Women, environment and sustainable developmentby Arushi Madan | 15-06-2015 07:11 |
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          I would like to share with all of you my experience which I will cherish for long time. Experience of being an "Environment Peak Speaker" in International Women's Peak Performance Summit(WPPS) . Let me introduce you to this Summit in general as WPPS has been organized in other countries but for UAE it was the first time. The event, organised by entrepreneur Anna Heystek and business consultant and mountaineer Jules Lewis, features seven presenters speaking about how to soar in a variety of areas, including finance, environment ,career and physical and mental wellness. This high energy Summit is interactive and features 7 powerful master classes to cover 7 peaks led by experienced professionals in their given field.
This Summit debuted in UAE's Capital Abu Dhabi on 23rd May . It , endorsed by the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, was so successful that it is decided that it would happen every year . In April , I got a message on my FB window from Jules Lewis(founder of this Summit) that she would want to invite me as key note/peak speaker on "Environment" Peak . I was pleased to have this honourable opportunity but at the same time I was in 2 minds whether to accept or not as this is my crucial year of education . I discussed with my parents and we thought that speaking on such platform has many advantages like : 1. It enables you to network and make many more contacts /friends from varied backgrounds like I met students from various Universities , I met H.E. Sheikha Hind of Sharjah ruling family , I also met Ms Seema Shetty (a very successful business woman and daughter of business tycoon B R Shetty) , and other prominent personalities and expert peak speakers who are expert in their fields. 2. It provides a platform to promote your brands/companies for whom you are Ambassadors like I loved promoting Tunza Eco generation and Bee'ah(Sharjah's environment and waste management company). 3. The most important –it gives you an ideal opportunity to inspire and impact others and to get them join your mission of working to protect environment. 4. It gives you a chance to sharpen and develop your public speaking skills. So I confirmed to be a part of panel of Speakers. Being the youngest and least experienced , gave me an additional pressure to outperform in my session. It was a new experience for me facing lights and camera when we all speakers were called 2 weeks in advance for pre-Summit promo video recording . My promo video clip can be viewed thru below link : and Each of the speakers were promoted and introduced on WPPS site and various flyers and other marketing material. My profile in brief , as was promoted on WPPS site , can be seen on below link : http://www.womenspeakperformance.com/ More than 100 women and few men from all walks of life , different backgrounds , varied cultures attended the event for self development . Dynamic experienced presenters lead a series of seven (7) interactive master classes and each session provided valuable life skills and clear action plans to take away. In my session , I started by asking what they understood by word "environment ", According to them what is environment? I shared with them the basics about environment , the current state of environment , challenges world is facing today in terms of climate change , global warming , what exactly is global warming , it's impacts and probable solutions , the role each of us can play in improving and conserving environment , how each of our action(at home or at work or at school) impacts environment , what simple tips we can follow in our day-to-day lives to be eco-friendly. I also shared with them this year theme of World Environment Day , it's relevance , significance and strong message it conveys. Also proved them by statistics that small efforts can bring (collective) considerable change if all of us do them giving them examples. We often under-estimate women power or their role in area of environment conservation and sustainable development. I had a section emphasizing the link between Women, environment and sustainable development. I had named that session as "Womenvironment". Women can play a bigger , wider and impactful role in the field of environment conservation because of the following :
• Women as Educators : Women are the first teachers for their children, hence they play a major role in inculcating the concern towards development and environmental issues. • Women as consumers : Women manage water supply at home and they are one who utilize maximum water and also responsible for providing hygienic drinking water. Hence they play major role in water management and usage. They have the primary responsibility for nutrition, child care and household management. Through no wastage or 3R policy they can manage/control the resources(food , water and energy) in environmentally friendly manner. Women as Producers : They can control population growth. • Women as conservers (of natural resources): Women have often been called as traditional natural scientists and have good knowledge of local flora and fauna like herbal medicines, food, fuel etc hence making them survival agriculturists. Hence they play a vital role in conserving natural resources. • Women as caretakers of the family: They can set eco friendly rules at home. • Women as decision makers/shoppers for the family They have the ultimate say in buying anything for home so they also play a vital role in buying better energy efficient appliances. They can guide the family to go for green vacation . In most developing countries, women play a major role as farmers, animal tenders, and water and fuel collectors. Women and environment are inter-related based on the roles that they play. Earth,like a mother, provides us with living necessities. That's why Earth/Nature is always addressed