senegal right now, a world in which ordinary citizens are left with a choice of either financing fossil fuels and Putin's war or running into energy poverty, and at the same time a world in which oligarchs, politicians, and fossil fuel CEOs can reap record profits because of the crises, the wars, and human tragedies. To them, all of these are financial opportunities. I do not want to live in a world like this. I think none of us deserves to live in a world like this, especially because there is an alternative. In Fridays for Future and in many indigenous communities and many resistant movements, there's a very famous slogan that another world is possible because it is. Our economies do not have to run on energy that is stained with the blood of people or distractions of ecosystems worldwide. Our political systems can be something more than a TV show featuring old white men addicted to money and power. They really can be something more than that. Our societies are more than ready for a transformation towards a fossil-free reality that puts people first and leaves no one, and I mean no one, behind. This other reality is within reach. But until it becomes real, we fight. I, as a climate activist since 24th of February, together with my friends from Ukraine and across the world, we have been fighting daily to demand those in power to stop betraying us, to stop their political theater, because what they do is a theater. It's not the duty that they were hired by citizens to serve. So we've been all over the place. We've been across Europe and Poland, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy. Everywhere we could go, we went, and we've been fighting. And the fight and the resistance is growing, because if you hear any opinions that because of the war, we have to sacrifice climate policy, you have to realize that you're talking to a very cynical person or someone that is completely not aware of how these things are connected because they are. And especially us people who care, who have the sensitivity and who have the energy and power to change things, we have to do our best to do so. And so I urge you to fight, because every degree of the warming matters, every fraction of a degree that we're able to limit matters, every million of euros that we're able to divert from Putin matters, every infrastructure, every oil cargo, every gas pipeline, every coal exploitation, we are able to stop matters. During this war, I think I realized finally that it's not that the end of the world is coming up. It's that ends of multiple worlds are happening right now. And we might not even be aware of it, because my friend who had to run down to the basement and then run away from Kharkiv and move away from his home, he lost his world. Because the friends in Uganda that I very gratefully have, whose villages, whose communities have to be completely destroyed because total energies from France comes there to build their eco pipeline, the world's longest pipeline, they are already losing a world. Many of the worlds have been lost, and we might not even be aware of it. And so I think the times that we're living in, you know, we are not able to save everything, but there are many worlds that we are able to save, that there are many worlds that we're able to treasure. And I think given the fact that some people in this world are so obsessed of sending the human to Mars, maybe instead of building alternative realities somewhere outside in the universe, we have to see the universe that we have in front of our eyes and make sure it's safe. On a final note, I know we're in Poland. We're in a country that has been, you know, for decades faced enormous challenges when it comes to transition away from fossil fuels. I think I, as a young person, to me the transition isn't an option. Then I think this war and the climate crisis that we're living in really made me aware that the fossil fuel phase out is not a nice to have. It's our only option to have any kind of livable future or a livable present. And so we need to fight for the just transition as if our lives depend on it because they do. And so I urge you to fight. I'm glad I'm not alone because sometimes during this period, which has been extremely dark for the past months, it felt as if the world is collapsing and I have nothing, no space to do anything. And I'm alone in that, but I'm not. And so I'm glad you're here. But we have a big job to do. But I'm happy we are in this together. And I hope that from today, we can leave this place and save some worlds that are left still. Thank you. Thank you. Summertime in Europe, people enjoying their vacation, talking about fun activities, sometimes being afraid of the new COVID-19 variation. The war in Ukraine captures our attention. But what about the climate crisis in this hot summer? This matter still seems for too many people not urgent. The climate crisis is more critical than ever. Kenyan families, for example, can no longer produce food after years of drought. People from Bangladesh are increasingly falling prey to cyclones and tidal waves. Residents from Belgium and Germany, whose homes were completely destroyed exactly a year ago, still don't have new housing. Why are still so many people neglecting these facts and our actions not taken? Climate change is about more than just nature. It's about justice and the future of humanity. More specifically, that's one of my peers, young people who today often send the strongest signals and come together in the streets to demand action. If real action is not following, children and teenagers will be the biggest victims. Isn't this convincing enough to take action? There's a lot of talk about global warming, but pertinent change is yet to come. And meanwhile, time is ticking away. This leaves many young people together with me speechless. It seems that many adults do not take responsibility for the generation that will come after them and that only the short-term perspectives attract their attention. Are people really only thinking about money and about the short-term? Why is this? Surely, the climate is well reported in the media. Global warming can no longer be denied. I would suspect adults are interested in the future of us, their children and grandchildren. I assume a lot has to do with the lack of accurate information. Real change will only come if we are all properly informed. Top scientists are still too often