Kathmandu: Recognizing the need for stronger collaboration and collective action, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and Arctic Circle jointly launched the 2025 HKH–Arctic Youth Leadership Forum in Reykjavík, Iceland, on October 18.
The initiative marks the first-ever cross-regional youth platform aimed at connecting voices from the polar and mountain regions.
According to the press statement, climate and environmental change are having disproportionate negative effects on the world’s young people, who keenly feel the impacts on their homes, cultures, and the future. This is especially felt by youth in two of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions: the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) and the Arctic.
The HKH is warming at twice the global average, while the Arctic is warming nearly four times faster. At the heart of this crisis are the young people of these regions, yet they are underrepresented in global decision-making on climate change impacts and action.
During the 2025 Arctic Circle Assembly, ICIMOD Director General, Pema Gyamtsho, and Arctic Circle Chairman, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson officially introduced six young people from the HKH countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, and six from the Arctic – Canada, Norway, and the United States as champions of the Hindu Kush Himalaya-Arctic Youth Leadership Forum.
Moreover, the forum is set to connect youth leaders from both regions to build solidarity, amplifying local and mountain youth voices towards co-creating sustainable and inclusive climate solutions.
“The fight against climate change cannot be won by one region. Every region, every nation, must cooperate. Just winning the fight in one part of the world is not enough. All of us have to unite. And who is better to take this fight against climate change? The youth. They have the time, they have the energy, they have the intelligence, they have the competence, the passion, and the enthusiasm,” said Pema Gyamtsho, ICIMOD Director General. “We have established the Hindu Kush Himalaya–Arctic Youth Forum with that hope and aspiration. They already have the capacity, but we are giving them the platform and the voice.”
“We have always emphasised very strongly at the Arctic Circle to have young people involved, and I think one of the unique features of the Arctic Circle is the extraordinary number of young people who take part. Now we are expanding this to a new level – bringing young people together from the Arctic and the Hindu Kush Himalaya regions. I hope that will be the beginning of a very active cooperation between the younger generation of these two very important regions of our planet,” said Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Arctic Circle Chairman.
Through a one-year fellowship, 12 youth champions is set to build their knowledge, skills, and networks to lead from the frontline of the climate crisis, bringing local realities and experiences to global climate platforms.
