Ambassador Spotlights: April 2022

Along with Elisa Battistella, Rafal Latawiec, Helene Constans, Dennis Schneider, and Shaun Elliot, Ioanna acts as co-founder and coordinator of the I'M-Possible Movement powered by Holcim. The initiative is designed to offer a space where people feel safe enough to talk about various topics of interest, share best practices and ideas, and feel empowered to implement these in their work and personal lives. The I'M-Possible Movement operates within Holcim, a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions with a presence in 60 countries employing 70,000 people.

The I'M-Possible Movement is globally-oriented in a similar fashion to the company in which it exists, with the movement so far consisting of 150 participants from 26 countries. The initiative focuses on four key areas: sustainability, innovation, people well-being, and diversity & inclusion, with participants already driving change and generating impact through four ongoing projects. The I'M-Possible Movement is actively supported by top management and the executive committee of Holcim.

María works with the Government of Colombia in order to create space and direction for women and ethnic minorities affected by the implementation of the country's peace accords. Her mission has been to ensure the implementation of a framework, in partnership with the government, for the permanent participation of women and ethnic groups in the peace process, so as to uphold and vindicate the rights of victims of the armed conflict and everyone affected by the violence of the FARC.

In its three years of operation, María and her team have managed to include women in the operational and financial aspects of the peace accords. Uniquely, women from civil organisations monitor the implementation of the peace process as well as operations to reincorporate female ex-combatants back into Colombian society. As a result of this work, they have managed to impact one million women in rural areas, guarantee a gender approach in 100% of the projects for ex-combatant women, and design and implement gender protocol for women working with illicit crops. Leading this initiative has allowed María to put on the political agenda the importance of working with a women's approach to achieving the implementation of the peace accords.

Integrated Agricultural Association (I.A.A), is a Cameroon-based non-profit development and humanitarian organization, founded in 2016 by Dungrila to promote gender equality, climate and environmental justice, food security and women's empowerment. Through grassroots outreach, the organisation helps women and girls on their journey to sustainable economic opportunities while empowering women-owned producer cooperatives and educating Cameroonians on the importance of organic farming. The I.A.A also transforms subsistence farms into profitable businesses by helping smallholder farmers access good training, affordable capital, quality inputs and better crop prices.

Since 2017, I.A.A has been creating food awareness through educational workshops while advocating for gender equality and promoting reproductive health. To date, I.A.A has trained over 5,000 smallholder farmers in sustainable agriculture, distributed 7,000 vegetable seed packets, trained over 2,000 young girls in menstrual hygiene management and supported 500 girls with sanitary pads. I.A.A has also inspired and trained 1,000 young girls in STEM fields. It has also planted 15,000 agroforestry trees and restored 150 hectares of degraded farms while training over 850 women in agroforestry techniques in 5 years.

One of the major social problems affecting Senegal is the phenomenon of street children, called talibé children, an estimated 100,000 of whom live in traditional religious schools called daaras across the country. Many of these children live in extremely poor conditions without adequate sanitation, food, or medical care. Often recruited from poor families from the interior of the country, the reality of life for many of these children is one of destitution, forced to beg on the street for alms and suffering both physically and psychologically if their quotas are not met.

Chemin du Futur was founded by Guilherme in 2011 to help alleviate the conditions experienced by these children. Chemin du Futur does this by providing everything from basic needs like food and housing to psychosocial and professional support for the children with an educational focus, including supplemental instruction and English language classes. Chemin du Futur's target demographic is children between 6 and 13 years old, so far benefitting 54 young people through its work. To make the project sustainable in the medium and long term, the organisation is developing a social enterprise aspect to its work in Senegal, to ensure that it can continue its vital work.

Founded by Aminetou Bilal, who currently serves as the President of the organisation, the Mouvement des Patriotes en Action (MPA) is a political and civic movement which aims to put Mauritanian citizens at the heart of political action in the country. The movement aims to bring together committed people who share common values and who have the capacity to contribute to the positive transformation of the country. The MPA primarily works to defend the inclusion of citizens in development projects, particularly in aspects affecting youth unemployment, as well as the participation of women in decision-making bodies and the election of young people and women to parliament.

