Conversations for Conservation : Youth and Climate Change with Youth Speaker Dyanne Jiang

Youth and Climate Change: Blindsighting Emphasis

We see just as much as we don’t see. Our perception of our lives is greatly influenced by the invisible world hidden by our own bias and emphasis on some thoughts, emotions, and ideas while other topics are overlooked. Specifically, from our negativity bias to our self-importance, we rarely look at the climate crisis from all angles. To truly see what we have missed our entire lives, we need to make decisions based on grounded facts free of personal preference. In this talk, blind spots in our beliefs and gaps in our empathy will be filled, connecting people from the past and future in a unified, fearless view of climate change.

About Dyanne Jiang

Dyanne is a 17-year-old youth climate activist from Burlington, Ontario. She is currently in her last year of high school at Appleby College. In the fall, she will be attending Dartmouth College in New Hampshire for her undergraduate degree. Dyanne’s journey in sustainability began in 2021 with her non-profit organization The WasteZero Project, which focuses on decreasing food waste in school communities. Since then, she has gone on to join various youth climate organizations such as the Ontario Nature Youth Council (ONYC), Climate Action Accelerator Program (CAAP), Toronto Youth Environmental Council (TYEC), and Generation Green Youth Stakeholder Council. For the past three years, Dyanne has also been collaborating with University of Toronto’s School of the Environment’s COBWEB program, conducting her own original research regarding the impacts of ozone on human health. Last year, Dyanne was recognized by Starfish Canada as one of the Top 25 Under 25 Youth Environmentalists of Canada and invited to join the National Speakers’ Bureau. Outside of her work, Dyanne is a competitive figure skater and skiing instructor, also enjoying theatre and vocals.