In the vast Amazon region, where rivers are pathways and the forest is home, youth beat like a new heart, driving life, identity, and commitment. This August 12th, in line with the global theme “Local Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond,” CEAMA, REPAM, REIBA, and PUAM raise their voices to recognize the decisive role of Amazonian youth in defending our Common Home, preserving cultures, and building a just and sustainable future.
Hope that springs from the roots
The hope of young people in the Amazon is neither naive nor superficial: it stems from a deep attachment to their territory, from the wisdom passed down by grandparents and community leaders, and from the desire for their people to continue to exist with dignity.
They are young people who speak indigenous languages, who know the paths of the forest and the secrets of the river, and who, at the same time, use phones, networks, and digital tools to tell the world about the threats and dreams of their land. Their hope is active: it translates into community projects, leadership in territorial struggles, and a resistance that refuses to give up.
Challenges that cry out for attention
However, youth life in the Amazon is marked by complex challenges:
- Threats to their territory and culture from extractivism, deforestation, and water pollution.
- Limitations on education and job opportunities force many to migrate, weakening the community fabric.
- Violence and criminalization of youth leaders, especially those who speak out in defense of human and environmental rights.
- Risk of loss of cultural identity in the face of homogenization and consumption models imposed from outside.
Despite these difficulties, young people are organizing, creating support networks, and forging alliances with social movements, church organizations, and international groups.
Protagonists of a change that begins locally
International Youth Day 2025 emphasizes local action, and in the Amazon region this has special significance: global transformation will only be possible if concrete action emerging from communities is heard and supported.
Indigenous, riverine, Afro-descendant, rural, and urban youth are leading initiatives that address the SDGs from their own perspective:
• Reforestation and protection of watersheds.
• Bilingual intercultural education programs.
• Community communication workshops and youth radio stations.
• Solidarity economy projects that strengthen family autonomy.
A call for co-responsibility
As CEAMA, REPAM, REIBA, and PUAM, we reaffirm our commitment to supporting, training, and empowering young people in the Amazon, strengthening their leadership and ensuring spaces where their voices are heard in decisions that affect their communities.
They are not just the future: they are the living present of a biome and a culture that the entire world needs to survive.
On this International Youth Day, we invite everyone to join this network of hope and action, to recognize the transformative power of Amazonian youth, and to walk together so that their dreams may find fertile ground and clean water in which to flourish.
“Caring for the Amazon is caring for the young heart of humanity.”