Cristhyan Jossias Beker Quintero is an 18-year-old climate and human rights advocate from Panamá bringing young people, including Indigenous youth, into local climate policy decisions.

Quintero is developing a youth engagement initiative in Bocas del Toro, where young people experience the daily effects of climate change but have historically had little access to decision-making. Through youth-led training, dialogue and advocacy, the initiative connects participants with public institutions, local governments and international organizations. Its purpose is not simply to solicit young people’s views but to create an ongoing role for them in shaping policy and community responses, particularly for Indigenous youth and others whose experience of climate risk is rarely represented in institutional settings.

As founder and coordinator, Quintero organizes the initiative’s programs and coordinates strategic partners across involved government bodies and international organizations. He’s responsible for turning those relationships into sustained channels through which young people can be heard.