16 Punta Arenas Antarctic Youth Coalition: Lessons Learned and South-South Reflections From Young People

Katia Macías Díaz

Antarctic Youth Coalition, Australia

Abstract

In February 2020, on the eve of the world going into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, five young leaders representing the cities of Hobart (Australia), Christchurch (New Zealand), Punta Arenas (Chile), Ushuaia (Argentina) and Cape Town (South Africa) travelled to King George Island (Antarctica) to launch an Antarctic Youth Coalition. The initiative was part of the Australian Research Council Linkage project Antarctic Cities led at Western Sydney University by Professor Juan Salazar. In this chapter, Punta Arenas representative Katia Macías Díaz presents a first-person account of that experience as a teacher and young leader and the consequent establishment of a youth coalition across five Antarctic gateway cities, and its role in South‒South cultural diplomacy.

Keywords

Antarctic Youth Coalition, Antarctic cities, youth participation, youth leadership

In 2019, I was selected as the Punta Arenas Youth Ambassador for the Antarctic Cities Youth Expedition (ACYE) as part of an Australian Research Council Linkage Project (2017‒2021) led by Professor Juan Salazar from Western Sydney University (Salazar et al., 2020, 2021, 2022). The expedition’s main objective was to bring together five young leaders, one from each of the five so-called Antarctic gateway cities, and travel to the Antarctic Peninsula to conceive and develop an international, South‒South, Antarctic Youth Coalition. When I received the news about my selection, I was overjoyed: I was going to travel to Antarctica! As I began to familiarise myself with the project and the history of the Antarctic continent, I also started to hone my critical and cultural thinking skills. However, intrusive thoughts and doubts plagued me at night. What could I, a young teacher with no knowledge of Antarctic science, contribute to an international project of this magnitude? How would we create a global youth organisation in 7 days? How would I motivate young people from Magallanes to join the network? These questions were all answered before, during and after the expedition. Upon returning home, I was finally able to silence those intrusive thoughts.

The Antarctic Cities project sought to study the relationship that five gateway cities to Antarctica – Punta Arenas, Ushuaia, Christchurch, Hobart and Cape Town – had with Antarctica and with each other. One of the main focuses of this project was to incorporate the contemporary, diverse and rarely heard perspectives of the young people who live in these territories, whether on Antarctic issues, citizen participation or public policy. The recruitment process was quite competitive: I had to record a video and upload it to YouTube, answering the question, “How do you think your city relates to Antarctica, including historical connections and a look to the future?” In addition, I had to prepare my CV, two references, and participate in a telephone interview. I went through the entire process with great hope and conviction that I could be selected, as the requirements matched my experience, personality and convictions. They were looking for young people between the ages of 18 and 29 years, leaders in their communities with a deep-rooted regional identity, a commitment to social and environmental issues and a global outlook.

From the moment I was selected, I embarked on a journey of deep learning, not only about the project but also about the history of Antarctica and my city. It was during this process that I answered this intrusive question: What could a young teacher with no scientific knowledge contribute to an international project of this magnitude? My contribution came from the ordinary: from a female leadership perspective in the classroom and a vision of protecting and caring for the environment. It came from the desire to democratise knowledge and to think about how a young woman who was born and raised in a city that is the “gateway to Antarctica” never had any real opportunities to learn about this continent at school, or how she had reached the age of 25 years without knowing the importance of Antarctica for the planet. My contribution was education, diversity and the desire to leave the world better than I found it.

During the Expedition

In February 2020, I finally met my fellow travellers: Caleb from Christchurch, Florencia from Ushuaia, Chloe from Hobart, Rudzani from Cape Town, and the researchers behind the project (Antarctica Cities): Juan from Western Sydney University, Elle from the University of Tasmania, and Elías from the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH).^[1] Together we embarked on a week-long journey to King George Island in the South Shetland Islands, where we were hosted by the Chilean Antarctic Institute at the Professor Julio Escudero base. We spent seven days getting to know each other, exploring the landscape, seeing the wildlife, talking to scientists and logistics personnel, visiting international bases, and beginning to create the Antarctic Youth Coalition (AYC). How could we create an organisation in seven days? We didn’t – but that is where the foundations of the AYC began. Every afternoon we sat down to talk, write and plan our strategy, mission and vision. Antarctica played its part too. Our mentors were key to this process, as were our diverse backgrounds and our multidisciplinary approach. This is where we began to reimagine the relationship between our cities and Antarctica, and also rethink the role that our communities and we have in the future of this continent.

