Mo’men Al-Qashqish: A Model for Meaningful Youth Engagement in Climate Action and the Fight for Climate Justice

Mo’men has sought to turn his knowledge and experience into broader spaces for action and advocacy, following his participation in an international youth training organized by ActionAid International in Tanzania on climate advocacy and campaigning. The international training, which brought together Mo’men and young people from different parts of the world, marked an important turning point in his work with youth. It introduced him to new tools and approaches for designing community campaigns, advocacy initiatives and climate justice actions, while strengthening his skills in strategic planning, storytelling, developing impactful messages, and using digital tools and artificial intelligence for community engagement. The programme also gave him the opportunity to exchange experiences with participants from 37 countries and learn from global experiences of leading community change and building youth movements.

After returning from the training, Mo’men as determined to share this knowledge with young people in Halhul through training sessions, community dialogues and the establishment of a “Climate Ambassadors” group. He believes that young people are not merely recipients of knowledge, but partners and leaders in creating solutions and driving climate action. This experience strengthened his ability to connect global climate issues with the Palestinian context and turn ideas into youth-led initiatives and campaigns to defend the environment, climate justice and the rights of their communities.

From Palestine to Tanzania, and from the experiences of young people around the world to the reality of Halhul, Mo’men brought back new tools for understanding climate issues, building campaigns and influencing change. Today, he is working to share this knowledge with young women and men in his city.

As part of preparations for Global Week of Action on Climate, Mo’men helped organise and lead spaces for dialogue with young people in Halhul. One of the key activities was the “From Palestine to Nepal” dialogue, which brought together 28 young women and men to discuss climate change and climate justice, and what the climate crisis means for communities that have contributed relatively little to global emissions but bear a significant share of its impacts.

Participants explored Nepal’s experience and the severe climate impacts it faces despite its limited contribution to global emissions. The discussion then returned to Palestine, where the climate crisis intersects with occupation, pollution, land confiscation, tree cutting, fires and attacks on the environment.

For Mo’men, these issues cannot be separated from people’s everyday lives. In Halhul and Hebron, communities experience the effects of pollution and dust generated by stone factories and their impact on the environment and agriculture. They also witness changing weather patterns, water scarcity and the decline of green spaces.

During the dialogue, Mo’men shared experiences of environmental and community action in the area, including efforts to protect the Haska Al-Safa environmental trail, as well as work with local and official authorities to address long-standing environmental concerns. These efforts eventually contributed to the closure and removal of a concrete plant following years of monitoring and advocacy.

This experience strengthened his belief that change begins when communities’ voices are transformed into organised collective action.

For Mo’men, the purpose of these activities was not simply to provide young people with new information about climate change, but to equip them with the tools they need to take action. Discussions with young people therefore focused on global and local climate and environmental challenges, while learning from experiences of campaigning, advocacy and social change, including the international training Mo’men attended.

Young people discussed floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions; water shortages and contamination; pollution caused by factories and vehicles; smoke emissions; the decline of green spaces; as well as the impact of occupation and land confiscation on the environment and Palestinian communities.

But the discussion did not stop identifying problems. At the end of the meeting, the young participants took a practical step by establishing the “Climate Ambassadors” group, bringing together 21 young women and men, to serve as a foundation for youth-led environmental action and advocacy in Halhul.

Through the group, Mo’men and the young people are seeking to move from awareness to campaigning, and from talking about climate change to building youth-led initiatives that respond to the priorities of their community. The group serves as a bridge between international experience and local reality, a bridge that does not simply exchange knowledge but turns knowledge into action.

At the heart of Mo’men message to young people is the belief that change does not begin when young people wait for others to act. It begins when they recognize their own power to lead change.

“Youth participation in climate action is not simply about attending events. It is about their ability to turn knowledge into initiatives, initiatives into policies, and policies into tangible impact in their communities.”

For Mo’men, climate justice is not only about addressing rising temperatures or protecting the environment. It is about who owns and controls land and water, who bears the losses, who has access to resources and financing, and who has the power to make decisions.

In the Palestinian context, he believes that it is impossible to talk about protecting the environment while land is being confiscated, or about climate resilience while people’s ability to access their natural resources is restricted, or about social justice in isolation from political justice.

For this reason Mo’men believes that there can be no climate justice without justice, and no sustainable solutions without the meaningful participation of the communities affected by them. He says: “Climate action in Palestine does not need young people who simply hear about change. It needs young people who participate in creating it. The impact of young people does not stop at the initiatives they implement; it extends to community awareness, behavior and the ability to build a more just and sustainable future.”

As Global Week of Action on Climate begins, Mo’men does not see himself simply as a participant in a campaign. He sees himself as part of a youth-led movement that voices the demands of communities and connects them to the global conversation on climate justice.

The experience he began through the training with ActionAid International enabled him to see how young people in different parts of the world can share knowledge and tools and transform local challenges into advocacy messages that cross borders.

Mo’men says : “I believe Palestinian youth are not only the future of society. They are an essential part of its present and its agents of change. Involving them in climate action is an investment in community awareness, the ability to protect natural resources, and the creation of a more just and sustainable future for generations to come.”

In Halhul, this change has begun with simple but meaningful steps: young people learning, engaging in dialogue, organizing themselves, raising their voices and planning campaigns for a more just and sustainable environment.

About ActionAid International  

ActionAid International is a global federation working with over 41 million people living in more than 72 of the world's poorest countries. We envision a world characterized by justice and sustainability, where every individual has the right to a dignified life and freedom, and a world free from poverty and oppression. We strive to achieve social justice, gender equality, and eradicate poverty.  

ActionAid Palestine began its work in Palestine in 2007 to strengthen the resilience of the Palestinian people, believing in their right to enjoy freedom, justice, and self-determination. ActionAid Palestine implements several programs through its engagement with Palestinian communities and youth and women’s groups, aiming to empower women and youth and enhance their active civil and political participation to understand their rights and undertake collective action to address the rights violations resulting from the prolonged occupation, in addition to improving their leadership capacity and practicing their citizenship in holding authorities and other duty bearers accountable. 

For more information, please contact:  

Riham Jafari   

Communication and Advocacy Officer at ActionAid Palestine   

Email: Riham.Jafari@actionaid.org