THEY might need more dance breaks, but the youth leaders Sunday Star met at the recent Rainforest Youth Summit (RAYS) 2025 in Kuching are determined to carry on the good fight for climate justice and a sustainable future.
As they say, the work of a climate activist is never done.
Theron Then, a 22-year-old youth leader from Kuching, is continuing to learn and grow as a climate activist when he is not trying to make change in his community.
Other than RAYS 2025, a big moment this year for Then was to be a part of the Asean Children & Youth Climate Summit (ACYCS) 2025 in Langkawi in September.
It was an incredible opportunity, he said enthusiastically, to be a part of ACYCS 2025, where youth leaders came together to take part in policy discussions and presented their proposals to Asean environment ministers.
“It was truly inspiring to see young voices being included in shaping decisions that impact our generation and the ones to come,” he says.
In the climate action scene, he adds that he has continued to advocate passionately for sustainability.
“Next year, I plan to take that commitment a step further by launching my own movement under a social enterprise called ‘Reyouth Fits’.
“The vision behind Reyouth Fits is to make thrifting and upcycling not just environmentally responsible, but also trendy and cool.
“Through this initiative, I hope to inspire young people and future generations to see that one person’s waste can truly become another’s treasure, and that sustainable fashion can be both stylish and meaningful,” he says.
Max Han, 24, from Kuala Lumpur, has, among others, continued working with the Asean Youth Forum on the Asean Environmental Rights Working Group to push for a regional policy for environmental rights.
Last month at the 47th Asean Summit, the regional bloc’s leaders adopted the Asean Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment (Ader).
Although happy that such a milestone pledge has finally been made for the region’s climate future, Han and his fellow environmental defenders lament some of the weaknesses and loopholes in the policy.
“This fight for a better Asean definitely does not end with this declaration, which holds political weight. Policy can be passed, but implementation dictates impact.
“We hope to work with our leaders to come up with an implementation plan, and draw on lessons from other regions which have already established similar policies,” he says, referring to Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
He also hopes Asean leadership will set up a participatory reporting cycle where Asean member states will submit publicly available periodic reports with civil society as well as an advisory and assistance mechanism to guide states on the implementation of Ader.
And while Han himself did not attend COP30, the UN climate conference in Belém, Brazil, he says a team from Youths United for Earth (YUFE) did contribute to the global climate talks. YUFE, which Han co-founded when he was 19, is a non-profit mobilising youth for environmental action through storytelling, advocacy, and campaigning.
Kuching student Mohd Nor Waleed Kamil, 23, meanwhile says RAYS 2025 has given him hope in working across divides for the planet’s sustainability.
“Seeing our diverse, multicultural differences brought together in one place shows that we are compatible and can work as one towards a sustainable climate future,” he says.
For Nyla Lyn Anak John, a 22-year-old student from Miri, Sarawak, her experience at RAYS showed her that she is not alone as an indigenous climate activist.
“I am heartened to see that I am not alone and that other people are fighting for their homes every day too.
“It is empowering for me, as a marginalised, indigenous woman,” she says.
It seems like these young leaders are definitely invoking the legendary spirit of Sarawak warrior Rentap to rise as world-shakers, as urged by RAYS co-organiser Pacific Asia Travel Associa-tion CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid at the summit’s opening: “Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban – as long as you live, you fight!”
RAYS 2026 will be held in Kuching from June 24 to 26 next year.
Rainforest Youth Summit 2025
— Photos by: RAYS 2025/STB and HARIATI AZIZAN/The Star
Young climate activist at RAYS 2025, 13-year-old Lisa Rosendal from Green School Bali, sharing her climate innovation idea.
RAYS 2025 participants taking a break with friends.
RAYS 2025 was organised by the Sarawak Tourism Board in line with its sustainable tourism mission. Here, STB CEO Sharzede Datu Salleh Askor is participating in a talk on Tourism Reimagined with fellow speaker, indigenous leader and climate activist Diwigdi Valente from Panama.
STB CEO Sharzede Datu Salleh Askor (right) with fellow speaker indigenous leader and climate activist Diwigdi Valente (centre) from Panama and moderator Justine Vaz after their panel discussion titled Tourism Reimagined.
