Students from Parami and Cherry Myay College join forces for climate justice

The Parami student-led Environmental Club has partnered with Cherry Myay College to organize “Solidarity for Empowerment: Youth Into Action,” an initiative aimed at empowering young people with knowledge of climate justice amid Myanmar’s ongoing political and environmental challenges.

The initiative was designed around three core objectives: to educate and empower participants through shared knowledge and practical discussions; to build local solidarity by bringing together students, neighbors, and elders; and to heal and reclaim hope through collective public action.

This collaboration builds on a long-standing relationship between Parami’s civic engagement club and Cherry Myay College’s environmental club, strengthened through years of joint activities. Through this partnership, the Environmental Club seeks to mobilize young people from both institutions in solidarity—encouraging engagement rooted in hope rather than cynicism during a time of climate change and political crisis.

To ensure the event remained relevant and encouraged critical thinking, the organizing team introduced three key themes: liberal arts education, data literacy, and climate justice. Rather than framing the initiative as a narrowly themed empowerment session, the organizers intentionally created a space for collective knowledge-building. Participants included not only students from Parami and Cherry Myay College, but also young people from civil society organizations in Taunggyi working across diverse sectors such as humanitarian response, human rights, food security, and environmental conservation.

“In the face of Myanmar’s dual crises—ongoing political instability and climate change—we introduced liberal arts education as a way to help young people develop critical thinking and a systems-based approach to complex problems. By sharing our lived experiences from Parami’s liberal arts model, we hoped to inspire participants to adapt these ideas within their own communities or pursue further educational journeys grounded in liberal arts learning,” explained Shawn La Man, President of the Parami student-led Environmental Club.

Through this framework, participants were encouraged to adapt liberal arts principles within their own communities or pursue further educational pathways grounded in interdisciplinary learning. Climate justice, in particular, was explored as a concept best understood through a liberal arts lens—one that equips young people to identify leverage points for meaningful intervention when confronting “wicked problems” shaped by inequality, conflict, and environmental degradation.

“For many participants, climate justice was a new concept,” said Shawn La Man. “Their curiosity and active participation reflected a growing interest in linking environmental issues with broader social realities.”

Shawn La Man added that the initiative helped participants build collective knowledge and deepen their understanding of resilience and justice. The Environmental Club hopes to continue fostering youth solidarity and expand inclusive civic engagement opportunities across Parami’s online campus.