Kian Martin, a member of ACE’s Alumni Network and a freshman at UC Berkeley, has been chosen as a keynote speaker at this year’s annual Bioneers Conference, October 21-23, 2016. Bioneers brings together innovators, artists, leaders and visionaries to solve the world’s most pressing environmental and social challenges.

“Not only should youth be taken seriously in organizing and decision making, but we must be included in order to achieve real climate justice.”
—Kian Martin

Kian sees climate change as the product of a system of injustice, and is of the firm belief that in order to begin solving the world’s great problems, we must first recognize their intersectionality, make connections, and build global solidarity. They believe that an intersectional and inclusive grassroots movement for global justice and decolonization is the key to solving today’s problems.

It is this unwavering conviction that has led to some exciting opportunities for Kian to share their wisdom and influence others. Last year, Kian was the only youth speaker at the People’s Climate Rally in Silicon Valley, stating “Not only should youth be taken seriously in organizing and decision making, but we must be included in order to achieve real climate justice.”

They were also invited to be an trainer at this year’s Sierra Student Coalition SPROG training, which is a grassroots leadership training program that teaches tools for environmental and social justice activism to young folks across the country.

At Bioneers, Kian will be speaking about the dangers of primarily white climate organizations excluding marginalized voices, including the need to move toward a politic of liberation and abolition. They will also challenge the dominate conversation around intersectionality, which sometimes tokenizes people from frontline communities, rather than recognizing they have been leading the struggle for many generations.

ACE is so excited to support Kian in bringing their unique perspective and voice to this year’s Bioneers conference.