A three day conference on Climate Change “ Youth for Smart Solution” was inaugurated by Prof. Dr. Govind Raj Pokhrel, Executive Director, AEPC amidst the 104 young scientist at Climate + Change, Nepal Art Council, Babarmahal on March 26, 2014. The Conference was organized in collaboration with Danish Forestry Extension (DFE), supported by Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC), Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and Climate+Change, the regional Dialogue for the Future, Nepal Art Council, Babarmahal, Kathmandu. The program started with the welcome note by Mr. Shyam Bajimaya, WCN trustee and former Director General of DNPWC. Different distinguished speakers, Mr. Batu Krishna Uprety, Expert Member of the Climate Change Council and former Joint Secretary of Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, Mr. Suman Shakya, MD, One Planet Solution Pvt. Ltd, Mr. Per C Christensen, Senior Consultant, DFE, Ms. Roshni Udyavar Yehuda, Head, Rachana Sansad Institute of Environmental Architecture, Mumbai, India made remarks on the significant role of youth in working together for innovative solution to mitigate and adapt to climate change . Ms. Sanjeevani Y Shrestha concluded the opening ceremony and announced the start of the technical sessions which comprised of six components of the environment i.e Agriculture, Alternative energy, Water, Green Architecture, Biodiversity and Forest, and Waste Management. The objectives of the Conference were to
• Conduct an engaging and informative platform for young scientists on contemporary issues on climate change through interaction with national and international experts
• Bridge the gap between people who study environment and climate change and technocrats or those who bring about solutions in everyday life tocombat climate.
• Create a platform where all the organizations can come together and share success stories and hurdles in the field while working on issues while combating the adverse effects of climate change.
The conference was about creating a discussion about climate change among youth of Nepal and encouraging them to come up with the models/ideas that can be implemented in different community structures to combat adverse effects of climate change. Its goal is to facilitate Network Creation and Networking on sharing of information on Adaptation and Mitigation strategies, which is crucial to communicate climate change.
A competition on poster focusing on innovative solutions was also announced and abstracts were called for. Thirty Five abstracts were submitted by the students on different components out of which 17 were shortlisted. The posters based on these abstracts were on display and were judged by eminent experts. The winners of the poster competition were : 1. Forest and Biodiversity : Udya Thapa, Golden Gate College, 2. Green Architecture: Bhupendra Jung Keshari Chand, Department of Architecture, IOE, 3. Water: Mr. Vaskar Dahal (Shortlisted), 4. Alternative Energy: Sujata Mahat, Golden Gate College, 5. Waste Management : Uttam Pudasaini.
Venue: Kathmandu
