State Minister Jagdish Vishwakarma Panchal invites innovative climate change solutions from the youth at IDEAS 2022

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], March 3 (ANI/ATK): To inspire climate action from the youth, Earth Day Network, the world's largest environmental movement, launched IDEAS: Inspiring Dialogues for Environmental Action. IDEAS: Inspiring Dialogues for Environmental Action 2022 was organised by the Earth Day Network in collaboration with Gujarat Youth Forum, UNICEF, YuWaah and Elixir Foundation on February 28, 2022.
The IDEAS series is part of Earth Day's flagship campaign titled My Future My Voice, which brings together young environmental leaders from across the globe with the aim to provide them with a platform to share tried and tested techniques to help Restore Our Earth.
Climate change is the most significant crisis of our time. No part of the globe remains immune to the rising temperatures, natural disasters, weather irregularities, environmental degradation, and food insecurity, all brought about by changes in our climate. The cost of ignoring climate change is too high. There needs to be collective action to reverse the harm done to our planet.

The event opened with an inaugural session kicked off by Karuna Singh, Regional Director, Earth Day Network, Asia who welcomed the audience by setting the context, "Youth are the most powerful in stopping adverse climate change. It is difficult for us to see the effect of climate on each one of us, and the youth are the best to help stop it." She welcomed the esteemed guest for the evening, Jagdish Vishwakarma (Panchal), Minister of State, Forest and Environment, Climate Change Department, Government of Gujarat.
Speaking on the occasion, he stated, "Whatever ideas the youth have, we want to hear from you. In order to make sure innovative thinking surpasses the challenge upon us." His keynote speech was followed by a special address by Tom White, Chief, Emergency & Disaster Risk Reduction, UNICEF. White shared his insights on the impact of climate change, "The threat is not only increasing in both the frequency and magnitude of climate-related shock, but equally in the geographical spread of the natural disaster."
The dialogue session of the program focused on 'Innovative ways to reconnect youth with nature' and hosted an interesting dialogue with diverse stakeholders. The session was moderated by Madhish Parikh, Convenor at Gujarat Youth Forum and a Youth Ambassador at Earth Day Network. The first speaker, Luis Alberto Camargo, Founder & Director, Organization for Environmental Education and Protection, shared his insights on climate education, "In order to build a culture of care and to inspire climate action among each one of us, climate education plays a fundamental role where we all must integrate our actions into sync with our ecology." Followed by this, Elizabeth Gulugulu, Environmental Scientist & Climate, Change Activist, Zimbabwe addressed the audience" An educated community is an empowered community, and an empowered community is resilient."

Shyam Dave, WASH Specialist, UNICEF also shared key insights with us regarding his work, "The small step that can be taken is to teach children about the actions that are needed and integrate the basic information on climate and environment in their curriculum to educate them and make aware about the emerging challenges." Representing the Government of Gujarat, Shwetal Shah, Technical Advisor, Climate Change Department, Government of Gujarat shed light on their work and added, "Youth engagement is highly required in order to amplify advocacy on the subject. It also helps us bridge urbanization and sustainable living". Speaking on the importance of international cooperation, Peter Cook, the British Deputy High Commissioner, Gujarat and Rajasthan, shared that "Young generation can bring together people to fight against climate change across the globe by more such dialogues. It can only be achieved through a behavioral change amongst us all, in order to lead towards climate progress."
The session concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Manav Sumara, Program Manager at Gujarat Youth Forum as he stressed upon the key takeaways of the day and urged the young audience to partake in Climate Action to contribute to our planet.
Event Links:
Watch the Inaugural Session here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmPas7VL1fM
Watch the Dialogue Session here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yDdmk6Qu-4
To inspire climate action from the youth, Earth Day Network, the world's largest environmental movement, launched IDEAS: Inspiring Dialogues for Environmental Action. This series is part of Earth Day's flagship campaign - My Future My Voice, which brings together young environmental leaders from across the globe with the aim to provide them with a platform to share tried and tested techniques to help Restore Our Earth.
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