My City My Responsibility - Youth for Climate Action Part II

Dear All, 

Session by Kartikeya Sarabhai 

Direction of Development explained by Kartikeya Sarabhai

In continuation with my earlier blog, the next two days at the LCOY 14 were fun-filled and packed with information and activities. We had an enthralling session by Kartikeya Sarabhai acknowledging the facts on sustainability and realities of climate change. I would like to share one picture that got imprinted on my mind which is truly the impression of how we as Indians should develop, and should learn to make the right/appropriate choices. The developing and under developed nations should leapfrog and strategize for sustainable and low carbon development instead of mimicking the developed nations which are going towards sustainability after creating a menace on this Earth.  

Later we had a eye opening session by Zuhair from Bangladesh a young entrepreneur where he spoke about how Bangladesh is one of the countries facing climate change impacts with the rising sea levels engulfing their lands. He made a very straightforward statement that Migration is the only way for us to adapt to Climate Change. In order to migrate with better prospects, enhancing local skill development for livelihood options has been the most important strategy for the people in Bangladesh. 

Sanskriti presenting on Innovation

We had a great session by Sanskriti on Innovation putting impetus on holistic approach and relevance as a must! A session on Young reporters for the Environment (YRE) an international network of youth undertaken by Abhishek, Sriram and Sivaneswaran who are part
of this network was really interesting. It was good to know that these young minds are doing some amazing scientific studies on environmental issues in their regions and publishing it on such platforms. Its a pleasure to meet such ignited young minds doing such great work in their capacity. 

Groups presenting the critical analysis

Then we had this opportunity where we could present our work in the Handprint Haat kind of arrangement. Its like an exhibition where whoever is interested in your topic or area of work will come to you and you can present your work to them. I was able to explain our project work on making Pune a Sustainably SMART city by 2030 and a case study on Climate Vulnerability. Aditi Kale from Pune International Centre, who was my companion in this conference also presented the Climate Collective Pune initiative which aims at making Pune Carbon Neutral by 2030. We had a great time in this session interacting and listening to other initiatives as well. The session ended with songs sung by a participant Rumit, a Sufi singer. This was a good end to the day. 

The next day was our last day of the conference and we had a very informative session with the representative of YOUNGO - Yugratna Srivastava. We could critically analyze the articles of the Paris Agreement as a mock activity and felt that we can do better at the UN negotiations at COP! Too ambitious but yes the youth of today have a critical perspective and should be considered!

Overall, it was an enriching experience with new learnings, new collaborations and new friends. Looking forward to continue these relationships and build on Sustainable Partnerships.  

Stay tuned for more on the food in Ahmedabad and the Sabarmati riverfront that we experienced beside the conference!

Pournima Agarkar.

www.samuchit.com