Lily YangLiu

White Rock, BC, Canada

Pushing for youth participation in political and environmental decision-making.

Lily won for her achievements in the field of climate education. She provides curriculum, workshops, and recruits and trains youth to participate in climate negotiations.

2025 Brower Youth Award Winner, Lily YangLiu

More About Lily

Lily YangLiu’s life as an activist started at age 10, when she began canvassing for local candidates in Vancouver, Canada. By age 13, with than more than 100+ volunteer hours under her belt, she realized how often youth voices were tokenized in civic spaces. Those early experiences sparked her commitment to making political and environmental decision-making more inclusive of young people. To further that goal, YangLiu harnessed her love for creating community through fun and educational activities.

Today, YangLiu leads two interconnected initiatives that address gaps in climate education and youth representation. Through the K–12 Climate Literacy initiative, she co-develops curriculum for Grades 4 through 8 and advocates for early climate education. This program is currently being implemented and refined in schools across British Columbia. And as the director of the Katija Hyoungjoo Neuber Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding youth participation in decision-making spaces, she organizes youth delegations to the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank.

As an active member of YOUNGO, the official youth constituency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, YangLiu helps manage and support a network of over 10,000 young climate advocates worldwide. She also serves as a youth advisor for Children First Canada, advocating for children’s rights and civic engagement, and pushes for well-paying green jobs as a board member of Youth Climate Corps BC. Earlier this year, YangLiu was named one of the Top 25 Women of Influence in Canada by the Women of Influence organization.

YangLiu says all these years of advocacy work have taught her that “activism isn’t about noise; it’s about care, appreciation, and building inclusive communities.” That learning informs all the that she does today.