The Environment is impacted by our human footprint; this footprint is the result of diverse community interactions (economy, leisure, family) in any given society. Social activism, or civil society, is shaped by embedding values in the people that are part of the society and who will take up responsibility for that society. It is therefore vital for youth to grab this inclusive picture of sustainability to ensure a positive future generation of prosperity and increased quality of life.

The picture shows a circle of people connected by a web. This activity looks at interdependence of global issues.

This toolkit aims to provide an overview for the programme and how it can be run in not only colleges and institutes, but also in companies of any size.

All that is required is a committed team to organize some logistics, and a series of individuals with a passion for sustainability.

Stage 1: Around 20 motivated individuals are selected and trained as mentors

This number can vary depending on how many schools or students you want to reach out to. The point to remember here is to recruit individuals, who are fun, can relate well with kids, and have an interest in learning about Sustainability. The big bonus here is that through being a mentor, the individual actually learns more about him/herself and their personal actions in sustainability by going through this process.

It is important to establish rules of conduct, and training on material before hand so that the next stage can run smoothly.

Stage 2: They share an understanding of sustainability through a workshop in the school.

The best part of this programme is interacting with the kids; they end up being our greatest teachers. This stage is when the newly trained mentors will go into the classrooms and deliver a 1-1.5 hour presentation on sustainability. Topics can be focused or broad; the idea here is to make sure the kids leave with a strong understanding that sustainability means making smart choices now
so that we don’t suffer the negative consequences in the future.

Topics you should cover:

• Defining sustainability.
• Understanding the Venn diagram of People, Business and Nature (Society, Economy, Environment).
• Grasp the idea that all actions and events in the world are interrelated and interdependent – there are no such things as isolated actions and response.

Stage 3: The most interested students get a deeper understanding through a simulation game.

Are we having fun yet? If not, then we surely will now! Stage 3 represents a simulation game with a duration of 3 – 4 hours.
Here the mentors will plan and facilitate a series of activity-based learning games that will help develop soft skills while teaching them core ideas of sustainability.

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Topics you should cover in the simulation include:

• Understanding the big picture of sustainability (that is, global warming, pollution, security, overpopulation – nature, business and society).
• Introduce the concept of ‘Tragedy of the Commons’.
• Guide them through a product life cycle of their favourite things, move from linear product life cycle to closed loop product life cycle.
• What is a network or system, how can we simplify it if it no longer makes sense and is overly ineffective?
• Understanding interdependence from the perspective of various decision makers (Government, NGOs, Companies, and Individuals).
• What is their vision for a sustainable future in 20 years time?

Stage 4: Through mentorship students will execute a project in their school.

This is the most magical stage, as anything can happen when you put good intentions into the hands of creative children. By mentoring a group of kids, you get to see a project and change happen over the span of 3 weeks to 1 month. The kids will surprise
you with their creativity and ability to grasp the concept of sustainability. The goal of the project is simple: Make one change in your school that can help it become closer to being zero-waste.

Project areas that kids can work on include:

• Waste and Disposal
• Water Conservation
• Soil and Plants
• Energy Efficiency
• School Supplies and Books
• Paper Usage
• Transportation
• Food

Make sure you start the projects with an audit of the school, so the kids can identify unsustainable practices, then come up with ideas, and measure the ideas based on the Venn diagram model. Does it make Business, People and Nature sense? If not, how can we improve it?

Stage 5: The projects are showcased and rewarded, raising awareness in the community about sustainability.

The last stage of this programme is the most glamorous, as you want to invite the public, partners, other schools and dignitaries to the event. This event can be imagined in many ways, but it should aim to capture the excitement of the kids in presenting their projects ideas, and rewarding them thoroughly for all their hard work. The benefit of inviting so much public is that they too get to play a hand in learning about sustainability.

Prizes should further the kids development in understanding about sustainability, such as nature retreats or educational books.

Stage 6: Taking our learning virtually!

Yes that is right, we have a special sixth stage not represented in the diagram, but ever more important. It is taking the learning of this programme and giving the students and mentors an online platform to connect with other youth across the globe, who are passionate about sustainability. By accessing the My Choice social network, participants gain access to networks of young people, fresh media and resources to help them learn more about sustainability, and best of all: contribute to the discussion.

You’re done! You’ve made a great contribution to society, you’ve learnt a lot along the way, and you’ve networked with others building the same vision and promoted your brand every step of the way.

What could be more satisfying? After all, it’s your choice for a sustainable future!

Reprinted from source: http://www.tbl.com.pk

Plastic bags have become such an item of dependence that shop keepers simply don’t know what else to use for their goods and liquids. Rightly so, it will be an uphill battle, but the government is more sure than ever that this is the right step, and it will take time to adapt, however after the initial two month period, shopkeepers caught providing the bags could be fined upwards of 1 lakh rupees (roughly $2,000 USD) or upto 5 years of jail term.

With such a move we will begin to see a demand for cloth and glass making a comeback in India, as these two are the most viable alternatives to plastic bags. No doubt this would also spin off some R&D on bio-degradable plastics and weaning off of petroleum based plastic for the more carbon neutral alternative of bio plastics (soy, vegetable oil, corn stalk).

