Yasmine Rugarli
Yasmine Rugarli is the founder and director of United Rising, an organization established in 2023 dedicated to advancing climate justice, human rights, and systemic change. With a strong background in International and EU Law, she holds a Master’s in Law and Sustainability, which she leverages to bridge legal frameworks with urgent climate action and social justice advocacy. As a researcher and advocate, Yasmine explores the intersectional challenges faced by Indigenous communities, the role of ecofeminism, and food sovereignty in Global South contexts. Her work aims to amplify marginalized voices, highlight the structural inequalities embedded in environmental crises, and promote inclusive, rights-based solutions to global sustainability challenges.
Session
As the effects of the climate crisis become increasingly evident, it is imperative to recognize our collective responsibility in fostering spaces where those on the frontlines—who not only bear the brunt of environmental challenges but also hold essential solutions—are meaningfully included in decision-making.
United Rising, an organization dedicated to environmental protection and fundamental human rights, presents a workshop on Intersectional and Storytelling Approaches to the Climate Crisis. This session will explore how intersectionality provides a holistic framework for understanding how overlapping identities shape individual experiences—highlighting the ways structural inequalities such as patriarchy, racism, colonialism, and capitalism intensify systems of oppression and exclusion. Storytelling, deeply embedded in Indigenous cultures, has long served as a powerful tool for truth-telling, resistance, and the preservation of communal memory across generations. This workshop will explore how narrative-based advocacy can amplify marginalized voices, challenge dominant power structures, and drive transformative climate action. Through interactive discussions and participatory activities, participants will gain practical insights into how intersectional storytelling can reshape climate discourse, ensuring that those most affected by environmental injustices are not only heard but centered in solutions.
An educational institution can benefit from this workshop by equipping students and educators with critical tools to deconstruct dominant, Western-centric narratives on the climate crisis. It challenges traditional academic knowledge by centring grassroots perspectives, lived experiences, and Indigenous storytelling as valid and essential sources of insight. For teachers outside the sector, the workshop offers practical methods to integrate intersectionality into their teaching, helping students recognize their own positionality and biases while fostering a deeper sense of responsibility toward just and inclusive climate action. The goal is not to diminish the value of academic knowledge but to address persistent gaps that traditional scientific knowledge alone cannot fill.