Our team recently conducted semi-structured interviews with young individuals from the project intervention areas. These interviews were carefully crafted to delve into various themes, including the youths' understanding of the circular economy, the accessibility of leadership opportunities in their localities, and their enthusiasm towards assuming roles in guiding awareness or advocacy campaigns. The primary objective of these interviews was to gain insights into the perspectives, aspirations, and potential contributions of these youths towards advancing sustainability and community awareness initiatives, particularly focusing on mitigating plastic pollution into rivers and the circular economy. Furthermore, the interviews yielded important qualitative insights into the types of trainings that would practically benefit the youths in assuming leadership roles, effectively implementing campaigns, and inspiring other young individuals to partake in awareness/advocacy initiatives.
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Our team of the CAP project have been actively engaged in outreach efforts with the aim of establishing a youth cohort—a collective of proactive young leaders carefully selected from each project intervention area. This cohort will lead a year-long journey characterized by advocacy, awareness initiatives, and tangible actions, including the organization of Community Advocacy drives and River Cleaning Campaigns, among other impactful activities. In our recent outreach endeavor, the CAP team had the privilege of connecting with a dynamic group of young leaders from Ichchakamana Municipality. Notably, many of these individuals were actively involved in the local rafting community. Through discussions, the team delved into the far-reaching consequences of river pollution on both the recreational experience of rafting enthusiasts and the livelihoods of those reliant on the rafting industry for their sustenance. Moreover, the dialogue extended to exploring collaborative strategies through which the energetic young leaders from the Fishling region could lend their support to advocacy campaigns, championing the cause of plastic pollution-free rivers. These discussions also provided important qualitative insights into the specific hotspots where plastic waste is being disposed of, at particularly higher rates, into the Trishuli and Marshyangdi rivers.
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On 9th April, 2024, CREASION organized a stakeholders’ meeting at Bardibas municipality to discuss about the growing issues of plastic pollution in the municipality and way forward. In the meeting, the Deputy Mayor of Bardibas Municipality, Tara Devi, Government school teachers and students, Youth activists shared about the collaborative initiative undertaken through GreenShift Nepal project, funded by the European Union, to address these growing issues. The school teachers and students from the newly established climate smart schools under the GreenShift project also shared their opinions, expectations and way forward as a climate smart school. Similarly, the Deputy mayor and members from the Bardibas Municipality also expressed their full support for the implementation of GreenShift Project. All the ambassadors present also had a meaningful conversation with the stakeholders present at the meeting. The event was graced by Ambassador H.E Veronique Lorenzo, European Union Delegation to Nepal, Deputy Head of Cooperation, Eloisa Astudillo, European Union Delegation to Nepal, Ambassador H.E. Gilles Bourbao, Embassy of France, Ambassador H.E. Thomal Prinz, Embassy of Germany, Deputy Head of Mission, Christian Kamill, Embassy of Sweden in New Delhi.
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Date : April 1st, 2024 Project CAP kickoff event commenced with the opening remarks from Sujata Koirala, General Secretary, giving an overview of the project's long-term goals and its approach to tackling plastic pollution in rivers. The panel discussion featured representatives from various sectors, including local government, conservation activists, and social mobilizers, who shared their challenges and proposed future initiatives. The formal program was chaired by Aanand Mishra, Founder and President of CREASION, with Honorable Minister Bhanu Bhakta Joshi as the Chief Guest. Special guests and representatives from supporting institutions were also acknowledged. The event included poetry by Prabina Dhakal highlighting the impact of plastic pollution on rivers and an introduction to CREASION by Aanand Mishra. A detailed project presentation by Ujjwal Upadhyay followed, culminating in the official launch of the CAP project symbolized by nurturing a plant. Honorable Minister Joshi emphasized the importance of pollution reduction initiatives and applauded the project's efforts. Tokens of appreciation were presented to key guests, marking the conclusion of the program.
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Empowering Project CAP: Understanding Plastic for a Cleaner Future 🌍 Today marked a significant milestone for CREASION and Project CAP as team members gathered for a pivotal 'Know Your Plastic' session, led by Sujata Koirala, the General Secretary of CREASION and Deeji Manandhar, the program associate of CREASION. Against the backdrop of the 7th Global Recycling Day, this session shed light on the path to a more sustainable future. In an era where the battle against plastic pollution rages on, understanding the intricacies of plastic composition is not just an option but an imperative. With meticulous detail, the session delved into the classification of plastics, unraveling the complexities of PET, HDPE, PVC, LDPE, Polypropylene, Polystyrene, and MLP. Beyond mere identification, the discourse ventured into the essence of plastic – its durability, dispensability, and most importantly, its recyclability. Project CAP, the Collaborative Approach for Prevention Against Plastic Leakages in Rivers of Nepal, stands at the forefront of environmental stewardship. Its mission transcends borders, aiming to curb the insidious flow of plastic waste into our precious waterways. In this journey, knowledge becomes our most potent weapon. By arming ourselves with the ability to discern the nuances of plastic, we pave the way for effective intervention strategies. Each team member emerged from the session not just equipped with knowledge but imbued with a sense of purpose. As we embark on this noble quest, let us remember that the path towards sustainability is not a solitary one. It is a collective endeavor, fueled by the passion and commitment of individuals united by a common cause. Together, let us forge ahead, for our rivers, our planet, and the generations yet to come.
