_{Response to a comment from Peter McCartney (bottom right) about the pipeline. Top left: Damon Gameau. Top right: Naisha Khan. Bottom left: Nipâwi Kakinoosit.}

We were so grateful to have 2040 filmmaker Damon Gameau join us for a panel discussion about the climate crisis (link to watch at the bottom). Damon’s film is so needed right now and we thank him for making this thought-provoking, hopeful, positive film. 

In a time where the British Columbia government increases permits for old-growth forest logging, on the back of a bill by the Brazilian government to sell the Amazon rainforest as private land, and over the past month, 500 fires have been recorded in Nepal and more than 1,500 fires have been recorded in the forests of northern India, we need solutions to this crisis and 2040 highlights these much needed symbols of hope. These are just a few select environmental disasters that are beginning to dominate this planet. 

In addition to Damon, we were joined by Peter McCartney (Climate Campaigner for community cause Wilderness Committee), Nipâwi Kakinoosit, and our moderator Naisha Khan, founder of the Sustainabiliteens Surrey chapter.  

Here are the bios for each of our amazing panelists:

Damon Gameau – Director, Writer, Producer, Presenter 

Damon Gameau is an Australian actor and director. He has starred in several feature films, including Rolf De Heer’s critically acclaimed The Tracker, Darren Ashton’s Thunderstruck and Razzle Dazzle, Robert Connolly’s Balibo opposite Anthony LaPaglia, Patrick with Rachel Griffiths and Charles Dance and Save Your Legs! with Stephen Curry and Brendan Cowell. Damon’s performance in Balibo earned him an AFI Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. His television credits include Underbelly, Howzat, Love My Way, Puberty Blues, Secrets and Lies, Gallipoli and The Kettering Incident. He wrote, directed and performed vocals for the 2011 winning Tropfest short film, Animal Beatbox, which has now played at over 25 festivals worldwide. He was also a finalist in 2010 with his film, One, which he co-directed with Gareth Davies. That Sugar Film was Damon’s first feature length film as a director and won Best Documentary at the Australian AACTA awards and was a hit at the Australian box office. That Sugar Book is his first published book.

Peter McCartney – Climate Campaigner, Wilderness Committee

Peter mobilizes communities against destructive fossil fuel export projects and builds political will for a just transition to a zero carbon economy. Peter works from the unceded Coast Salish Territories. For him, working at Wilderness Committee is like joining a big family, one with a long and storied history of butt-kicking for the planet. He feels lucky to have found a job that aligns with his values and allows him to meet so many fantastic, like-minded people. Before the Wilderness Committee, Peter hosted his first protest at the age of 16. He’s a longtime advocate on climate change, working as a journalist specializing in environmental politics. One of his most profound experiences with nature was when he was out in the Gulf Islands for work, and during a midnight paddle he was caught up in a light display from bioluminescent plankton in the bay. At that moment, he experienced a sense of insignificance, caught between the natural glow in the dark water and the Milky Way stretched above him. Peter enjoys regenerative agriculture, craft beer and playing guitar.

Nipâwi Kakinoosit – Okimaw

Nipâwi Kakinoosit is an Okimaw from Sucker Creek First Nation, born and raised in Prince George, BC. He is an adopted member of Musqueam Indian Band and Elsipogtog First Nation, and has been advocating for Transnational Indigenous Solidarity, Environmental Stewardship, Conservation, and Protection, Middle Eastern and Palestinian Solidarity, for over decade. He started out in 2006 as a student activist and went on to become one of the founding members of Idle No More BC and its media relations officer in late 2012. After several years of work as a Youth Leader, in early  2021, Nipâwi was given the role of Okimaw or Hereditary Chief for his dedication to his role as a Youth Leader, and in recognition of his recent achievements of leading a delegation to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Naisha Khan – moderator – Sustainabiliteens

Naisha Khan is an 18-year-old climate justice activist currently living on unceded Kwantlen, Katzie, and Semiahmoo territory, also known as Surrey, British Columbia. As Naisha is completing her final grade 12 year at Guildford Park Secondary School, she has organizes as a central coordinator for the youth organization Sustainabiliteens for over the past year, and founded a regional chapter in her city. She is currently working as one of the cofounders of the national banks divestment campaign “Banking on a Better Future.” Furthermore, she works with Climate Strike Canada on national campaigns. Naisha is very intersectional in her work, and advocates for racial justice alongside climate justice through creating a BIPOC caucus within Sustainabiliteens, and pushing for anti-racist policy in her city. 

Purchase your ticket here to get the password to watch the panel discussion.