I wonder what the world would be like today if Ford was able to organize the plastics industry to build exclusively from soy and bioproducts rather than petroleum oil. Needless to say, world war 1 kick started the oil dependency in plastics movement.

A famous quote comes to mind that is so fitting, attributed to an ancient chinese proverb.

“When the winds of change are blowing, some people are building shelters, and others are building windmills.”

Here are the results:

As I return to to the cold Canadian climate, I do so with a lot of experience and networks under my belt.

In the coming weeks you will find a new site up and running, devoted more to my personal journey in sustainability.

Keep checking back as more photo albums, articles and results will be posted.

Have a happy new year!

My Choice! is a project that aims to raise awareness among Indian young generation about Sustainability Issues.
We offer to deliver a holistic understanding of Sustainability seen as People, Society and Environment. For us, Environment is impacted by human footprint; human footprint is the results of community interactions in Society (economy, leisure, family) , Society activism is the expression of embedded values in the people that are part of the society. It is vital for Youth to grab this inclusive picture if we call on more responsibility from them.

The projects will have a 3 step learning approach. 1. Classroom presentations to inspire youth to get active. 2. Simulation and learning activities about sustainability. 3. A project competition on sustainability, where students get mentors and are awarded prizes based on creativity, sustainability of design, and general youth choice.

It has been a pleasure to settle down and work with this team and helping to see their passion become a reality.The output of this project has the opportunity to be a part of a best case practise, I will be sure to share the output afterwards with you all.

Looking forward to hitting the road soon again!

Since my previous post, I’ve travelled past Mumbai, Hyderabad and have now landed in Bangalore.

Some highlights include:

Mumbai traffic is scary. As is their mass public transport system. As I was leaving Mumbai by train from the AIESEC Interns flat towards central, I was caught up in a sea of people, and all I could do was flow with the crowd and hope to get on a train. Thatwas the easier part. As I left the train, I had old men looking at me with buldging eyes and pushy hands shouting go, go GO! I did not understand their urgency until the train came to a stop and the sea became a two way waterfall. Yes, try and imagine that, a sea of people trying to gush out of the train, while another sea tries to gush its way in. Unlucky for them, I have two large bags, one straped in front and one behind, and in a rambo style move, I leap. Yes, LEAP towards the exit of the train to see terrified men trying to scurry out of the way. If freedom ever tasted sweeter, it was after burst forth from this maze that I savoured in it. Now I realize why so much money was spent in Delhi to ensure the same style of mob movements do not occur with their metro. Crazy!I have crazier stories about cab drivers trying to rip me off, but maybe ill save that up and tell ALL of them in one go, since haggling with Cabs and rickshaws seems to become the highlight of all my trips.

Aside from the traffic Chaos, Mumbai was good as usual, aside from the ear infection (i have not had an ear infection since i was 4! yea, got me too.) I got to see the best and worst of the city, dined at Leopolds, ran into Shahid again, ate with the bollywood stars, chatted with some highly articulate beggars, and caught up with great friends. So it was good, but being ill really dragged me down, and it was here that writers block kicked in. The train to Hyderabad seems to have dawned a found energy in me.

I woke up to an AIESEC yelling through the train gates: HEY AIESEC! as the traditional greeting goes world round. The pick up was great, had a blast seeing some of the sites, and getting explained what was what. I was told a saying that they use in Sanskrit, in english the translation is “Guest is God” so i felt like royalty arriving here.

Hyderabad was the PERFECT refueling station, and although I didn’t get to see any environmental projects, I got to catch up with great AIESEC friends, have those deep and meaningful conversations, crazy nights and see some beautiful mughal architecture. That is not the best of it, they had the best tasting Haleem and Biryani I have ever had! Reminded me so much of Karachi, so I got a bit of that homesick feeling while I was there.

Note to self: always book tickets in advance to save yourself from taking overnight buses. Yes sleepless was the word for the 15 hour bus ride to Bangalore, (which should have taken 10-11, are you seeing a pattern?) The minute I arrived, I navigated my way to a meeting which I chaired for the My Choice! Project. It involved experts in the field teamed up with the expat core team making the project happen. I hadn’t even showered, but i got to use the company bathroom, which had a shower. The only problem is that somehow, I ended up getting more petrol on me than water! Im not even joking, as I wish I was, but for 3-4 days afterwards, me, and my clothes smelt like an old gas pump. Not very appealing if you ask me.

Excitement around Bangalore? Let me tell you, here is a place hoping with young people in the IT sector, and crazy kids looking for excitement, and a government that bans dancing, and pubs in general after 11:30pm at night. What do you get? A lot of desperate people, and crazy parties in crazy places. For example: wed night 10pm, we show up at an advertising agency on the main road, climb 4 fleets of stairs and are greeded by drunk employees playing music from a a DJ that look slike the desi-twin of Robin Williams (and who raps about being black) The food is catered, but sausage fest is in abundance. I was disappointed to see none of the party-goers thought it cool to wrap their tie around their head like a bandana. Guess that’s only cool in Canada.

I’ll post some more interesting news bits soon enough, along with some more galleries, so stay tuned! For now, the adventure of Bangalore Continues.