Youth in Action + Movements in Action

[PT] A versão em português está disponível no Relatório dos Dias Donut Global 2025 do Donut Brasil. Você pode baixar o PDF no fim da página, em Attachments.

On 18 October 2025, Donut Brasil held the “Youth in Action” Dialogue Circle as part of the programme of Global Donut Days 2025 in Brazil. The activity took place at the Museum of Tomorrow, in Rio de Janeiro, as part of the COP Warm-Up Occupation (Ocupação Esquenta COP), and brought together 42 participants, including young people, representatives of social movements and collectives, and individuals interested in the climate agenda, social issues and new economic models.

Context and Objectives

The meeting aimed to strengthen youth leadership in climate debates, particularly in the context of preparations for COP30, by creating an accessible space for learning, listening and the exchange of experiences.

The proposal was grounded in the recognition that children and young people are not merely “the future”, but central actors in the present, directly affected by the climate crisis and essential to the construction of fairer and more regenerative collective responses.

Methodology, Facilitation and Public Participation

The event began with a presentation by Ana Lavaquial, who introduced the audience to Doughnut Economics, presenting the diagram and its core concepts, such as planetary boundaries, social foundations and the safe and just space for humanity. This moment was key to establishing a shared understanding and making the debate accessible to participants with different levels of familiarity with the topic. This was followed by an interactive quiz on climate change and new economies, inviting the audience to actively participate and learn in a light, collaborative way about urgent and current issues.

Next, poet Maria Clara was invited to recite an original poem, creating a moment of sensitisation and reflection that connected reason, emotion and imagination before the start of the dialogue circle.

After this initial journey, Paula Marins (Donut Brasil) invited the panellists to the stage, officially opening the Youth in Action Dialogue Circle, with the participation of Carolina Maciel (Capitu), Gaio Jorge and Marina Guião.

Throughout the discussion, the audience participated actively, sharing questions, comments and their own experiences, reinforcing the horizontal character of the gathering.

The dialogue was further enriched by the screening of videos with questions sent by special guests, broadening the range of voices present in the circle. These included a video from Kate Raworth, founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab and creator of the Doughnut framework, as well as a testimonial from Davi, a child from Maré and participant in the Mini COP — a project that promoted access to knowledge about the COP and listened to children from communities across different territories in Brazil.

Themes Addressed

Throughout the dialogue circle, reflections emerged on the effective participation of young people (and children) in climate decision-making spaces, the lessons learned from experiences at previous COPs, and the challenges and opportunities on the road to COP30. The discussion also addressed the role of collaborative networks, social innovation and regenerative solutions developed from within territories, particularly in contexts of heightened social and environmental vulnerability.

The provocation sent by video by Kate Raworth highlighted the symbolic importance of Global Donut Days returning to Rio de Janeiro, the city where Doughnut Economics was publicly presented for the first time during Rio+20, in 2012. Building on this trajectory, Kate introduced the metaphor that Doughnut Economics has now reached its “adolescence” — a phase marked by deep transformations — and posed the question to the audience: “What will we do with it now?”

In this context, Carolina Maciel offered a reflection that synthesised the debate on climate justice and intergenerational responsibility, stating that “the child we were is our ancestor, and we are ancestors of the future”, inviting the audience to reflect on what kind of ancestor we are being today and on the impacts of the decisions made in the present.

“The child we were is our ancestor.
 And we are ancestors of the future.
 The question is: what kind of ancestor
 are we being today?”
— Carolina Maciel

Impacts and Outcomes

The “Youth in Action” Dialogue Circle consolidated itself as a space for learning, active listening and collective sensitisation, combining different languages — conceptual, interactive and artistic — to broaden public engagement.

The active participation of attendees, combined with the spontaneous reach among visitors to the Museum of Tomorrow, contributed to the dissemination of the principles of Doughnut Economics and to strengthening the debate on climate justice, youth participation and intergenerational responsibility. By connecting past, present and future — from Rio+20 to COP30 — the gathering reaffirmed the role of Donut Brasil as a facilitator of dialogues that amplify voices, build bridges between generations and drive the collective construction of fairer and more regenerative futures.

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In the afternoon, Movements in Action brought together invited initiatives in a space for exchange and collective building. One of the highlights was the creation of a collaboration matrix — a large visual panel. Through it, each participant shared concrete challenges from their work and invited others to reflect on how they could contribute to addressing them. The process made visible the many possible connections between movements and revealed strong potential for collaboration, which may translate into joint actions in the short term.

More than a one-off event, the Movement of Movements emerged as an invitation to continuity: the building of a living network capable of joining forces, aligning purposes and acting collectively towards an economy that cares for life.

An intense, inspiring and meaningful day, marking another chapter in the history of Donut Brasil.

Organisation

Youth in Action
Organisation: Paula Marins and Ana Lavaquial (Donut Brasil)
Partnership: Museum of Tomorrow, IDG and the Rio de Janeiro City Hall (Culture)
Support: Umma and Wellbeing Alliance

Movements in Action 

Organisation: Ana Lavaquial (Donut
Brasil) e Mel Bivar (Umma)
Partnership: Museum of Tomorrow, IDG and the Rio de Janeiro City Hall (Culture)
Support: Umma e Wellbeing Alliance