In partnership with three organizations in India, the U.S. Consulate in Hyderabad launched the Young Climate Leaders Action Project or Y-CLAP on April 22nd 2021 to bring young people together to raise awareness and take action on the urgent climate crisis.
The Y-CLAP initiative is being implemented by these three organizations:
- Youngistaan Foundation in Telangana
- Ken Foundation Society in Andhra Pradesh
- Bakul Foundation in Odisha
Launched on Earth Day 2021, the Y-CLAP initiative saw three organizations in three states working on three different themes. Youngistaan Foundation’s focus is: ‘End Plastic Pollution – Reducing Plastic and Managing Plastic Waste’. On this theme, Youngistaan Foundation led its team of young people (aged 18 to 29) selected for the program in creating and implementing activities to work toward ending plastic pollution and reducing/managing plastic waste.
COVID-19 presented a challenge to our volunteers who had planned to conduct door-to-door surveys, meet with establishment owners and hold awareness campaigns in popular public places. But our young climate leaders utilized technology and social media tools in an innovative and effective manner to achieve the objectives of their projects. Here is a glimpse of the projects that Youngistaan Foundation’s young climate leaders have been working on:
ENVIRONMENT DAY QUIZ
Our Y-CLAP volunteers interacted with Youngistaan Foundation’s online audience with an Environment Day quiz! We held two rounds of an exciting and relevant quiz after which we announced the winners at the end of the day. The quiz was designed to help people understand the importance of each person’s individual role in protecting the environment, our planet and our future. Go ahead and watch the video here or on YouTube!
PERSONAL STORIES
Our volunteers put together their personal tips and suggestions on how we can adopt a sustainable lifestyle by making small changes to our daily routines. Reading the helpful suggestions, friends and followers began to share their tips which we shared on our social media platforms.
MEMES
One of the most popular ways to communicate a message and connect with people using popular culture, memes were one of the more interactive ways that our volunteers promoted the use of cloth bags over plastic bags.
REFUSE SINGLE-USE, CHOOSE TO RE-USE!
To encourage people to refuse single-use plastics and choose to re-use instead, our Y-CLAP volunteers scripted, shot and created a video that presents facts on plastic pollution and the daily habits we may be unaware of that contribute to multiple forms of pollution. It also offers green alternatives we can easily adopt such as avoiding single-use plastics and using cloth bags. Go ahead and watch the video 2-minute here or on YouTube!
ENVIRONMENT BINGO
We engaged with our Instagram followers with Environment Bingo to share ideas on environmentally-friendly practices to adopt in homes, offices and neighborhoods.
SAPLINGS TO CHILDREN
Youngistaan Foundation and the Y-CLAP volunteers visited an urban slum in Jubilee Hills to distribute coir pots and saplings to children. The goal of this task was to create awareness about plastic consumption and environmental conservation with the long-term goal of helping children take care of their plants and plant more trees in their neighborhoods.
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR SURVEY
Our projects are based on research and our consumer behavior survey provided the team with important insight into:
- the volume of single-use plastic generated in each household
- attitudes toward single-use plastics
- alternatives to single-use plastics
MORE TO COME!
The Young Climate Leaders Action Project is still running more online campaigns and on-ground projects. Youngistaan Foundation and Y-CLAP volunteers encourage you to follow our work on our social media channels and join our conversation to end plastic pollution, reduce plastic and manage plastic waste.