as "she" and is described with female characteristics : caring, life-giving , reproducing, and so on .Just like the environment, women are also life-givers, nurturers of life and providers for the sustenance of life. Hence as consumers, producers, caretakers of their families , women play an important role in the sustainable development through their concern for the quality and sustainability of life for the present and future generations. Then I shared with them few of my initiatives including my self-initiated projects for our building , my campaigns , workshops etc . I had also showcased the tables I had made from discarded tyres to convince them that recycling can give beautiful , cost-effective and eco-friendly products. Infact , these tables were all the time placed on centre stage and were being used for keeping brochures etc. At this point , I introduced Tunza Eco Generation and distributed leaflets and other promo material and shared with them my positive experience of being with Tunza Eco Generation , it's objectives , advantages and overall mission. I told them that they can let their young children , brother , sisters become members of this amazing forum to become environmentally conscious residents , to groom their writing skills , to let them network with other members from different parts of the world and to learn the values of environmentalism. Then through "Call for action" I asked them "I am doing my bit , Are you ?????." Then I went ahead with an interactive activity wherein I had 15 Questions asking them what they do currently and there were scores allotted for every action like "Do you leave your room light ON when you are not in room. If you always leave it ON , give yourself 0 , if you always switch it off , give yourself 4 , if you sometimes leave it On , give yourself 2". Then I told them that Turning off lights saves energy and money. The more energy used, the more rivers are dammed or more fossil fuel is burned, causing air pollution and increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Other questions were: Q : How many of you, when you drink a soft drink, throw the container into the garbage? Throwing away containers of any kind wastes energy and resources and adds to our waste problem. Many towns are running out of landfill space. Q: How many times in a week do you walk, bicycle or take public transportation to get to school /work etc instead of using private car? Our reliance on cars that burn fossil fuels is one of the major causes of increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and it is the primary cause of urban smog. Q: Do you use handkerchiefs instead of tissues and use cloth towels instead of paper towels? Paper comes from trees. The more of it we use, the more trees that are cut down Q: Do you use a hairdryer or other energy-consuming convenience appliance, especially in the morning? Hairdryers use a lot of energy. In the morning so much energy demand is put on our grids that power companies have to find other sources of energy just to meet the morning rush hour. Q: Do you use plastic bag or your own reuseable bag for your purchases , when you go to a store? Making paper and plastic bags uses energy and resources. The bags add to our litter and waste problems, and plastic is not biodegradable. Recycling is not the best answer because collecting and recycling materials requires energy. Instead, carry a reusable cloth bag or a knapsack with you is the best option even if you have only one or two small items to carry? Q : Do you have your own tumbler or mug in office /school or do you use Styrofoam/plastic cups ? Q: What do you have - incandescent bulbs or compact fluorescent bulbs -at home ? Changing one - incandescent bulb to CFL could save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide per year! ..
After exercise of 15 Questions , I told them to honeslty total their scores. If they got 31 - 42 Very good. You're an environmentalist! 21 - 30 Good, you're starting to save the world. 11 - 20 Lots of room for improvement. 0 - 10 You must take environment seriously and change your lifestyle.
Each of us must take steps to protect our Earth's climate-for the well-being of us , our family and our community. Then I concluded my session with GREEN PLEDGE, requesting them to stand with hand on their heart and taking the pledge whole-heartedly saying " I commit to taking (or continuing to take) concrete personal actions both in my personal and professional lives to make the world greener and more sustainable". I got a big round of applause from audiences/attendees and after the Summit , got very encouraging feedback. The Chief guest and the patron was Her Excellency Sheikha Dr. Hind Al Qassimi , member of the royal family of Sharjah Emirate in United Arab Emirates and the Chairwoman of both BPW Emirates Club, BPW Middle East Company and President of the Board of Directors of Emirates Business Women Council . I was truly touched by her words of praise and appreciation. The best compliment was when she gave me an offer to lead one of her youth organisations . It was a moment which will remain fresh in my mind for the lifetime. She fully understands the power of youth and power of women. In me she found the reflection of both youth and young woman so she was very motivating and offered her help in whatever I want to do. All the speakers were extremely good in their session and were very convincing . Attendees went very satisfied and said it was worth an investment as this Summit was on chargeable basis (one needed to pay to attend it-80USD for students and 135 USD for adults). Summit proved that women have potential to lead the change. Few press releases /feedbacks of the Summit , can be read thru below links : http://boloemirates.com/besite/index.php/women-lead-the-change-in-womens-peak-performance-summit/ http://m.dubaiprnetwork.com/pr.asp?pr=99359 http://www.godubai.com/citylife/press_release_page.asp?PR=99359&Sname=LifeStyle |
