The Tribune

Ashawnté Russell, a biology major with a minor in chemistry at University of The Bahamas (UB), is painfully aware that The Bahamas is under threat and her recent year-long service in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) reinforced that certainty. It also opened doors for the youth voice – hers included – to be elevated in national and global conversations about climate change.

“We have a beautiful country, we have an amazing country, but our country is threatened by something bigger than us,” says Ashawnté, who recently concluded her term as one of two Bahamas Climate Youth Ambassadors in the OPM’s Climate Change and Environmental Advisory Unit.

Saddened by Hurricane Dorian’s impact on The Bahamas and the world in 2019, she was inspired to act and has become an advocate for climate resilience and justice.

Ashawnté has been involved in some of the most high-profile conversations related to climate change. She was present for the last two United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27 and COP28). She also served as a delegate for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)-Youth4Climate Conference in Milan, Italy.

During 2023, she and her colleague, Climate Youth Ambassador Stephen Hunter II, worked diligently to shape and lead initiatives, programmes, and other crucial discussions. When the US Secretary of the Navy (SecNav) Carlos Del Toro visited The Bahamas in March 2023, she moderated a conversation with him held at UB.

“I’ve learnt that through collaboration, transparency, and passion, you can actually get a lot of things done,” says Ashawnté. “And it’s one thing to hear this so much and to say this so much, but to actually be able to see it, to carry it out, to embody it, it’s a whole different experience.

“Serving as a youth climate ambassador, I was able to not just act as a bridge between two different generations in the space of climate activism and environmental justice, but I also was able to act as the conduit for change. And in doing so, I learnt so much more from individuals and was able to give back in the same way.”

As the world’s leaders and biggest players prepare for COP29 in November, Ashawnté is hoping to see meaningful progress when she attends. Until then, her work continues. She serves as the NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) Project Youth Ambassador for Care About Climate for The Bahamas and EarthDay.org My Future My Voice Youth Ambassador for The Bahamas, as well as the Caribbean Front Coordinator for the World’s Youth for Climate Justice.

“If there is one thing that I could change, it would be the relationship that we in the global space have towards each other with us being accountable, responsible, and transparent with each other,” she says. “Because if we can bypass this proverbial bump we’ve been knocking into for decades, we would come to realise that a lot of the world’s problems could actually be solved with a conversation and the willingness to compromise.”

• “Gain An Edge” is a collaboration of Lyford Cay Foundations, the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) and University of The Bahamas (UB) aimed at promoting a national dialogue on issues surrounding education. To share your thoughts, email gainanedge@tribunemedia.net.