Sagarika Sriram is currently a student at Jumeirah College in Dubai. She founded the organization Kids4abetterworld when she was 10 years old with a mission to educate and encourage young children to lead a more sustainable life and reduce their carbon footprint. Children are the worst affected by the effects of climate change, yet most children do not participate in climate change discussions or take actions to live more sustainably because they do not have the awareness and capability to do so. Kids4abetterworld conducts awareness workshops on sustainability aiming to Educate, Motivate and Activate young children to conserve natural resources, protect biodiversity, and positively impact climate change. As a UN Climate Advisor, she has participated in the global consultations that will ensure children are made aware of their environmental rights and that UN member states protect and uphold these. Kids4abetterworld is a platform for young children to connect across the globe as they adopt sustainable lifestyles and drive systemic solutions to the climate crisis.

SAGARIKA SRIRAM

So I essentially just set up this website which could be accessed from anywhere in the world to teach children about how they can do small things in their own households, very basic initiatives to live a more sustainable life, and to educate themselves and others. So essentially you work in sort of like a butterfly effect where it goes on and on and on. And you can share your experience and you can all be individual change-makers.

I'm dealing with an age of eight to 16. That's what I've been focusing on with Kids4abetterworld. And I think the biggest thing is if you overcomplicate it, they tend to just switch off. Nothing is retained and it can be extremely overwhelming. And I think focusing on educating children, you should always be aware of their mental health and ensure that if you are telling them something, you're not sending the wrong signals.

I'm on the board of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and we're currently working on something called General Comment No. 26, which essentially considers these aspects. It's a document that states the demands or requests that children want when it comes to environmental awareness and the fact that children of all different backgrounds, nationalities, and regions should all have the opportunity to have a say in what's going on on our planet.

And they should have a say in the decisions that are being made since it is going to affect our future. And it shouldn't just be limited to children who are based in more populated places or are more well-connected. It should include everyone.

A child should want to make that difference. A child should feel the need to work towards creating environmental change. And we've partnered with numerous organizations here in the Middle East, and globally with other members of youth activists who are doing a lot for their communities. I think when it becomes youth educating the youth, it's children are a lot more receptive, as opposed to maybe an adult because you can relate more to someone who is your age. And I think that the biggest thing for me is that I don't want it to become like a class.

So over the past few years, my first initiative was conducted with Emirates Environmental Group, which is a local environmental organization here. And I did that when I was about 11 or 12 years old. And I think when I worked with them, it was sort of a push in the right direction for me because I did feel that Emirates Environmental Group, as supportive as they were with me and as much as they educated me, and they provided me definitely with the right resources to conduct my first workshop, which was that I collected 1000 kilos of household paper waste. And I got a tree planted in my name. I felt that I needed to run my own organization and that I needed to teach children that, you know, it's not like you're just one child in a mass. The efforts you are putting towards it are making a difference. So that was a push in the right direction for me when I set up Kids4abetterworld.

I've met several global children who are sort of the same aspects as me, but from different backgrounds, and I'm working alongside them to see how I can almost adapt Kids4abetterworld to suit the children in their regions.

But I do believe that it's sort of in your mentality that leads to the most change. You really do need to realize where to change your day-to-day habits. And I think I've really been exposed to a lot of different organizations who've helped me develop and learn so much more and just be open to learning from different people and understanding these different skills.

I went to COP 27 recently in Egypt in Sharm El Sheikh, and that was probably the first time in my life that I've met so many people in one room. I think there were about 40,000 people focusing on the same goal. We all have the same mindset. That's the one common factor that we're all from different backgrounds, different ages, and different regions, but we all have that one goal that we're focusing on. And that was extremely inspirational. I worked a lot on the Children's Climate Education and Youth Pavilion during COP 27. I was speaking to people who were saying that essentially their home is at risk. And it's something that is so complicated to wrap your head around. And it just taught me, meeting these children from different backgrounds, helped me get a deeper understanding and connect to the work I'm doing.

And I do think that especially in this industry, you are constantly educated and you can never be in a situation where you know everything. You've always learned from others. I think that's also the point of Kids4abetterworld is that you're learning from children. It's not only me who's teaching children, but I'm learning from them and it's a mutual connection.

This interview was conducted by Mia Funk and Taveisha Yerneni with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this episode was Taveisha Yerneni.

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process & One Planet Podcast (Conversations about Climate Change & Environmental Solutions).