Youth

Much has been made of the unprecedented Aboriginal participation in the planning and hosting of  the 2010 Olympic Games. This has a lot to do with the fact that many of the sporting events are taking place on the traditional territorial lands of the Four Host First Nations – the umbrella group consisting of the Lil'Wat, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations (First Nations are one of three officially recognized Aboriginal peoples in Canada, along with the Inuit people of the Arctic and the Metis people of mixed Indian-European descent).

Linda Matchan and Michele McDonald's Artcirq video airs on Worldfocus on Tuesday February 23.

Canada's Nunavut territory covers about two million square kilometers and comprises a fifth of Canadian territory. It's home to about 29,000 people, mostly Inuit. Along with their proud heritage and striking landscapes, residents struggle with unemployment, poverty and cultural dislocation. Suicide rates among Inuit youth are ten times higher than the national average.

Linda Matchan, for the Pulitzer Center
Vancouver, Canada

Two days before Artcirq's scheduled performance at Sunday's medal ceremony at the Vancouver Olympics, something went terribly wrong.

For months, the Inuit circus members had been dreaming of the moment when they'd take center stage at B.C. Place, proudly representing their Arctic territory of Nunavut before the world. "I have no words for this," said acrobat and clown Jimmy Qamuqaq, as he strode past the stadium on Friday, the day of the final rehearsals.

Pulitzer Center Student Fellow Sara Peach interviewed youth leaders and activists from around the world attending the COP15 conference for her reporting project "Youth Change the Climate in Copenhagen."

Ruchi Jain, 23, was working as a marketer in Mumbai, India, when she left her job to become a full-time climate activist with the Indian Youth Climate Network and 350.org. At the United Nations climate change conference, she participated in Youth and Future Generations Day, Dec. 10, 2009, a day of discussions about the impact of climate change on young people's lives. She spoke passionately before a crowd of youth and U.N. official Yvo de Boer.

Pulitzer Center Student Fellow Sara Peach interviewed youth leaders and activists from around the world attending the COP15 conference for her reporting project "Youth Change the Climate in Copenhagen."

In these segments, Peach captures perspectives on climate change from youth around the world.

Ruchi Jain, 23, was working as a marketer in Mumbai, India, when she left her job to become a full-time climate activist with the Indian Youth Climate Network and 350.org. At the United Nations climate change conference, she participated in Youth and Future Generations Day, Dec.10, 2009, a day of discussions about the impact of climate change on young people's lives. She spoke passionately before a crowd of youth and U.N. official Yvo de Boer.

Pulitzer Center Student Fellow Sara Peach interviewed youth from around the world attending the COP15 conference for her reporting project "Youth Change the Climate in Copenhagen." In these videos, youth from around the world discuss the impact climate change plays on their lives.

On day 37 of her hunger strike, Australian activist Anna Keenen discusses climate justice, direct action, and the need for reflection to achieve unification.

A corrupt Greek minister tries to sell the Parthenon to the country's powerful Orthodox Church to develop into a casino. An enterprising young reporter reveals the ploy to widespread popular outrage, prompting the minister into a campaign of bribery to try to suppress the story.

Ruchi Jain, 23, was working as a marketer in Mumbai, India, when she left her job to become a full-time climate activist. Today she works with the Indian Youth Climate Network and 350.org, and she traveled to Copenhagen in December to participate in the climate talks.

Student Fellow Sara Peach followed Jain during the two-week conference as she rallied other youth activists and testified before UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer and found out why she gave up her marketing career and why – like many youth around the world – she now has her eyes on the United States Senate.

Guillaume Saladin left his career as a professional acrobat to help young Inuits in northern Canada form Artcirq, their own performing troupe.

As negotiators work into the night on a climate deal in Copenhagen, here's a look at how youth have fared at the talks.

This story was reported for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting as part of the Copenhagen News Collaborative, a cooperative project of several independent news organizations. Check out the feed here from Mother Jones.