A note from Christopher Perera, Co-founder of Oxford Sustainable Business and Entrepreneurship Society at Oxford University.
I was delighted to be given the opportunity to attend and speak at the Goals House in Glasgow for COP26 this early November, representing Oxford Sustainable Business and Entrepreneurship Society. Goals House hosts round table discussions, panels, dinners and nightcaps based on the Global Goals and the SDGs. It runs at COP, Davos, UNGA and Cannes events.
On the first night, I was honoured to attend an event hosted by Lily Cole, focussing on amplifying the voices of extraordinary Indigenous leaders from all over the world, including Chief Ninawa Huni Kuin, from the Amazon (Acre, Brazil) and Agnes Leina, Maasai (Samburu, Kenyra). What stood out most to me the most is how easy it is to get lost in the bureaucratic details of combating climate change, whilst the voices of those most at danger of climate change are rarely heard. It is time to listen and involve indigenous knowledge in current policymaking.
The following day I was delighted to be given the chance to host an interview discussion with Ines Yabar, a Peruvian Youth Sustainability Activist who regularly attended the high-level Blue Zone in COP26. The discussion highlighted the importance of improving youth climate education globally to allow more people to join the climate activist movement and make more conscious consumption decisions. A highlight was the debate around whether the production of green products is a consumerist trap for the youth and whether the focus should be shifted towards anti-consumerist movements.