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On 5th March, CREASION organized a capacity building workshop for Balmiki Samaj Nepal. Balmiki samaj is an organization of waste workers in Nepalgunj, working for the livelihood upliftment of waste workers. The workshop was aimed at strengthening the capacity of Balmiki samaj Nepal for advocacy and inclusion of waste workers in policy process and to facilitate in the formation of National Alliance of Waste Workers. The event saw a total attendance of 20+ members of Balmiki samaj Nepal, where the participants also developed a detailed workplan for CSOs of waste workers grant under Greenshift Nepal project, funded by the European Union in Nepal. The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Anil Chitrakar, Social Entrepreneur and Advisor to CREASION. The mayor of Nepalgunj, Mr. Prashant Bista, was also present, he expressed his full support for Balmiki samaj and other similar organizations of waste workers. The event was co-funded by Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing - WIEGO and European Union in Nepal
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CREASION, with the support of European Union, organized the National launch of project GreenShift Nepal, a project aimed to promote a just transition to circular economy. The event was held at the grounds of regional office of CREASION in Bharatpur, Chitwan, marking the project's official commencement. GreenShift Nepal is a four-year project which will be implemented in 9 municipalities – 3 in each of Bagmati, Madhesh, and Lumbini provinces. The project implementation is led by CREASION through the consortium partners Restless Development, and Youth Innovation Lab (YI-LAB). The event started with a formal session with a warm welcome to all the distinguished guests by Sujata Koirala, General Secretary of CREASION and two Student representatives from one of our Waste Smart Schools in Bharatpur. The welcome remarks highlighted the importance of a collective effort towards achieving circularity of plastic waste. Further, the event marked the official launch of the project by watering a plant in a recycled pot, stressing the importance of Shifting towards Circular Economy and its relation to biodiversity. Furthermore, the presentation session started with Yunish Ghimire, Project Lead of GreenShift Nepal, from CREASION Sabin Dotel Waste Smart Fellow Coordinator, Youth Innovation Lab,Sangita Maharjan from Restless Development. They introduced the project, giving a detailed walk through of the project areas, project objectives target groups and beneficiaries and the timeline of the project and the detailed components and activities. The presentation summed up the overall project and what it aims to achieve over four years. Further, Eloisa Astudillo, Deputy Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union to Nepal, emphasized the importance of harnessing the vitality of youth to promote circularity of plastic waste, a priority issue for the EU. She expressed her eagerness to witness transformative efforts in the three provinces of the projects in the coming four years duration. Further, speaking at the event, Prashant Bista, Mayor of Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City, provided his special remarks, emphasizing more efforts and projects like such and importance of youths towards promoting a sustainable future for all. Ganesh Shah, Former Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, expressed his eagerness with the commencement of the project and shared his experience in the environment and waste management sector in Nepal. In another special remarks, Masina Khadka, Hon’ble Minister of Forest and Environment, Bagmati Province, expressed her happiness of seeing such collective effort to tackle issues of waste management and waste workers in Nepal. She expressed her eagerness of wanting to see the positive changes the project will bring in the coming years and expressed her full support to the project. Aanand Mishra, Founder and President of CREASION, concluded the event with gratitude to the EU and other partners, affirming the organization's dedication to promoting circularity of plastic waste for Net-Zero carbon Nepal, emphasizing the importance of collective and compassion-based effort of all. Further, sustainable gifts were handed to the special guests. The event shifted towards an informal session with a tour of the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) inside the CREASION Regional office, showcasing our commitment towards plastic circularity. The grounds of the regional office were also filled with 10 different climate smart entrepreneur stalls, such as Kanduk Industry, Eco-Revive, Kleanit Nepal, showcasing their eco-friendly and sustainable products, one of which were also a stall from CREASION showcasing our jackets made from 100% recycled PET bottles. On top of that, there was also a table with Recycled plant pots where guests planted their own selected plants in recycled pots and took them home with them. The event ended with interactive, engaging sessions with meaningful connections and networking, all for a collective vision, to promote just transition towards Circular Economy.
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The Greenshift team has officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City for collaboration for the project. Through the Waste Smart Fellowship program, this project will place Waste Smart Fellows in three local governments for a period of six months after signing the MoU. Green Shift: Circularity of Plastic Waste for Net-Zero Carbon Nepal (GreenShift Nepal) project is funded by the European Union to promote a just transition to circular economy. GreenShift Nepal is a four-year project which will be implemented in 9 municipalities – 3 in each of Bagmati, Madhesh, and Lumbini provinces. The project implementation is led by CREASION through the consortium partners Restless Development, and Youth Innovation Lab (YI-LAB). With this collaboration, Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City has formally agreed on providing support for data collection for waste management, research and policy development and necessary support to the assigned waste smart fellows. We deeply appreciate the collaboration and eagerly anticipate the forthcoming support for the GreenShift Project.
