Odisha Day Six | Mar 4: Creating An Inclusive Climate Movement
Today was my last day in Odisha. We started the morning with a cycle rally, in partnership with Dream India, ending in Balangir’s Town Hall. We had quite a few people join us on their cycles, but it was even more heartwarming to see people stop and ask about what we were advocating for. For the rest of the day, I was at our farmer’s Citizen’s Jury, the final jury for this ride. Rajya Sabha MP Niranjan Bishi, a tribal activist, did us the honour of inaugurating the day, applauding various climate-smart agriculture techniques farmers can take to tackle the climate crisis.
The farmers attending the Citizen’s Jury were excited to be there and connect with folks from other parts of the state. This event serves as a powerful platform for people to share knowledge and best practices with one another and it brought me a lot of joy to witness. What was even more heartening, was to see a large number of walk-ins wanting to participate and stay for the entire day. In all of our Citizen’s Jury events, we’ve seen people come into the event space out of curiosity and stay for the entire day, even though they didn’t even know about the Citizen’s Jury before that day. It shows that given the opportunity, people want to learn and be a part of the solution. It is exactly situations like these that keep me committed to this work. At SwitchON, we have the opportunity to convene spaces like this and make sure they are accessible and inclusive to all – no one should be turned away from this climate movement.
There is much work yet to be done. The Move for Earth movement is just the beginning – to engage people in various forms of climate action. People are paying attention and the movement is gaining traction by the day. Now, we must commit to building a united movement across the country that tackles the diverse aspects of the climate crisis. This year, India is host to the G20 summit, to be held in New Delhi in September. In the lead-up to this international event, SwitchON Foundation is growing the Move for Earth movement, so that we can bring global attention to the impacts of the climate crisis, and show what an active and participatory citizenry can achieve when we all work together. I hope you join us on this momentous journey and stay committed to individual climate action and broader social change.
P.S. Make sure to continue to follow SwitchON Foundation (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) to stay abreast of our ongoing journey and learn about the different ways you can participate in showing your Love for Earth.