After the Expedition

When we returned from the expedition to Antarctica, I was enthusiastic and convinced about the project. However, a few weeks later, COVID-19 paralysed the world, and with that came uncertainty, discouragement and frustration. Far from giving up, I decided to adapt. If we couldn’t bring people together in-person, we would do it virtually. I started with what I had at hand: my own Scout group, where several children and young people showed curiosity about Antarctica. Together with them, we organised virtual talks with polar scientists, created educational material and followed the iceberg route, part of the “Institutional Antarctic Seal” program of the GAIA Antarctic Research Centre of the University of Magallanes (Soto, 2020). In this process, I discovered that there was an interest in Antarctic knowledge in my community; all that was needed was to make it accessible and entertaining. These activities gradually restored my motivation and inspired me to take the next step: to openly invite other young people from Punta Arenas who wanted to join the Coalition. The difficulty was in how to do it. How could I motivate young people from Magallanes to become part of this network? The first thing I did was to approach social media and the local press. Our target audience was young people between the ages of 18 and 29 years, and in my experience, most of them used Instagram as a platform for interaction, especially in the context of a global pandemic that forced us to communicate remotely. So, in September 2020, I posted a call on my personal Instagram inviting young people from Magallanes to a Zoom meeting to join the Punta Arenas Antarctic Youth Coalition. I remember the exact date: 12 September 2020. There were seven of us participating in that first virtual meeting, each connecting from their homes in different parts of the city (and the country). It was exciting to see in their faces the mixture of enthusiasm and nerves that I also felt. That afternoon, we formally decided to launch AYC PUQ,^[2], inspired by the strategy created during the expedition, but adapting it to our reality in southern Chile. Of those seven original members, four are still active today, and one of them is even the current president of our organisation.^[3]

The Punta Arenas Antarctic Youth Coalition: looking back, forming this team was an exercise in trust and shared vision. From the beginning, we wanted to replicate the inclusive spirit of the expedition: we set out to bring together young people from diverse disciplines, generations and territories, with a focus on female leadership, diversity and inclusion, and a passion for environmental protection, transformative education, and building an Antarctic identity in our communities. Diversity was our strength. In the words of one of our founding members, we sought “to involve not only scientists, but also artists, lawyers, teachers, journalists – young people from all fields united by their interest in Antarctica” (“Hito en Punta Arenas: Coalición de jóvenes antárticos ahora es fundación,” 2023). We were clear that Antarctica is not an issue that affects only scientists, but encompasses global social, cultural, educational and climatic dimensions, and that our coalition could be instrumental in providing tools for young people to discover and exercise their power as agents of change in society.

Since March 2023, the Punta Arenas Antarctic Youth Coalition has been a foundation in Chile (“Hito en Punta Arenas: Coalición de jóvenes antárticos ahora es fundación,” 2023). Through the dissemination of Antarctic knowledge, our foundation seeks to build a network of young guardians to protect the future of Antarctica, fostering sustainable communities and interconnected urban identities. Since our inception, we have had three female presidents, and currently, the board of directors is composed entirely of women. In addition, we have carried out more than 200 outreach activities promoting the notion of an “Antarctic city”. Our impact has been exponential, achieving collaboration agreements with national and international institutions. We even took a giant step forward by becoming collaborators in a project led by the University of Tasmania, together with the Municipality of Hobart and funded by the Council for Relations between Australia and Latin America (COALAR), in which we will support the creation of the Antarctic Youth Coalition in Hobart.

Reflections From AYC: Citizen Participation and Cultural Diplomacy

The AYC promotes coordination among territories, youth, and institutions in a joint effort to achieve a sustainable future for both Antarctica and the southern hemisphere. As Salazar et al. (2022) point out, both the expedition and the coalition were conceived as an unprecedented experiment in South‒South cultural diplomacy and youth participation in Antarctic affairs. Three years later, we can affirm that this “experiment” has become a concrete reality: AYC has become a platform that allows young leaders to express their visions for the environmental and cultural care of the Antarctic region, embracing the values of cooperation, science and peace that the continent symbolises. This experience demonstrates that the voice of young people, historically marginalised in debates about the future of Antarctica, is necessary for more democratic and diverse governance, which arises from civil society and, in particular, from young people in the cities that inhabit the Southern Ocean.

