Listen to Jan Kairel Guillermo just below or on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts.
🎤 “In my province, people are just busy surviving every day. Our life is just to survive… and another typhoon will come in the next few months… and survive again. It's difficult. Climate is not a joke. Our main industry is agriculture, which is disturbed by the unforeseen climate patterns. In our province, we don't have other jobs, we don't have manufacturing, and tourism is also affected by climate change. It's a personal commitment for my second life.”
🇵🇭 Jan Kairel Guillermo is an artist, climate activist and survivor of Super Typhoon Haiyan that ravaged the Philippines in 2013. He uses performing arts to raise awareness on the climate crisis and works to engage the art sector in climate negotiations.
We discuss his first life as a civil servant at the Government Youth Council and his second life dedicated to climate advocacy, at grassroots and international level.
At grassroots level, he founded LEYTEAM to empower the youth from his hometown Leyte to take action for the climate and at international level, he is engaged with YOUNGO to organise the COY and make sure that under-represented countries are around the negotiation table.
Listen to him 5 minutes and you’ll understand that Jan is a fighter and a driven leader who just wants the best for his community in Leyte.
❤️ TIMELINE:
6’ - Being elected at 18 in the Government Youth Council
23’ - Empowering youth through traditional performing arts to take action for the climate
44’ - Surviving Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013
49’ - Enhancing youth participation in climate negotiations through YOUNGO
57’ - Organizing the Conference of Youth (COY), leading to the Conference of the Parties (COP)
66’ - Being a bridge with his community and bringing back all the opportunities
74’ - Fighting and surviving everyday
🎤 ”I want people to remember Jan as a tough and strong leader, but who has a sense of humour. A Jan that is caring, but who will push you to the edge of your capabilities. And above all, I want them to remember a Jan that will not stop moving forward.”
🗒️ References:
-The panel discussion we speak about in the begging happened during the pre-events of the Regional Youth Empowerment in Climate Actions Dialogue.
-Jan and his team representing Philippines at Singapore’s Chingay Parade.
-Jan being interview about COY16.
-Connect with Jan on LinkedIn.
About UNFCCC, COP, COY, YOUNGO
-UNFCCC: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat is the United Nations entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change.
-COP & COY: the Conference of the Parties (COP) is the supreme decision-making body of the UNFCCC. The Conference of Youth (COY) aims to strengthen the international youth climate movement. Both the COP and COY happen every year to advance the global climate negotiations.
-YOUNGO is the Youth Constituency of the UNFCCC. It consists of many youth-led organizations, groups, delegations, and individuals working in climate change-related fields.
-You can join YOUNGO here.
🎧 Where to listen?
Deezer.
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