Hundreds of young people from around

Hundreds of young people from around the world gathered this week for an online summit that explored some of the most pressing environmental issues facing the planet, including climate change and pollution. The event, the Virtual Youth Forum, took place on the eve of World Environment Day, an annual celebration of the Earth. Organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Global Communications, the forum featured several young people who are helping to make the world a cleaner, greener place. They included Nisreem Elsaim, a Sudanese climate activist, and Nzambi Matee, a Kenyan entrepreneur whose company turns discarded plastic into paving stones. Matee, a 2020 United Nations Young Champion of the Earth, said she was encouraged to see the active role young people were taking in the “battle” to reverse decades of environmental decline.