In our case, we work directly on SDG 11 by promoting sustainable cities and communities that recognise their link with Antarctica and integrate environmental education into our community. We also align ourselves with SDG 16 by strengthening spaces for youth dialogue, citizen participation and active, bottom-up work with local and global institutions. Every initiative we led and promoted was aimed at generating a lasting and meaningful impact: from workshops in schools and outreach activities to meetings with key players in Antarctic governance.

In short, what began as an “experiment” (Salazar et al., 2022) has now become a youth movement capable of building bridges between local communities and international entities. From Punta Arenas, we raise a voice that turns action into a collective mission: to be protectors of Antarctica and our shared future.

Reflections of an Antarctic Leader

In 2019/2020, my nights were filled with doubts and intrusive thoughts about my role. Today, after years of volunteer work with the Antarctic Youth Coalition, I have clearer answers: I discovered that it is not necessary to have a master’s or doctorate degree to contribute or lead; it is enough to have a strong identity, a commitment to my community, and the conviction necessary to motivate others. The doubts that once made me tremble turned into momentum; they led me to recognise that my personal mission is to open spaces for more young people to raise their voices and build a more democratic and multidisciplinary Antarctic identity, one that is born from civil society in the southern hemisphere. What began as a journey full of uncertainty became a compass and my life’s mission. Leading is not about giving all the answers but about listening, connecting and shaping a collective project. It is also about knowing when to step aside so that others can empower themselves and coordinate a large team of volunteers. My leadership is not mine alone; it reflects a network that dared to get involved and participate where previously there were no designated spaces, visibility, or opportunities for young people or civil society. Each step we took together opened up a new path, transforming absence into presence and silence into a collective force that today resonates beyond our city.

Author Note

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Katia Macías Díaz.

Email: katia.maciasdiaz@gmail.com.

Acknowledgments

The Antarctic Youth Coalition and the 2020 Antarctic Cities Youth Expedition were funded as part of Australian Research Council Linkage Project LP160100210 led by Professor Juan Francisco Salazar at Western Sydney University, and with support from the Instituto Antártico Chileno in Punta Arenas, The University of Tasmania in Hobart, and The Latin American Centre of Asia–Pacific Excellence (LatAm CAPE) in New Zealand.

SDG Alignment

Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities

Target 11.4: Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage

Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions

Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels

Cite This Chapter

Macías Díaz, K. (2026). Punta Arenas Antarctic Youth Coalition: Lessons learned and South-South reflections from young people. In L. Naidoo, S. Gannon, C. Woodrow, C. H. Díaz, V. Lopez, & J. F. Salazar (Eds.), Sur-Sur Southern knowledges: Education, sustainability and social transformation. Western Open Books. https://doi.org/10.61588/HGMT4758

Attribution

Except where otherwise noted, this work by Katia Macías Díaz is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Research Integrity Statement

Ethics approval was not required for this publication as it does not report primary research involving human participants, identifiable human data, or animals.

The authors declare no known competing financial or non-financial interests that could have influenced the content of this publication.

References

Hito en Punta Arenas: Coalición de jóvenes antárticos ahora es fundación [Milestone in Punta Arenas: Coalition of Antarctic youth is now a foundation]. (2023, October 9). Radio Polar. https://www.radiopolar.com/hito-en-punta-arenas-coalicion-de-jovenes-antarticos-ahora-es-fundacion

Salazar, J. F., James, P., Leane, E., & Magee, L. (2021). Antarctic Cities: From Gateways to Custodial Cities. Western Sydney University. Institute for Culture and Society. https://researchers.westernsydney.edu.au/en/publications/antarctic-cities-from-gateways-to-custodial-cities/

Salazar, J. F., Leane, E., Marx, K., Magee, L., Khan, M., & James, P. (2020, 30 November). Custodians of Antarctica: How 5 gateway cities are embracing the icy continent. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/custodians-of-antarctica-how-5-gateway-cities-are-embracing-the-icy-continent-148006

Salazar, J. F., Leane, E., Roldán, G., Fraser, C., Macías Díaz, K., Power, C., … Barticevic, E. (2022). The Antarctic youth coalition: an experiment in citizen participation and south–south cultural diplomacy. The Polar Journal, 12(1), 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/2154896X.2022.2062560

Soto, A. (2020, October 6). La ruta del iceberg [The iceberg route]. La Prensa Austral. https://laprensaaustral.cl/2020/10/06/la-ruta-del-iceberg/