For our last episode of Season 2, we are welcoming Pooja Tilvawala, Founder and Executive Director of Youth Climate Collaborative (YCC), a global youth-led nonprofit building the conditions for young people to create, sustain, and scale climate leadership and action. YCC engages 6,000+ youth annually through programs and resources focused on climate mental health, media and storytelling, green skills, intergenerational collaboration, and access to opportunities, with hubs in Kenya, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

She is also the Founder of Jaali, an AI-enhanced platform connecting changemakers with each other and resources to accelerate social impact. She previously co-founded the Entertainment + Culture Pavilion, advancing the role of arts and culture in climate solutions.

This episode is part of Podcasthon’s global event bringing podcasters and charities together. Thousands of podcasters have joined this annual event, highlighting charities around the world addressing different causes. We’re proud to be part of this event helping nonprofits reach new audiences and create long-term connections.

Resources:

• Youth Climate Collaborative’s Website

• Donate to Youth Climate Collaborative

• Pooja Tilvawala’s LinkedIn

• Podcasthon’s Website

Definitions:

• Intergenerational: interaction between members of different generations
• AI: artificial intelligence

• Generative AI: subfield of artificial intelligence that uses models and data to create text, images, videos, audio, software code or other forms of data.

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Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

The Trump administration’s attacks on migrants in the United States has attempted to instill fear in American citizens, immigrants, and governments worldwide. Migrants have been dehumanized in the past (this is not new), but there is an increased awareness of immigrant policies and injustices due to the administration’s hateful rhetoric, including insults targeting different migrant populations. To wrap up Season 2, Tania and Adriana touch on this topic that is close to their hearts. While it’s a heavy topic, the episode ends with positive news and solutions (as always)!

Resources for Immigrants

• Know Your Rights

Learn More

• Tania’s Article: Life at the U.S.-Mexico Border Under Trump Administration - Migrant Women Press

• Two women on Tik Tok track ICE

• Charlottesville, NC community stands up to ICE

• Los Angeles protests against ICE

Organizations to Support

• Border Kindness

• Border Angels

• MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee

Definitions

• Environmental justice: a social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit.
• Climate justice: a type of environmental justice that focuses on the unequal impacts of climate change on marginalized populations.
• Global North and Global South: terms used to categorize countries by socio-economic development, with the Global North comprising wealthy nations and the Global South including less affluent countries, reflecting global inequalities in wealth, power, and resources.
• Asylum: an asylum seeker is a person who has left their country and is seeking protection but has not yet been legally recognized as a refugee
• Refugee: someone who has fled due to risk of persecution or serious human rights violations and has been granted international protection.

• ICE: International Customs Enforcement Border Patrol (also known as Border Patrol) is a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS) responsible for border security and interior enforcement, including inspections, apprehensions, and removal processes.

  If you liked this episode, please rate and review the podcast on your favorite streaming platform. We appreciate your feedback.💛

  Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @closingthegappod ✨

  We want to hear from you! Email us at closingthegappod@gmail.com

  
  

  Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

  Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

Fatimata Chan is a poet, author, climate activist, speaker, and an award-winning scholar. She has founded multiple initiatives, published a poetry book, and takes different approaches to her activism such as through academia, policy, and art. Fatimata’s interconnected approach to human rights allows her to address multiple injustices at once, including gender inequality, racial discrimination, the disproportionate impacts of the climate crisis, and more.

Fatimata grew up in the Bronx, New York City. Her upbringing in one of the most underresourced communities in the city, along with her immigrant background, inspired her to begin her activism at a young age by advocating for policy change. Her activism expanded over the years to include mutual aid efforts, community building, creating accessible spaces in academia, and spreading joy through art.

We at Closing the Gap podcast acknowledge that the Bronx lies on unceded Munsee Lenape land.

Resources

• Fatimata’s Website

• Fatimata's LinkedIn

• Fatimata’s Linktree

• Poem published by the Malala Fund: What do criminals look like?

• Perfectly Imperfect Poetry Book on Thrift Books

People Mentioned

• Trayvon Martin

• Tamir Rice

• Sandra Bland

Organizations to Support

• The People's Forum

• BRIC Arts Media

Definitions

• Boycotting: to refuse to buy or handle goods, or to refuse to participate in an event, as a form of protest.

• Coalition: formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal.

• Colonialism: the practice of extending and maintaining political, social, economic, and cultural domination over a territory and its people, by another group of people who claim superiority.

• Doomscrolling: the act of spending an excessive amount of time reading or watching large quantities of negative news on the web and social media.

• Gender equality: equal access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, and the state of valuing different behaviors, aspirations, and needs equally.

• Lobbying: a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials.

• Mutual aid: an organizational model where voluntary, collaborative exchanges of resources and services for common benefit take place amongst community members to overcome social, economic, and political barriers to meeting common needs.

If you liked this episode, please rate and review the podcast on your favorite streaming platform. We appreciate your feedback.💛

Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @closingthegappod ✨

We want to hear from you! Email us at closingthegappod@gmail.com

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)