Adrian Lasimbang is the founder of TONIBUNG, a social enterprise that promotes capacity building and renewable energy for rural communities in Malaysia. He spoke about making technology accessible and involving everyone in community conversations:

"The key to making sure no one is excluded in the process is investing time to stay with the community to understand the dynamics and how challenges are managed in each community. 

"For our organisation, we use the community-based model involving focus group discussions with youth, elderly, vulnerable and women. Moving to this listening and seeing approach, and understanding the expectations of the community is key.

"We also work carefully to make the technology accessible to the community - providing training and hand-holding to help the community fully embrace the technology. 

"Too much technology can exclude a lot of people, especially older generations, so we are careful what tech we bring to the communities and what is appropriate culturally. And it’s not just excluding groups but also excluding knowledge that can happen in the process. For example, we have done some mapping and used GIS technology but have tried to make traditional knowledge part of this process also."

Annette McGill

Cacica Angohó, leader of Aldeia Katurãma of the Pataxó Hã-hã-hãe, gave powerful testimony about her fight for climate justice.

She reported:

"Our community has been established inside a nature reserve, inside a city that discriminates against us – and against me as a woman environmental leader. We are fighting against miners destroying the nature reserve, and against climate change.

"Since I am a leader and a woman - those of us who are women indigenous leaders are not listened to and not noticed.

"We face various forms of racial discrimination. Those of us in different parts of Brazil from a mixed indigenous backgrond can't apply to the same funds as those from the Amazon.

"We are fighting against this prejudice."

Annette McGill