6th September 2021
In Kosovo a young woman dreamt of making a difference to the growing pollution problem in Pristina the capital. Arlinda Cakai, a university student studying environmental engineering, wanted to raise awareness of available solutions to reduce air pollution. She caught the attention of the municipal government who supported her idea for vertical gardens and invested in her enterprise to turn the awareness campaign into a prototype. This went onto become a social enterprise, Te Pema. The vertical walls purify air through a panel installation containing 250 weeds that absorb pollution, stores and releases oxygen.
Te Pema has grown to eight vertical gardens in the City’s square, equivalent to planting more than 500 trees. Citizen awareness for the need to combat carbon emissions is growing along with client base who wish to invest in green walls throughout the city.
Photo credit Te Pema
Arlinda Cakai had an idea but crucially she found support through the UPSHIFT program by UNICEF, which nurtures, mentors and finances young people and their social innovations at the important incubation period.
Similarly, in Uzbekistan Rusamjon Madraimov wanted to solve the problems arising from the dry Aral Sea region, remotely situated in Turktul in Karakalpastan. A once thriving fishing industry has given way to damaging sandstorms. It is impossible to plant dessert trees to anchor the sand. This can only be done during the winter when the region is more accessible by car. The only problem is that temperature is below -30c.
Photo credit Rusamjon Madraimov
Rusamjon devised a planting robot, fitted with solar panels. He approached UPSHIFT who taught him how to present the project and communicate the intended solution to the problem. UPSHIFT connected him to funders, so that he can build further robots and increase the area of planting.
In Vietnam, another young innovator Tien Lihn was contemplating how to fight carbon emissions which were polluting Ho Chi Minh City from 7.3 million motorbikes! The project BITBO was given seed funding for incubation in 2019-2020. Tien Lihn and his team are at the forefront of testing the feasibility of his idea, using algae to absorb CO2 emissions from exhaust fumes.
UNICEF’s UPSHIFT programme across their operating countries has one thing in common, to provide a framework that can inspire youth around the world to use local challenges as transformative experiences. UPSHIFT have also provided job opportunities for young people as these innovations take hold. Beyond the projects, the impact allows youth to think differently, problem solve, experience team work, and importantly realize how an idea can train a generation of innovators.
Future sustainable solutions and enterprises are being led by young innovators. Their journey of creativity and inquiry, however, starts in the classroom.
An example of this is In India where UNICEF partnered with a State government and launched UPSHIFT as a teacher-led extra-curricular programme in 4,000 schools reaching 24,000 students with its training and idea creation platform. Sustainability and finding solutions to implement Sustainable Development Goals is the real challenge for young minds….how to turn the impossible into possible.
Read more about UPSHIFT here
https://www.unicef.org/innovation/upshift