The Mouvement des Patriotes en Action is comprised of a hundred young people. Volunteers carry out actions in their own localities and publicise the work of the movement to promote ideas. The MPA has also developed an engagement strategy for its network of members and volunteers, including training on how best to reach target audiences, debating, workshops, and consultations. The movement has also attempted to engage the Mauritanian diaspora in order to give back to their country of origin.

Belyndar is a final year law student at the University of the South Pacific and the Vice President of the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC). The PISFCC is a youth-led organisation with membership from across the Pacific Island countries, with chapters in Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, and the Solomon Islands and plans to extend its presence to other countries in the region in the near future.

The PISFCC's core work is its campaign to convince governments from around the world to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice in order to begin developing a new international legal framework integrating legal obligations around environmental treaties and basic human rights. The organisation is also committed to educating and activating all Pacific Island youth to become aware of and take action to help prevent climate change. In addition to her work with the PISFCC, Belyndar is also an active member of the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network, supporting climate advocacy through speaking engagements at virtual events highlighting the impact of climate change on the Pacific.

Kilometro Uno is a coastal and marine conservation team focused on the impact of and solutions to marine litter and climate change, while also seeking to empower the next generation of environmental leaders. Founded by Orlando nine years ago, Kilometro Uno has directly educated 130,000 children and young people in Mexico, Central America, and Southern California. The organisation's volunteers have removed 90 tonnes of marine litter from the ocean, and through its lobbying efforts, Kilometro Uno helped introduce the plastic bag ban in the city of Tijuana and the installation of a floating trash boom to capture cross-border waste. It has also worked with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation.

Recognised as one of the EE 30 Under 30 environmental education leaders by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). Kilometro Uno was selected by The Economist and Sustainable Ocean Alliance as one of the “15 Ocean Youth Leaders” worldwide. Recently, Orlando was selected as 1 of the 30 members of the International Youth Delegation attending the Our Ocean Conference in Palau.

Aashraya has continued his work with Menstrual Hygiene Friendly Spaces (MHFS) with significant progress made already in 2022 towards the organisation's goal of promoting menstrual health in India. Its vending machines are supporting more than 50,000 marginalised and tribal menstruators of school-going age with free biodegradable sanitary pads every month. MHFS has also succeeded in transforming the behavioural practices of 15,000 girls who were using plastic pads towards the use of biodegradable or cloth alternatives. In partnership with the Office of The Chief Development Officer in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, MHFS has launched a sustainable menstrual curriculum for 1,617 schools, with over 100,000 students expected to benefit.

Aashraya is also set to launch two brand new affordable products to foster sustainable menstruation: a $1 eco-friendly, washable cloth-pad and a $10 biodegradable non-electric incinerator, suitable for menstruators in rural India. These developments will help shift communities away from plastic sanitary pads, which can take more than 500 years to degrade and help prevent 9000 tonnes of plastic waste generated due to sanitary napkin waste in India. Aashraya has also been selected as one of the British Council's Future Leaders from India in Reproductive Health, and QCT Young Leader at The Queen's Commonwealth Trust.

Tember founded Do Something Different (DSD) as a youth-driven nonprofit organisation focusing on assisting and empowering under-resourced students/children in St. Lucia. DSD began in 2017 as a movement to advocate for education as a fundamental right, and since then it has donated essential school equipment such as laptops, kindles, school bags, and stationery to over 500 children on the island. In January 2021, the organisation donated over 75 e-devices including 15 laptops in order to facilitate online learning in St. Lucia during the COVID-19 pandemic. DSD also donated 60 fully packed school bags to students from all levels of the educational system.

Since its foundation, DSD has visited over 15 schools on the island to engage in reading month, good deeds day, youth month, and speaking on the importance of volunteerism and education. Working towards Sustainable Development Goals 10 as well as 4, DSD hopes to offer services such as free therapy that can help alleviate some of the silent struggles students often face. The organisation hopes to continue aiding in the development of young people both inside and outside of the classroom.