Approximately 25 youth activists (age 16-26) from around the country gathered in Washington, DC for Sierra Club’s annual Youth Activist Weekend to discuss Gender and Climate Change.  They were such a lively and inspiring group to work with for my Sari Pledge Workshop, which was held on June 3, 2017 from 5:30 to 8:30 pm at the Potter’s House in Adams Morgan.  This was my second year doing a workshop for the Sierra Club youth, and I came away incredibly energized after meeting this upbeat and engaged group of young people.

They pledged to “eat less beef,” “bike more,” “carbon offset flights,” and “educate the young girls in my community to get involved in community projects.”  The youth were from such diverse places as Berkeley, CA, Phoenix, AX, Boston, MA, Orlando, FL, and China.  I received many messages and emails from them afterwards, saying how much they enjoyed making the sari, and feeling connected to women in Banglaesh.  As promised, I displayed the sari in Honololu, Hawai’i as part of a Smithsonian exhibition. The sari was seen by thousands of people.

Thank you to all the participants and to the Sierra Club for a wonderful day of hands-on climate activism to build solidarity across communities.  We talked as a group and individually on many topics to help us connect and feel empowered to work with our communities on climate change so that we can individually and collectively move away from use of fossil fuels. With leadership lacking at the federal level, we all agreed that it is incumbent on our youth to activate change on a local, community, city, and state level.  My hope is that many of these participants will also become politically involved and run for elected office in the years ahead.

All images copyright Monica Jahan Bose, 2017.