Meimei Heng

Youth Engagement Officer of Climate Gen, 28 years old Background in International Relations

“You know life is fun when you cuss a little, use bad words, and get drunk”

Climate Change has never mattered to me, even though I participated in many activities about environmental issues during my school and volunteering times. Not until one day, I enrolled in a special subject class “Global Environmental Problems” and did research on the Textile and Fashion Industry for its impact on the environment. I learned how this huge and complex industry and current fashion-consumption practices result in a large amount of textile waste, toxic chemical pollution to the environment, and a high carbon footprint. It was an eye-opening study that I could have known before but never realized how those harmful practices contributed to Climate Change and the world we live in.

I was initially drawn to Climate Gen because of its member’s enthusiastic commitment to Climate Change. It makes me appreciate how these young and energetic people with different backgrounds come together with a common goal to raise awareness about environmental issues.

Reflecting on my experiences, working as a team can be challenging, especially when you are young and you have a different perspective toward things. Sometimes even with proper training and guidance, we still make mistakes and misunderstand one another. However, those kinds of things allow us to grow and learn from them. With that added, working as a team should give you a direction to set boundaries between personal and professional goals. Therefore, Climate Gen helps me develop resilience and adaptability which I need for my personal and professional growth.

My biggest achievement would be meeting new people and learning from them. It might sound cliché, but to me, Climate Gen members are one of those interesting individuals that I love to get to know.