Recipient of the WIN WIN Youth Award 2025
As a young global changemaker from Mauritius, he has effectively connected youth with decision-makers, ensuring that young voices are meaningfully included in shaping the policies that define our shared future. For his outstanding leadership in climate action and youth empowerment, Juan Pierre is awarded the WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Youth Award 2025.
Juan Pierre
"When I started this journey five years ago, I was just a kid with big dreams and a comically oversized sense of responsibility—like showing up to put out a forest fire armed with nothing but a water pistol and stubborn optimism. That optimism found its match in every young person, organization, and mentor who believed our island nation could lead global conversations on climate justice.
I'm truely thankful for the WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award, that amplifies our collective voice. I accept the WIN WIN Youth Award with profound gratitude and the promise that this isn't the final chapter—it's merely the end of the introduction
The future we're building together isn't just sustainable. It's unstoppable."
- Juan Pierre
THE BACKGROUND
Juan Pierre, 20, from Mauritius, is an ambitious leader and changemaker in climate action and sustainable policy development.
Coming from a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), a group of nations among the most vulnerable to climate change, he is taking extensive action to build resilience and advance climate policy, youth leadership, and innovation. Grounded in science and research, his work has turned ideas into real impact, making him a trailblazer for social justice and sustainable development.
JUAN'S LEADERSHIP AND IMPACT
Juan has already realised remarkable contributions in international relations and national innovation and development, and has contributed to policy, research, and climate finance mechanisms in organisations such as the World Bank, EU, UNFCCC, and UNICEF. His collective achievement over the last five years led to him becoming the youngest member of the UN CTCN Expert roaster.
Recognising that true representation demands collective voices, he spearheaded a nationwide consultation as Head Youth Consultant to the Ministry of Finance in Mauritius, engaging 13,500 young people and over 30 organisations to shape impactful policy reforms. His work has secured major investments of 900 million MUR in innovative sustainability projects and contributed to structural changes, including access to free internet for young people and its impact on national mental health policy.
LOOKING AHEAD
When we asked Juan where he see himself in the coming years, he answered:
"A decade from now, I want to be fully immersed in active politics, hopefully juggling the dual portfolios of Minister of Environment and Attorney General. Beyond policy implementation, I dream of establishing an Ivy Trust Fund providing international education opportunities for 10 young changemakers annually—selected not by test scores but by their demonstrated community impact.
Twenty years forward, I intend to make history as my country's youngest president, using this platform to scale our sustainability models across the African continent as Chair of the African Union. Because the greatest achievements start as "unrealistic" dreams before becoming inevitable milestones."