In commemorating World Youth Skills Day on July 15th, under the theme “Youth empowerment through AI (artificial intelligence) and digital skills,” we remember that our planet’s future and its peoples’ well-being depend heavily on how well we teach young people today. In a world threatened by accelerating human-caused climate change and global health crises, an urgent question emerges: Are we giving youth the right digital and AI-driven skills to respond effectively to these complex, interconnected challenges?
Young people are entering workplaces transformed by AI, automation and digital disruption (changes to an industry due to new technology), all powerful tools, but only if our youth are prepared to harness them. We must reimagine education and training, making AI and digital skills part of students’ foundations. This isn’t only for career success; these technologies are important instruments for positive climate action and public health innovation. More than job-ready graduates, the future demands conscious, ethical leaders who can use technology to protect the planet and promote well-being for all.
AI is no longer science fiction. It is here and growing fast. Tools like ChatGPT, DALLE and Gemini are being used by over 70 per cent of teenagers globally. In classrooms, these tools can personalise learning, allow remote access globally and create pathways to emerging careers. However, AI usage requires thoughtful rules and regulations. Digital literacy and AI ethics are being integrated curricula-wide to help students use these tools responsibly.
Just as AI is transforming education, it is also revolutionising approaches to climate change and public health. AI models can predict extreme weather, optimise energy use, and drive sustainable agriculture innovation, while simultaneously powering disease surveillance, early-detection systems, and digital public health campaigns. Though these uses may seem very different, they aren’t; in fact, they all help to fight climate change, increasingly recognised as the 21st century’s greatest health threat, and support public health efforts.
Climate change’s triggers and causes, including rising temperatures, polluted air, unsafe water, and shifting disease patterns, also disproportionately affect young people.
Therefore, preparing youth with digital skills is crucial to survival and leadership. Youth should be equipped to create smart early-warning systems, design health apps tailored to climate-sensitive diseases, and raise public awareness using digital storytelling. Consider a young software developer designing an AI-based chatbot to answer questions about heatstroke prevention during heatwaves, or a team of student entrepreneurs creating a mobile app to map air quality in urban centres. These are real tools to help people address climate and health issues, and they begin with access to training, tools, and trust.
Achieving these aims requires societal collaboration. Governments must invest in policies and infrastructure supporting AI and digital training for all, particularly for under-resourced communities. Institutions like the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of T& (COSTAATT) already play a key role, working with partners like EarthMedic and EarthNurse, to raise awareness for environmental and health issues. Together, we can create solutions to provide youth with the education necessary to develop tech-based solutions for these issues. Partnerships like these must be nurtured and expanded.
The Caribbean region must also reframe how we view youth. They aren’t just learners and consumers. They are creators, innovators, and changemakers. Globally, young people are founding climate-tech start-ups, building AI-powered health tools, and developing ‘citizen science’ digital platforms. One example is BlueSky Analytics, founded by siblings Kshitij and Abhilasha Purwar in India. Using satellite data and AI-powered analytics, the company monitors air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate risks. Their flagship app, BreeZo, maps real-time air pollution levels for 200+ locations, providing smartwatch users with advice when air pollution reaches dangerous levels.
Even the United Nations agrees that inclusive AI is crucial for achieving sustainability. Youth must be central to this agenda, not on the margins. COSTAATT recognises that working towards sustainability requires more than curriculum changes: inclusive digital entrepreneurship must be cultivated. Governments and development agencies must fund youth initiatives that design technology at all education levels.
Within these spaces, young people use transferable, progressive skills to work on real-world problems like food insecurity, deforestation, maternal health and water quality. These spaces should also extend special outreach to marginalised groups, including young women, migrants, and rural youth, who too often face barriers to technology training and participation.
As educators, our role in this transformation is pivotal. Through ongoing professional development, peer exchange, and access to cutting-edge tools, we create spaces for students to co-design curricula, lead peer training, and launch community-based digital initiatives. Youth should actively participate in shaping their learning journey.
World Youth Skills Day isn’t just a celebration; it’s a call to action and commitment, to reimagining education as a driver for climate resilience, robust public health, and social transformation. Led by youth using AI and digital tools, and by incorporating climate and health concerns into our skills agenda, we can shape a more technologically advanced, healthier and more sustainable world.
In 2025, let’s move from potential to progress, with young people leading the charge.
Co-Authors from the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT):
Lalita Ramlal-Chirkoot is the Dean of the School of Workforce
lrchirkoot@costaatt.edu.tt
Kevin Ramsoobhag is the vice president of the Division of Information Technology and Digital Transformation
kramsoobhag@costaatt.edu.tt
Delamae Wilson is the Dean of the School of Environment, Circular Economy and Sustainability
dwilson@costaatt.edu.tt
The foregoing was a weekly column by EarthMedic and EarthNurse NGO to help readers understand and address the climate and health crisis.