The United Nations in India has chosen 18 young Indians for their pioneering work in a climate campaign called ‘We The Change’.

Changing the narrative around the reality of climate change is the common thread that binds these individuals who are part of a project that is a celebration of India’s climate leadership in the run up to the UNFCCC’s Conference of the Parties (COP 26) which will be held in Glasgow in November. These are stories of hope and inspiration that exemplify Mahatma Gandhi’s immortal words, “be the change you want to see in the world”.

Garvita Gulati, often called the ‘Water Girl of India’ and Founder of ‘Why Waste?’ has prevented over 6 million litres of water from being wasted.

Sneha Shahi, a water conservation affiliated with the UNEP – Plastic Tide Turner Campaign has worked with the Centre for Environment Education on water policies.

Kriti Tula, Creative Director & Co-Owner, Doodlage, a trained apparel designer and design manager who has worked in the global apparel industry for over a decade.

Ganesh Kumar Subramanian, co-founder Kabadiwalla Connect, an organization which works to provide decentralised waste management solutions.

Aditya Mukarji who believes in ‘Individual Social Responsibility’ for a sustainable planet has worked extensively to curb the use of single-use plastics in Delhi and has interned with UNDP India’s plastic waste management programme.

Neha Shivaji Naikwade, co-Founder of Parvaah, a youth-cell working toward zero-waste initiatives has worked extensively on policy making and CSR initiatives.

Akhilesh Anil Kumar, Founder, Bring Back Green Foundation, a non-profit organization that works across different environmental activities at scale.

Sanju Soman has through the SUSTERA foundation, hosted the first Climate leadership program in Kerala during 2018.

Soumya Ranjan Biswal has been actively involved in wildlife conservation activities with a focus on the protection of Olive Ridley sea turtles through community-led initiatives to protect local biodiversity in Astaranga under Puri district.

Sustainable infrastructure development to optimize the relationship between people, buildings and the environment is another key area of environmental focus Architect Berjis Driver has as an urban planner, engaged in the preparation of policies and documents that were meant to have an impact on both development and environmental management.

Architect and interaction designer, Medha Priya works on the physical interaction between people and built spaces, and the digital interaction between people and screens.

Heeta Lakhani is a climate educator from Mumbai and is the focal point of YOUNGO, a mechanism under the UN Climate Change and a network of individuals and organizations.

Hina Saifi who has been associated with 100% Uttar Pradesh Campaign & The Climate Agenda since 2018 is 19 and is currently associated with ‘En Bloc NGO: On the way of humanity’ – an NGO based in Meerut.

Varsha Raikwar on the other hand is on a mission to increase climate awareness among people in villages through storytelling.

Archana Soreng from the Khadia Tribe from Odisha is one of the seven members of the UN Secretary General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change.

Sarath K R is a folk arts enthusiast and is associated with Vayali Folklore group, a community-led initiative.

Siddhartha Krishnatre has a multi-sectoral approach around hydrologically connected activities in Brahmaputra and allied rivers for Human Utility, or MAHABAHU, the flagship project of the Global Shapers Guwahati Hub.

Nidhi Pant is a chemical engineer turned farmer turned entrepreneur and CoFounder & Head of Finance at S4S Technologies that works in low-income, climate-threatened communities.

Read the full story that first appeared in The Hindu dated Nov 6, 2021 here: