Kurt Archer

Today was the Environmental Seminar at SAFMA. Thank you so much Nimra and Sarah for organizing everything so well and making it a huge success!

So we invited a lot of people all over Lahore, and about 100 showed up, 20% of which were youth,which is a satisfactory start for now, but much more needs to be done to create awareness in the youth. The media was also there to carry the message forward to those of you that missed it.

We screened the documentary 11th Hour and invited top panelists to discuss Environment in Pakistan.

Those invited include: Dr. Mehjabeen Abib-Habib, leading environmentalist scholar, Mr. Ali Habib, Director General of WWF Pakistan, and Mr. Asif Farooqui of Waste Busters. 

The discussion was focused on what the state of Environmentalism in Pakistan was, and what our individual efforts can do to improve the situation we face in Pakistan.

I would also like to thank SAFMA for all their help in making this event such a success. I will be following their work around South Asia everywhere I go. 

We had an amazing turn out today with over 70 students of the Environmental Sciences department at Punjab University. Thanks to Sana I, for organizing everything! It was a  big crowd but the discussion ended up being very positive. I was surprised to see that one of the inherent opinions held by the students was that the environmental damage, pollution, etc is an issue for western countries alone. The discussion ended on a high note with a professor of Environmental Science talking about the importance of peer review of any large or small scale project. As active participants in society, it is important not only to act in an individual capacity, but also to hold accountable the projects that are creating potential environmental damages.

One of the examples of this comes from the Bachao group in Lahore that pressured the government not to cut down all the trees along the canal in order to widen the roads, eventually a bypass was developed, which took out some of the trees, but most of them were still left, their serenity in tact.

Another success story I heard was actually produced from a study by students from Kinnaird College for Women who tested the health of traffic police. The result was high levels of air pollutants in their lungs which is produced by petrol. The result was a proposal for CNG rickshaws to take over the transport system in lieu of the petrol burning rickshaws which were a source of major pollution. 

Peer review and accountability are important features of environmental awareness! 

Lastly, I am excited at Punjab University in opening a new faculty department for Environmental Science. It will be in operation this year for students to expand their research and labwork in working with environmentalism. Although the establishment is far from an eco-design, the curriculumis very cross disciplinary, so many students will be exposed to the issues of the day.

I just got back from an amazing screening event tonight, where we showed the 11th hour documentary to a group of about 40 individuals, mixed old and young.

I can see the impact the session had on everyone, as the discussions were really in depth. People got passionate about what kind of practices are going on in Pakistan right now, and what can be done to improve things.

We invited DEAL Pvt Ltd to lead the discussion and talk about their upcoming campaign called "Don't Mess with Karachi" as well to discuss the ways in which they are working with the government to both clean up the city, and educate the people, predominately the youth, on how to effectively dispose of, and recycle garbage.

All in all, it was a great session, and we are looking forward to continuing to host such powerful and meaningful discussions.

Why should I care about stuff?

This was the question of the hour on June 5th, recognized around the world as Environment day. As part of the celebrations, Unilever Pakistan ran a series of events around raising awareness about the environment.

In a city of 15 million people, with no real effective waste disposal system to speak of, and having been confronted with massive oil spills, risks of Dengue and Bird Flu outbreak, needless to say, it is a city faced with a myriad of challenges. Challenges that organizations like Unilever Pakistan are hoping to address.

On this day, Unilever invited me to give a presentation on the Story of Stuff to their staff. While designing the session we came up with a great idea to engage the crowd in a solution finding activity. So after Introducing myself, and getting a few comments from the crowd about a proactive solution finding approach to the environment, I showed the Documentary.

The reactions came with an applause and comments of awe from the crowd as sparks of Aha moments went off in their minds.

We quickly captured that moment into world-cafe style groups and had them brainstorm solutions on how to improve the impact that Unilever and themselves as individuals can make on the environment.

The output was prepared and here are 3 of many solutions that came out.

- “Endorse products of companies that are environmental friendly”

- “Move to a Paper-less Office”

- “Buy organic products, and use biodegradable materials in packaging”

The success of the event was so great that now Unilever Pakistan has set up screenings of Story of Stuff at all their warehouses and factories! One small event can really have a huge impact

Thats Damu baby