In 2025, the Amazon rainforest is hosting COP30 in Belém, Brazil — a defining milestone for the global climate movement. For the first time in years, the climate summit will unfold in a place where the voices of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and social movements are not only present, but central for decision maing.
The moment could not be more urgent. The Amazon, one of the most important ecosystems on Earth, stands at a tipping point. The peoples who have safeguarded these lands for generations are facing intensifying threats to their territories, cultures, and ways of life. The struggle for land rights is inseparable from the climate crisis — because without the roots of land, there is no ground for climate justice to grow. When communities have secure rights to their lands, forests flourish, cultures continue, and younger generations inherit the knowledge and strength to sustain life in harmony with the more-than-human world. Protecting land rights is not only a matter of justice — it is a matter of survival.
Across the world young people are rising to defend their territories and reshape the future. Through the Roots of Justice initiative, youth, women, and Indigenous leaders are mobilizing campaigns grounded in community, memory, and care. Youth Should Make the News is a call to ensure that when the world gathers in Belém, the voices of young land and climate defenders are not ignored, marginalized, or photographed as symbols — but heard, taken seriously, and followed. Through this campaign, we seek to challenge their invisibility and demand that they #MakeTheNews.
If you know other young people who should #MakeTheNews or you are a journalist and would like to interview them, contact Amanda Segnini at: landrightsnow@gmail.com