28 year old Archana Soreng from tribal dominated Sundargarh district has made her village, state and country proud. A resident of Bihabandh village near Rajgangpur town, Archana belong to the Kharia tribe from Odisha. She was a youth advisor in the first cohort of the United Nations Secretary General’s Youth Advisory Group on climate change from 2020 to 2023. She was also invited by US president Joe Biden to speak at Youth Climate Summit in 2021.
Archana has been dedicated to reclaiming spaces and amplifying the perspectives of Indigenous peoples in the climate justice discourse. She has been working at global, regional, and national levels, connecting with Indigenous youth on research and documentation of Indigenous knowledge and practices related to climate justice and biodiversity conservation. Archana advocates for the preservation and promotion of these Indigenous knowledge systems and practices. Her work is at the intersection of climate justice, youth, and Indigenous peoples, with a focus on recognizing and enforcing the land and forest rights of Indigenous Peoples.
She was named a Skoll Fellow for 2024 in recognition of her work and participated in the Skoll World Forum this year, an annual convening by the Skoll Foundation.
She is committed to ensuring that climate finance and climate philanthropy are accessible to young people, Indigenous peoples, and local communities. Currently, she serves as a member of the Steering Committee of the Youth Climate Justice Fund.
Archana Soreng at Dharitri Youth conclave 2021
“It’s very necessary to empower women to lead as they can bring the change in all walks of life and make a difference on climate change.”