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The Greenshift team has officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bardibas Municipality for collaboration for the project. Through the Waste Smart Fellowship program, this project will place Waste Smart Fellows in three local governments for a period of six months after signing the MoU. Green Shift: Circularity of Plastic Waste for Net-Zero Carbon Nepal (GreenShift Nepal) project is funded by the European Union to promote a just transition to circular economy. GreenShift Nepal is a four-year project which will be implemented in 9 municipalities – 3 in each of Bagmati, Madhesh, and Lumbini provinces. The project implementation is led by CREASION through the consortium partners Restless Development, and Youth Innovation Lab (YI-LAB). With this collaboration, Bardibas Municipality has formally agreed on providing support for data collection for waste management, research and policy development and necessary support to the assigned waste smart fellows. We deeply appreciate the collaboration and eagerly anticipate the forthcoming support for the GreenShift Project.
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Creating spaces for youth and young professionals to lead governance, entrepreneurship, and advocacy: Nepali Yuwa in Climate Action and Green Growth, the YouthCAN.org. Youth Innovation Lab (YI-Lab) along with the consortium partners, CREASION, Restless Development and Centre for Disaster Management Studies (CDMS), with funding from the European Union organized the second annual sharing event of Nepali Yuwa in Climate Action and Green Growth. Completing the second year in Karnali Province, the annual sharing event was organized to share experiences, learnings, knowledge generated, and innovation brought working with local and provincial level governments, youth, and young professionals. In the second year, 1954 youth have been reached (this includes fellows, mentees, volunteers, digital advocates, and youth reached via digital advocacy campaign, Climate Smart Entrepreneurship, and Climate Fellows), 450 government representatives/officials have been oriented on BIPAD Portal, DRRM and CCA, 3918 community members have been reached during critical infrastructure data collection and VCA, and 17 local/sectoral experts have been engaged as mentors. Through the Climate Fellowship component of the project, ten Climate Fellows were stationed at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law, Karnali Province, and nine project municipalities to support the localization of disaster and climate-related plans and policies and the localization of national integrated Disaster Information Management System, Bipad Portal and collected 1782-point data of critical infrastructures. Likewise, through Climate Smart Entrepreneurship, six entrepreneurs were selected for the Innovation Grant 2023 from the cohort of 20 who had undergone three months of mentorship. At the event, six Innovation Grant winners displayed their products. Furthermore, through TagMe: Digital Campaign, 600+ youth joined Data-driven Advocacy and collected 1500+ landslide data to advocate for informed and resilient development. The annual sharing event started with an innovation walk to showcase three project components, where six Innovation Grant Winners of 2023 showcased their products, climate fellows shared their experiences and knowledge generated through the fellowship grant, and digital volunteers shared about the data-driven advocacy through the Tagme campaign. Giving special remarks on the Role of Youth in Climate Action and Green Growth, Eloisa Astudillo, Deputy Head of Cooperation of the European Union shared that when we are working with young people we are working with people that have energy, dynamism, ideas, and values in protecting the world and addressing the climate change. Promoting the role of young people is one of the priorities of EU and EU partnerships with countries like Nepal that have the opportunity to work and shape their future with their strength and capacity. Highlighting global challenges like climate change, she said the EU is making changes inside of Europe to address climate change and trying to be the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Giving the project overview, Goma Karki, the project lead of YouthCAN.org, emphasized the essence of the project through three key components: Governance, Entrepreneurship, and Advocacy, and shared the knowledge generated from the project. Surendra Basnet, Vice President of the National Youth Council emphasized the importance of youth engagement to promote Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He thanked TheYouthCAN.org for building entrepreneurship in the Karnali province. Appreciating the innovative ideas of the youth, he promised to continue collaboration with them. In conclusion, Climate change is a global threat, we would like to have youths to mitigate the impacts of this problem. As a closing remark: Pradip Khatiwada, Executive Director, YI-lab thanked the partner’s organization especially the EU for continuous support and creating space for youth and young professionals in DRR, climate change, entrepreneurship, and digital advocacy.
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Eighty-two enthusiastic students from Waste Smart School, Shree Chameli Devi Piya Secondary School, actively engaged in an enlightening session organized by their dedicated teachers. The session was meticulously designed to deepen their understanding of various waste categories. Through a blend of theoretical insights and hands-on activities, the students embarked on a journey to explore and comprehend the diverse types of waste. The educators orchestrated engaging presentations, employing multimedia resources to impart theoretical knowledge. This interactive approach was complemented by practical exercises, allowing the students to actively participate in categorizing different types of waste. The hands-on activities provided a tangible experience, enabling the students to apply their newfound knowledge in a real-world context. The insightful session not only broadened the students' awareness of waste management but also instilled a sense of responsibility towards the environment. By combining theoretical learning with practical application, the teachers successfully fostered an environment where students could actively contribute to creating a sustainable and waste-smart community.
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