Yasunidos, the Ecuadorian youth collective that launched a movement to preserve the most biodiverse place on earth, has been nominated for the Human Rights Tulip Award. Friday, October 10th is the last day to vote!
If they win, they would receive €100,000, which would supercharge the efforts of thousands of Ecuadorian youth to preserve the Amazon and to defend the indigenous communities that call it home.
With just a few thousand more votes, we can raise the funds needed to continue the fight to protect the very heart of the Amazon, the lungs of our planet. Let’s stand with them as they defend the Amazon.
Background on Yasunidos
In August 2013 Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa abandoned the Yasuní-ITT Initiative, a revolutionary proposal to keep the oil in the ground in the ITT block of the Yasuní National Park. Yasuní-ITT has been called the most biodiverse place on earth, and is home to two indigenous communities living in voluntary isolation.
In response, over 3,000 Ecuadorian youth organized to collect hundreds of thousands of signatures to force a popular referendum on the president’s decision. Despite all odds, they gathered nearly 800,000 signatures, 172,000 more than the required amount. For context, that would be the U.S. equivalent of 60,000 youth mobilizing to collect 16 million signatures.
More importantly, they created a national dialogue about the country’s relationship with the Amazon and with the natural world that has become one of the most pressing issues in Ecuador. While the government illegally invalidated hundreds of thousands of valid signatures, Yasunidos continues its fight. They are challenging the practices of Petroamazonas, the state oil company that is looking to drill Yasuní, building a global movement to preserve the Amazon, and are challenging the government’s decision at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
There are thousands of Ecuadorian youth who are mobilized to defend the Amazon. We want to channel that energy and commitment to build and maintain the movement to defend the Rights of Nature.
