Film Screening with Discussion: YUMI - The Whole World

In 2019, a group of students at the University of the South Pacific came together with a bold idea: to persuade Pacific Island leaders to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an advisory opinion on climate change and human rights. Their movement, Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC), grew into a regional and global campaign powered by courage, creativity, and relentless belief in justice.

After six years of advocacy, the ICJ issued its Climate Advisory Opinion on 23 July 2025, a landmark moment in international law. For the first time, the world’s highest court has made it clear that climate inaction has consequences for polluters and protections for vulnerable communities.

This event tells the story of the students who started it all.

We invite you to join us for an evening where film and conversation come together. We will screen the award-winning documentary, YUMI – The Whole World, that tells the remarkable story of PISFCC, who turned their shared concern for the future into a global campaign for climate justice. The documentary will be introduced by Belyndar M. Rikimani, a lawyer from the Solomon Islands and one of the founding voices behind PISFCC. Her reflections on the movement’s beginnings and its bold journey to the ICJ will set the stage for the screening.

After the film, Sara K. Phillips (Stockholm Environment Institute) and Gauri Salunkhe (KTH alumna) will unpack the ICJ’s advisory opinion on climate change and its significance. The discussion will be interactive, with space for your questions and reflections. We will close with an informal mingle to keep the conversations flowing.

This event comes at a moment of celebration, as PISFCC has just been announced as a 2025 Right Livelihood Award laureate .

This story is not only about law and politics — it is about students who dared to believe that their voices mattered. Their journey can inspire us at KTH and beyond to come together, take action, and create lasting change for sustainability.

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Speakers

Belyndar M. Rikimani
Belyndar is a lawyer by profession, working for the Solomon Islands Government under the Trade Dispute Panel Division. She has been a driving force behind PISFCC since its beginnings in 2019 as one of the Founding Executive members that initiated the ICJAO Campaign. She currently serves as the Awareness Chair of PISFCC and is a firm believer of driving change and impact for the region and has always advocated that change is made when all of us stand together as one in unity.

Sara K. Phillips
Sara K. Phillips is a Scientist at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and an interdisciplinary legal and policy specialist whose work bridges climate change, business and human rights, and extractive industry governance. Her research and advisory practice focus on accountability and dispute resolution in resource-rich contexts, drawing on global experience across Asia and the Americas. Sara is a New York-qualified attorney and holds a PhD in International Development Studies from Chulalongkorn University, a Juris Doctor from Vermont Law and Graduate School, and a Master of Laws from McGill University. She recently co-authored SEI’s analysis of the ICJ’s advisory opinion on climate change and state obligations and co-edited the Edward Elgar Research Handbook on Comparative Environmental Law.

Gauri Salunkhe
Gauri is a budding Sustainability Researcher with a Master’s in Sustainable Technology from KTH and currently a research intern at Stockholm Environment Institute under the Finance for Sustainable Development Program. She has extensive experience in participatory research and community-based projects in Fiji and Colombia, focusing on climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods. Her work seeks to bridge academic, local, and Indigenous knowledge systems to mainstream transdisciplinary approaches in research and governance, advancing just and sustainable transitions.