Belém, Pará, November 15, 2025 – In an unprecedented moment, the Children’s Summit concluded its activities this Saturday with the approval, in a final plenary, of the Children’s Charter, a document collectively built and led by children and adolescents. The charter expresses the perceptions, pain, expectations and demands of around 600 children and adolescents, from 0 to 17 years old, who took part in the movement held last week in Belém as part of the People’s Summit.
Over five days, children and adolescents from different territories—river islands, urban peripheries, quilombola communities, Indigenous lands, riverside communities and urban centers of the Amazon and other regions of Brazil—shared experiences about how climate change directly affects their lives. The program, documented and followed by the @cupuladasinfancias profile, brought together talking circles, workshops, cultural activities and care spaces, prioritizing listening and the autonomy of children.
In the charter, children and adolescents call out: “Take care of our planet now. We want to stay alive,” while reporting, in their own words, the real impacts of extreme heat, smoke from wildfires, the lack of trees in schools, polluted rivers and illness caused by the climate crisis.
Participation as a central pillar
The final plenary, led by adolescents, marked a symbolic and political moment: children occupying a space traditionally reserved for adults. “We don’t have power, money or important positions, but we have the future,” states one of the most striking passages of the document. Another central point is the demand that children be genuinely heard: “Adults must do their part, because we are doing ours. And they must listen to us—because many times they tell us to be quiet when we try to speak.”
Throughout the week, adolescents and children had opportunities not only to express themselves and take part in the agenda parallel to COP30, but also to engage in dialogue with international bodies and with politicians, authorities and government representatives, including the Minister of Health, Alexandre Padilha, First Lady Janja Lula da Silva, and the Secretary for Continuing Education for Youth and Adults and Inclusion at the Ministry of Education, among others.
About the Children’s Summit
Created as an official part of the People’s Summit, the initiative positions children and adolescents as protagonists in the climate debate. In addition to bringing together more than 600 participants, the space involved educators, civil society organizations, cultural collectives and community leaders who work daily to guarantee rights and promote climate justice from the perspective of children.
To ensure listening and recognition of everyone’s participation, including early childhood (ages 0 to 6), specialists adapted the methodology, used games and playful activities, and brought babies to interact in nature-based spaces.
The Children’s Charter will now be forwarded to civil society representatives, governments, international delegations and bodies involved in COP30, reinforcing the urgency of climate responses that take into account those who already feel, today, the effects of global warming.