A small non-profit from Antigua and Barbuda is making big waves on the international environmental stage, as two of its representatives have carried the island nation’s climate and sustainability priorities to back-to-back major global gatherings in Europe and Central Asia. Good Humans 268 Inc., a community-focused organization dedicated to local climate action and inclusive development, deployed two delegates to separate high-profile events this spring, putting the unique environmental challenges and progress of small island developing states in the global spotlight.
Kelisha Pigott, the group’s logistics coordinator, joined the closing ceremony of a landmark youth environmental collaboration between UNESCO and global food corporation Nestlé in Paris. Titled “UNESCO x Nestlé Youth Impact: Because You Matter – For Environmental Sustainability and Climate Action”, the initiative spotlights the next generation’s role in environmental action, providing financial grants, targeted mentorship, and skills-building support to 100 youth-led sustainability projects spanning every inhabited continent. Pigott’s participation in the Paris event gave her the chance to connect with young changemakers from across the globe and highlight the youth-driven work Good Humans 268 is advancing back home.
While Pigott engaged with youth environmental leaders in France, Joshuanette Francis, president of Good Humans 268 Inc., was in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Francis attended the 8th Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly and its accompanying meetings as part of the global Chemicals & Waste Youth Platform delegation. The quinquennial GEF Assembly gathers official representatives from all 186 GEF member countries to align global action on interconnected environmental crises, including accelerating biodiversity loss, global climate change, rampant pollution, widespread land degradation, and the critical gap in accessible climate and environmental financing for developing nations.
For Good Humans 268, participation in the GEF Assembly carries special personal significance. The organization’s flagship Student Community Service Recycling Project, which engages local students in building circular economy practices across Antigua and Barbuda, got its start thanks to seed funding from the GEF Small Grants Programme – an initiative designed to support community-led environmental action in developing countries. That early support allowed the group to grow from a local volunteer effort to an organization with the standing to represent its island nation on the global stage.
Leaders of Good Humans 268 say that attending these two international events delivered far more than just visibility for Antigua and Barbuda. The delegations returned home with new cross-border partnerships, fresh insights from successful environmental initiatives in other countries, and a clearer roadmap for expanding local work. The organization reaffirmed its long-term commitment to advancing urgent climate action, expanding disability inclusion in all its programming, improving local waste management infrastructure, and advancing equitable sustainable development across Antigua and Barbuda. Most importantly, the group says it will continue ensuring that the voices and priorities of this small island developing state are never overlooked in global environmental negotiations and decision-making.