BAHAMAS 2023/2024
YOUTH CLIMATE AMBASSADORS
Global climate change is arguably the most influential force in our generation, influencing nearly every facet of our lives now and into the future. As Youth Climate Ambassadors, we will work to integrate our peers into the fight for a sustainable Bahamas.
We endeavor to incorporate the voices of Bahamian youth in the climate adaptation dialogue and empower our generation to take action against climate change. Our goal is to ensure that young Bahamians maximize their potential to create the future they deserve with the help of those who went before us.
STEPHEN W. HUNTER II
Former University of The West Indies (UWI) Open Scholar, Stephen is currently a meteorological officer at the Bahamas Department of Meteorology and an active youth in the environment and climate spaces.
As the current Youth Climate Ambassador for the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Stephen intends to promote youth empowerment by connecting with regional and international youth organizations not only to highlight the Bahamas’ unique challenges as it relates to climate change but also to build further capacity among the Bahamian youth demographic.
He has also written a number of articles in the UWI CBS newsletters on topics ranging from Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) to climate justice for SIDS. He also co-authored an article in the prestigious academic journal The Parliamentarian, entitled, “The Role of Youth in Guaranteeing Equal Opportunity and Responsibility: Connecting Citizens, Innovating New Ideas, and Transforming Governance Structures in The Commonwealth.”
ASHAWNTÉ D. RUSSELL
In addition to being a full-time student at the University of The Bahamas pursuing a degree in Biology with Minor in Chemistry, Ashawnté has acted as The Bahamas’ Delegate under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Youth4Climate conferences (2021 & 2022) where she worked with young people from over 186 countries on ways to achieve more inclusion within the youth demographic.
Moreover, Ashawnté has also served as a delegate at the 2022 Action for Climate Empowerment Hackathon (ACE), where she interacted with young people from the global North and South on ways to integrate the youth demographic into this space wherever and whenever possible. Ashawnté went on to operate as a National Youth Representative under the Office of the Prime Minister as a member of the Bahamas Youth Delegation at COP27, where she engaged world leaders on her unique experiences and perspective as a young person from a Small Island Developing State.
In addition to serving as one of the two Youth Climate Ambassadors for The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, she is also one of the 151 Max Thabiso Edkins Climate Ambassadors under the Global Youth Climate Network (GCYN) for 2023 – 2024.
OUR PLATFORM
- To continue raising awareness to the climate crisis in the Bahamas, particularly among Bahamian youth.
- To collaborate with regional and international youth organizations and programmes in the climate change and the environmental space.
- To provide capacity-building opportunities to allow our Bahamian youth to actively participate in the climate discourse.
- To motivate more young people to become involved in the Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) Space.
- To continue the National Education & Outreach Programme already established in order to bridge gaps where needed between students and academic institutions.