ignored. Information change our mindset. And that, in turn, change our behavior. That's the power of information. That's how we have impact. Let's listen, too, and unite behind the science. Riding our bikes, more isolating our homes, eating less meat, and changing our consumption patterns have a real direct impact and also save money. To get accurate information, the importance of collective education is crucial. It should be there for everyone. After all, a school is a place where you can learn a lot, where you make friends for life and where, especially, every young person should have equal opportunities. I really do wish for every child to have a good education and living environment. Also, girls in Kabul, students in Kiev or young people in Palestine. It is a very foundation to provide equal opportunities. Sorry. Together, we must cost the strong base of information. The business leaders of tomorrow are in school today. This is a prerequisite to work on the climate crisis. On our earth, we are also all connected to each other. We all share the same planet, and the climate crisis makes it clear that everything is connected. Climate, education, social justice, oil, war, and our behavior cannot be separated. Solutions exist, both on a small scale, in our own behavior, as on a large scale, through international cooperation. By joining hands, we can meet these challenges. All people are connected. So let's not polarize and instead focus on what UNITE says. Let's commit to accurate information and constantly put those sustainable glasses on. Working together to minimalize climate change can be an invitation to dream together about the desired future of young people, about quality of education, about equality, about how we want to live and interact with our planet in the future. It is a positive invitation that we can embrace together. I came here two days ago from Brussels to Warsaw, and I didn't want to take a plane because it all fuels the war and the climate crisis. Still, the train hours and prices were far higher than those of the plane. So I came by bus, 23 hours long. In the durable Europe of tomorrow, we really need to invest more in night trains and other public transports to avoid these irrationally long sustainable journeys. To connect and inspire over the world, these investments are really necessary. Finally, it is important to include many young people in our search for solutions. So I thank the Green European Foundation for inviting young activists for this keynote speech. After all, the climate story is about our future, so we have the right to be taken seriously and to have a seat at the table at every level. We are not stupid or naive, but we have a dream which we want to pursue with you together. Will you join us in this positive story, connected to a brighter future? The youth will be grateful to you. Hello, everyone. My name is Maria Kurina. I'm a human rights defender from Ukraine. I was raised and born in Lugansk. It's eastern parts of Ukraine. And I haven't been at home for eight years, as well as my family. I came from a political opposition, pro-Ukraine, an opposition in eastern Ukraine. And it meant not to fight peacefully, it meant to survive every day. I'm really, really grateful to be here in Warsaw. Especially, because here I feel true solidarity, sincere solidarity, and sincere understanding what is going on now in the European continent. In my peaceful life, I've been teaching Japanese language in my alma mater university, Lugansk National University, and been dreaming about international relations career. I wouldn't have thought in even my nightmare, probably, to stand in front of an audience, convincing that Ukrainians have the right to live free, have the right to choose their own future, and have the right to be a democratic, transparent country with a rule of law and human rights priorities. I'm really grateful for all the support which Europe has shown already. I'm grateful for the fight which Europe joined. And I would like to express my gratitude, but I also would like to talk more about what is going on every day, every second in my own country. Not only me, I'm not here for telling only my story and being a voice of my generation. I would like to be a voice of all those who are silenced now in Ukraine, all those who have been fighting for Ukraine and with colonial Russia, not even these last eight years with the start of occupation of Crimea and were in my homeland, Donbas. This colonial war, this colonial resistance has been going for 300 years, unfortunately, taking the best and the most prominent active representatives of my nation. And currently, all my friends are fighting. Some are fighting, women and men are fighting in front line from the very first day of the full-scale invasion. Some are fighting the way they can, finding their abilities to advocate. I can tell three little stories about three different generation of Ukrainians and different gender and different background. Those three are Roman Ratushny, Irina Danilovich and Maxim Butkevich. Roman Ratushny was a young, underaged person when the revolution of dignity started. He was one of those beaten in the middle of Kiev in the heart of Europe as a student, a schoolboy during the revolution of dignity first days. Roman was fighting big infrastructural monsters who wanted to build high-rise residential buildings in the middle of Kiev in a very great natural area. He has been persecuted by the government and he was hiding, but he fought this war. Now this land is not occupied by some residential buildings. Roman decided to join Ukrainian armed forces at the beginning in February of the full-scale invasion. Roman had a birthday lately. He could have been 25 only last days. He laid his life in Kharkiv region. And we have to continue to fight for these kind of people because such a person like Roman could have been the leader of our democracy in Ukraine. He could be a role model for other European nations and he paid the highest price for all of us, for my nation and for European values. Irena Danilovich is a nurse in Crimea who have been fighting with COVID inequality in labor and also she was contributing to our media as a citizen journalist. You know that journalism was suppressed in Crimea for all these years. Media were attacked and expelled. Free media was expelled from Crimea. She was contributing, not disclosing her surname and name. We have been