Max Han Kai Ding

Max Han is a trailblazer for the environmentalists of his generation, having co-founded Youths United for Earth (YUFE) — an award-winning grassroots nonprofit mobilising youths for environmental action through storytelling, campaigns, and advocacy.

Since 2019, Max has reached over 50,000 people through spearheading campaigns and programs including Malaysia’s first and largest youth sustainability mentorship. YUFE has engaged UN agencies, the European Union, the Central Bank of Malaysia, and now advises Malaysia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability. Internationally, Max has advocated for environmental rights and climate justice at spaces including the UN Headquarters, UN Climate Change, ASEAN, Stanford University, Princeton University, One Young World and more. As a scholar, he is a published chapter author of the book “Lala-land: Singapore’s Seafood Heritage.”

Currently, Max is drafting Southeast Asia’s first Environmental Rights Declaration under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with UN bodies, diplomats, and marginalized communities.

For his accomplishments and first-class character, Max was personally awarded by the UN Messenger of Peace, Dr. Jane Goodall and named by Prestige as Malaysia’s 40 most successful, innovative, and influential people. He has also  received the Princess Diana Award, Tatler’s Gen.T Leader of Tomorrow, and the North American Association for Environmental Education’s 30 Under 30. Most remarkably, he is the first Southeast Asian to be named a Future Nobel Laureate Scholar.

Making an impact begins with the belief that our actions and ideas truly matter, and that every individual’s contribution creates change as a collective. Every day, my work reminds me that powerful solutions to the climate crisis comes from us – ordinary people coming together to push boundaries, hold polluters and leaders accountable, and dare to dream a better world into existence.