Youth Climate Convening 2026: Zahida

Differences are beautiful… we may never be able to end them and we don’t have to! What matters is finding what we share and building a community from there. Zahida is doing exactly that. Zahida Akhter is the co-founder and CEO of Stand For Kashmiri Youth Trust. They began in 2011 as an informal circle of young people from Bandipora and Baramulla. Some were in college, some in school, some in jobs, and all of them wanted safe spaces to make decisions. It became a registered trust in 2017. Today it works on gender, health and climate with a youth-centric approach. It runs fellowships, including the Period Fellowship on sexual and reproductive health and rights, carries out research, and holds monthly community darbars. In its solar awareness programme, young women train for three to five months to assemble, install and repair solar products. Kashmir’s turbulent political climate makes social impact work even more challenging, but SKY Trust’s team marches on. When asked what she is taking back from the Youth Climate Convening, Zahida says: love and many relationships. Leaders get exhausted too, and need companionship. Zahida's call to action is simple… Change that lasts needs youth leaders in their own communities, and leaders who have people to lean on. 👉🏾 SKY Trust’s Period Fellowship supports thousands of menstruators every year! This year we are launching – Raahat, an initiative to support menstruators in rural Kashmir, to make sustainable periods a reality for 2,400 menstruators! 💚 Support Raahat. Donate now: https://pages.razorpay.com/raahat 🔍 Read more about Zahida's experience and the full post-event report of YCC 2026 : https://pluriversity.in/convenings/yo... 💡Are you a young climate leader? Nominate yourself for YCC 2027: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA... 🤝 Follow us to learn more about what these young change makers are up to!   / youthclimatecentre