Anjali Appadurai ’13Anjali Appadurai ’13 Credit: Earth in BracketsOn a day that was supposed to celebrate the contributions of youth at the Paris climate conference, a group of young Canadians stood before the world’s cameras and publicly called out their new young prime minister.

“Youth want to be heard, not just seen,” they chanted, each holding up at least one placard that both hid their face and showed one of their demands.

 The public display of disappointment in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau put on by the Canadian Youth Delegation didn’t quite square with the early impression the 43-year-old prime minister left during his brief appearance here at COP21.

“I feel that the hope that was generated around our shift in government has propelled us forward,” says 25-year old activist Anjali Appadurai, who is a former CYD member and is now with West Coast Environmental Law Association’s climate program.

“Sometimes there’s a little bit of … naiveté with that hope…”

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