An era of consumerism, an era of unsustainable practices, an era of lack of responsibility towards planet Earth. Yes, welcome to the anthropocene era that finds its luxury and happiness by slowly poisoning lives around. These words might sound cruel, but it is evident that we, the sixth sensed species are spreading like an incurable infection on the planet, disturbing the delicate balance of the earth’s climate.
Honourable Dignitaries, Delegates of the International Symposium and friends from the media, Namasthe, Good Afternoon. I am Haripriya Madhavan from India. Today I feel privileged to represent my young friends from 8 countries belonging to the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, to share the experiences we had during the 6 days of the forum on Empowering Youth with Earth Observation Information for Climate Action.
Understanding GIS and remote sensing, learning about landscape changes in HKH region, snow-cover mapping, glacier inventories and disaster risk management, performing numerous hands-on activities, listening to power-packed guest lectures by experts from ICIMOD and the supporting organizations – That was a fraction of what the youth forum equipped all of us with, in such a short period of time. Yet, it is so fascinating to realize the impact this learning could have on our community when we go back home and advocate about consequences of climate change on the HKH region. We are indeed thankful to ICIMOD because this forum has helped us to feel more attached to mountain ecosystems, especially the Himalayas, our pride and heritage that we must conserve for our future generations. We, the participants now have the responsibility to tackle our area-specific impacts of climate change by connecting with potential solution makers to fuel immediate mitigation action and also build capacities of communities to adapt. The youth forum has made us recognize the power of communication and effective sharing as key necessities for securing our future.
We look forward to play a vital role in building decision support systems with the help of Earth Observation tools and resources. Thus, with the wisdom and will of the experienced and the energy and ideas that we have, we the youth are committed to transform our world into a better place for ourselves and the young of the future.
If you have assumed that the participants of the youth forum are a group of only environmental science graduates, you are probably wrong because we also have a good representation from youth belonging to the social sciences and media background. Being a media student myself, it is my duty to voice the concerns of this section as well. Media is a platform with immense potential to reach the people at their doorsteps and desktops. So it is essential that the issues surrounding climate change are given prominent space in newspapers, television, radio and online news portals. Hence, we urge the media community to bridge your knowledge gaps in the field of climate change in order to ensure responsible coverage backed with the necessary follow-up and not just momentary reporting. Moreover, a participatory approach to involve the people, especially vulnerable communities, in the process of reporting, popularly known as citizen journalism, could enable media to act as catalysts of change in the society.
At the outset, we also have a message for the women community at this international forum. We are considered as creators of the human race. Hence it is our duty to take up the mission of conservation as a challenge to prove our willpower and determination in protecting our Earth. What we require is women activism to combat climate change.
We might represent different professions, different genders, different communities, different ideologies, but we are all under one sky, as humans, humans with love for each other. We are not deterred by differences. We, the youth are concerned about a secure future not just for ourselves, but for the entire human kind. We do not want our children to be born as environmental refugees. We do not want to see suffering and pain in the eyes of our kith and kin whose lives are dependent on the Himalayan ecosystem. The fact that the countries from the HKH region are extremely dependent on climate sensitive sectors makes us the most likely victims of failing crops, potential famine, floods and disease. We do not want to wait for major disasters to happen, which is why we look up to our leaders and policy makers of our respective countries for immediate affirmative action.
The message from the youth forum is going to be a beginning in itself – for advocacy based on good science, for building regional and international cooperation, for responsible action, and we hope, for good governance as well. I would like to share with you an inspirational quote by one of my friends, “What will decide the destiny of our future is not the power of uranium or plutonium, but the power of this millennium’s youthanium”.
This platform will enable the participants of the different events during the Symposium to interact virtually, stay updated on the ongoing sessions and provide a room for debate and creative exchanges.