searching for Irena for 13 days. She was kept in communicator in Crimea. We have been searching in every detention center in Russia and in Crimea. And only when we made outcry publicly internationally we found out that she has been held in local FSB building in Crimea for eight days. She was exposed to ill treatment. She was fed only once a day, taken to bathroom once a day and threatened to be taken to Mariupol where high hostilities were taking place or to the local forest. If she wouldn't say what those so-called law enforcement were asking her to say. She went through lie detector and she was forced to sign blank papers, blank white papers in potential exchange for freedom. Once she's done this, she was told that some 200 explosives in her bag were found. Now she's facing political prosecution, criminal, motivated prosecution. And she can face six years of imprisonment just because being vocal telling the truth, what atrocious human rights, gross violations are happening independently. And the last story is a story about very prominent and very special human rights defender and a friend of mine and a colleague of all human rights community in Ukraine, Maksim Budkevich. All his life, he's older than me, all his life, he was there to help those left behind. He was one of the most sincere anti-fascism activists in Ukraine. He was helping migrants and those persecuted. He was a BBC journalist and also contributing to different local medias in Ukraine. Maksim told in his Facebook that he put on hold all his human rights defense activities and he joined territorial defense and later the armed forces of Ukraine. 24th of June, when I had to speak in UN about atrocities Russia is doing in Ukraine, I got the message with telegram video where Maksim was kept by Russian forces. Maksim and his soldiers, he was a commander. And now Russian propaganda is telling worldwide that Maksim is commander of Nazi regiment, Nazi division in the Ukrainian armed forces. Can you believe in such perverted reality? The person who was finding peace, a pacifist, sincere true pacifist for all his life now is threatened. We don't know about his whereabouts. His family hasn't been contacted even once for all these two weeks. And we can, of course, unfortunately think that he can be tortured. We saw some signs of bruises on his face, no matter he was saying he's okay on this video. And we also can predict that they can create some a bad scenario, for example, to prosecute him for terrorism or whatever. The person who spent all his life protecting those left behind, the person who was promoting peace in Europe, he's known in Eastern Europe and in every corner. We ask for public international outcry for Maksim and his soldiers. Yes, he is prisoners of war and prisoners of war can be kept, but we ask for them to be released and for international humanitarian law be protecting them. What else can I say? My reality is war balance work reality, work war reality. Every day I'm exposed to monitoring and advocating about forced mobilization of my compatriots in the compatriots, about forced deportation and separation of families, about silencing and threatening thousands of Ukrainian active local communities, teachers, journalists, human rights defenders, activists, cultural actors and even religious leaders in the occupied territories. My reality is listening to some evidences of children who were taken to Russia and their grandparents have no idea where they are. And my reality is watching the hundreds of square kilometers of my land with grain and with wheat being burned now just because we are fighting for our democracy, just because we are fighting for international rule of law for our future. My reality is facing the threat of global hunger and my friends around the world from Africa, from South America contacting me and asking, is it possible to export grain from Ukraine where the Black Sea will be unblocked? And I have no answers now. My reality is seeing medical facilities or shopping malls or business centers targeted specifically during the day where there are a lot of people, civilians, innocent children there. And my reality is to know that my family is under constant threat and my friends are also under constant threat. Europe has shown immense leadership during the global pandemic. We were all united and those who had to receive vaccination who were left behind, they received it. I believe that this authoritarian dictatorship regime is a new plague, is a new virus in European continent that is already spreading around to other continents. And I believe that European Greens, which are the most progressive part of society in Europe, can take leadership and start to fight together with us in this battle to fight this virus. If we can unite, we can fight it and we can stop this plague spreading around the world. My colleague who invited me to this event once asked me where do you find the energy to fight when every day you receive news from the frontline, you receive news about the deaths of civilians, you receive news that your parents are listening to air raid alarms or have to hide. They don't have energy now to hide in basement, they hide in the bathroom because there are two wall rule now in Ukraine is the priority. I find my energy because I cannot betray those generations fighting before us and fighting now. I cannot betray this generation fighting for climate. And we cannot deliver climate changes. We cannot deliver women rights empowerment. We cannot deliver human rights defense if there is not peace in this continent. And unfortunately peace has to be armed better than dictatorship. In my nightmare only I can imagine that I will say it as a human rights defender where a human life is a priority. But unfortunately, Maxim Butkevich Roman Ratushny also were not prepared to take arms in their hands being journalists or activists, but they had to do it. I can finish with one song that also inspires me always with Nina Simone, American African singer and civil rights activist. I wish I could share all the love that's in my heart. Remove all the bars that keep us apart. I wish you could know what it means to be me. Then you'd see and agree that every man should be free. Let's make Europe and world free from dictatorship. Thank you very much. Thank you Dominika, Simon and Maria for your speeches. Hopefully people will listen, hopefully inspiring. So thank you very much.