teen eco activist spurs hope at childrens peace prize award
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today
Egypt Today, egypt today
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today

Teen eco activist spurs hope at children's peace prize award

Egypt Today, egypt today

Egypt Today, egypt today Teen eco activist spurs hope at children's peace prize award

Indian teenage environmental activist Kehkashan Basu
The Hague - AFP

Award-winning teen environmental activist Kehkashan Basu said Friday ecologists should "not lose hope" in their battle to fight climate change, despite scepticism from world leaders including US President-elect Donald Trump.

"These are uncertain times, but I want to tell people to continue their work and not bother about it," Basu, born in Dubai to Indian parents, told AFP in The Hague, where she was awarded the prestigious International Children's Peace Prize.

World leaders, CEOs, negotiators and activists attending a UN conference earlier this month in Marrakesh voiced concern following the election of Trump, who has vowed to withdraw the US from a hard-won global agreement on climate change.

"Do not stop what you're doing. No matter what happens, we have to continue to save the planet," the 16-year-old said shortly before being handed the prize at a glittering ceremony at a medieval banquet hall in the city.

Basu is being honoured for the work done by her child-run organisation Green Hope, based in the United Arab Emirates, which now has more than 1,000 volunteers in 10 countries around the world.

The ambitious teen founded Green Hope at the age of 12 and within four years managed several successful environmental projects, including planting 5,000 trees in Colombia, France, Mexico, Nepal, Oman and the United States.

"What started as one young girl's initiative is now a sizeable organisation... with a management team comprised entirely of children who even use their own pocket money to fund their environmental activities," said competition organisers KidsRights.

Apart from planting trees, Green Hope also focuses on activities such as cleaning up mangrove swamps around the UAE, said Basu, who hoped to draw special attention to the threats facing fragile coastal forests.

Mangroves are considered vital to coral reefs and fisheries and serve as important buffers for coastal cities against rising sea levels and storm surges.

The WWF last year said the species are facing deforestation rates three to five times higher than the average global forest loss.

Basu, who was inspired by her grandmother's rooftop garden in Kolkata, India, received the prize from 2006 Nobel Peace laureate and anti-poverty campaigner Muhammad Yunus.

The prize is awarded annually "to a child who fights courageously for children's rights," KidsRights said. It also includes a 100,000 euro ($106,000) investment for projects in the winner's home country.

Past winners include Pakistani education campaigner Malala Yousafzai and the prize's first recipient, Nkosi Johnson, a South African boy who shone a light on the plight of children with HIV/AIDS.

egypttoday
egypttoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

teen eco activist spurs hope at childrens peace prize award teen eco activist spurs hope at childrens peace prize award



GMT 15:20 2011 Thursday ,20 October

Goodger with unflattering dress

GMT 14:38 2017 Tuesday ,19 December

France sues Amazon over marketplace rules

GMT 06:31 2015 Thursday ,02 July

267 killed in 105 bomb blasts across Pakistan

GMT 20:12 2016 Tuesday ,26 January

Romania offers Moldova $65m loan to spur reforms

GMT 15:53 2012 Sunday ,24 June

Storm warnings up along Gulf coast

GMT 12:18 2011 Sunday ,13 November

Nissan unveils futuristic Pivo 3 concept

GMT 12:20 2012 Tuesday ,14 February

Rashed Al-Majed: My heart goes out for Syrians

GMT 10:33 2011 Monday ,20 June

Indonesia protests to Saudi over maid beheading

GMT 15:23 2016 Saturday ,20 February

Nadia Fanchini wins World Cup downhill
 
 Egypt Today Facebook,egypt today facebook  Egypt Today Twitter,egypt today twitter Egypt Today Rss,egypt today rss  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
egypttoday, Egypttoday, Egypttoday