Human Impacts Institute's Climate Crossroads Exhibit, featuring stories of 10 Indigenous climate leaders to be showcased during COP26 in Glasgow Nov. 1-12.

GLASGOW, UNITED KINGDOM , October 20, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Climate Crossroads Exhibit, features the stories of 10 Indigenous women and youth from the Global South, all illustrated by 10 commissioned Indigenous and Afro-descendant artists, will be showcased during The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, (COP26), November 1-12. The multi-media exhibition launches at the Centre for Contemporary Arts and will be installed to create a “Storytelling Sanctuary” to share the work and demands of indigenous leaders, while inviting delegates, activists, and other diverse participants in the UN Climate Conference to share their climate impacts, stories and culture.

“With the Climate Crossroads Exhibit we are bringing attention to how Indigenous Peoples’ ancestral knowledge must be central to how we address climate action. These 10 Indigenous women and youth leaders, who come from as far as the Brazilian Amazon to the jungles of Borneo, exemplify the innovation and depth of experience frontline communities have and are demanding that their culture and land rights be respected and included in all levels of decision making,” explained Tara DePorte, executive director and founder, Human Impacts Institute, a nonprofit that uses arts and culture to inspire environmental action for social good.

The Climate Crosswords Exhibit highlights these diverse leaders by showing the diversity of the immense contribution Indigenous women and youth are having to systems of education, conservation, policy, communication, and so much more. The stories magnify the work of Indigenous leaders who are developing innovative and integrative ways to define our knowledge of place, preservation, and paths forward. These ten leaders come from communities where biodiversity and ancestral land are most threatened, making the connection between land tenure and the conservation of our cultures and global climate.

In addition to focusing on the leadership of these ten women and youth, the Human Impacts Institute commissioned 10 Indigenous and Afro-descendant artists to create original portraits that reflect the richness of culture and impact represented in the Climate Crossroads Exhibit:
● Elvia Dagua Guatatuca (Ecuador): Founder of multiple indigenous schools for girls and Technical Support, Women's Coordination of the San Jacinto del Pindo Commune. Illustrated by Bolanle Adeboye
● Gabriella Sakina (DR Congo): Program Officer, Pillar to Vulnerable Women Active in DR Congo (PIFEVA). Illustrated by Maryam Lethome
● Kynan Tegar (Indonesia): Sixteen-year-old activist, Kynan uses storytelling and film to share the resilience of his community of Iban people. Illustrated by Shaun Beyale
● Lipi Rahman (Bangladesh): Co-founder, Badabon Sangho, Lipi mobilizes indigenous women to engage with local governments and assert their rights to land and livelihoods. Illustrated by Inuri Maheshika
● Raquel Cunampio (Panama): Coordinator of the Indigenous Women's Network and President of Ejua Wãdrã (“Guardians of Mother Earth. Illustrated by Astrid Caballeros "Lotus"
● Saraswati Dhruv (India): Lead Facilitator of KHOJ and leader of community resource rights initiatives as secretary of the Forest Rights Committee in Chhattisgarh. Illustrated by Radja Ouslimane
● Severiana Domínguez González (Mexico): Technical Coordinator, Chinantla Regional Environmental Fund, Oaxaca, A.C. Illustrated by Sinomonde Ngwane
● Vanessa Racua (Peru): Responsible for the Secretariat of Women, Native Federation of the Madre de Dios River and Tributaries (FENAMAD). Illustrated by Daniel Fishel.
● Vehia Wheeler (Tahiti): Founder, Sustainable Oceania Solutions Mo’orea, Vehia connects youth with their local environment, knowledge, and cultural traditions. Illustrated by Sarah Ayaqi Whalen - Lunn
● Watatakalu Yawalapiti (Brazil): Founder of the Xingu Women’s Movement, is an Indigenous climate activist from the Yawalapiti community of Brazil. Illustrated by Helton Mattei

In addition to the exhibit, the Human Impacts Institute in conjunction with the Bolivian government will hold a side event inside the UNFCCC COP 26 negotiations on Friday, November 5th. "Listening to the call of Mother Earth: Voices of governments, indigenous peoples, women and youth," which is a formal event amplifying the voices of global indigenous women and youth climate leaders, alongside these voices, will present and discuss Bolivia’s proposal to the UNFCCC: "An Urgent and Equitable call to stop climate collapse and restore balance with our Mother Earth" with speakers David Choquehuanca Céspedes (Vice President Plurinational State), Diego Pacheco (Head of Delegation Bolivia), Angelica Ponce (Director of the Plurinational Authority of Mother Earth), Indigenous women and youth (civil society - Human Impacts Institute).

PR contact: Jennifer Maguire at Jen@maguirepr.com

Jennifer Maguire
+1 917-596-5136
jen@maguirepr.com
Human Impacts Institute
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