Šimon Michalčík

Founder of Plant-for-the-Planet Czech Republic

Šimon Michalčík is a climate storyteller and founder of the Czech entity of Plant-for-the-Planet. As Czechia’s first Climate Justice Ambassador, he mobilizes youth, businesses, and communities for forest restoration and climate action.

Czechia

English & Czech

Šimon Michalčík is a climate advocate, storyteller, and Founder of Plant-for-the-Planet Czechia, where he mobilizes young people, businesses, and communities for forest restoration and climate justice. As Czechia’s first Climate Justice Ambassador, he has helped grow a grassroots initiative into a nationally recognized movement empowering youth to take climate action.

Šimon’s journey began at the age of 14, when he became the first person in Czechia to join the global youth-led Plant-for-the-Planet initiative, becoming its first Climate Justice Ambassador in the country. What started as a high school project grew into a foundation established in 2019, engaging more than 2,000 young people in environmental action and awareness. Under his leadership, the organization has brought together youth, companies, and public figures to support forest restoration while shifting climate anxiety into a sense of hope and agency. His impact extends beyond Europe. Šimon has led fundraising and awareness efforts for the community-led Plant-for-Ghana restoration project, contributing to the planting of over 100,000 trees with support from Czech donors, employing more than 70 people, and building multiple boreholes to secure the community's water supply. He continues to support the project through long-term strategy, partnerships, and storytelling.

Šimon holds a First-Class Honours degree in Global Sustainable Development from the University of Warwick, where he received the Best Dissertation Award, and a Master’s degree in Narrative Futures from the Edinburgh Futures Institute. His work explores how storytelling can shape collective action and drive sustainable change.

As a speaker, Šimon combines climate advocacy with powerful storytelling, drawing on experiences such as trekking the length of New Zealand and visiting the Plant-for-Ghana project to gain hands-on insight and collect stories. Through his work, he inspires audiences to turn climate concern into meaningful action—one story at a time.