AROE AJOENI

MALAYSIA / INDONESIA, 22

Project: Weaving Hopes for the Future
Pronouns: She/Her

Along with Diana Tan Beng Hui, as one of the coordinators of the Weaving Hopes for the Future project, Aroe works with Indigenous youth in Peninsular Malaysia to document Indigenous wisdom in the face of the climate crisis. The project features an art installation alongside short documentaries led and produced by the Indigenous communities of Selangor and Pahang, Malaysia. Together, they form a complex and rich tapestry of the Orang Asli experience throughout the climate crisis. 

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How does the Weaving Hopes for the Future project address systemic inequity and injustice? 

By empowering Indigenous youth (particularly women) to paint their own narrative of the climate crisis. Indigenous people everywhere are always seen as victims in their own land. With the climate crisis, the Orang Asli are at the frontlines, and now more than ever they are part of the solution, and we must learn from them.

“Since the beginning we have built this project on the principles of climate justice; which defines that the climate crisis is not just an environmental issue alone, but also a socioeconomic, political and human rights issue.”
Evan Wei-Haas