The 3rd Yuva Sustainability Conference is being organised by the Voices of Bharat: Yuva for Sustainability initiative. It has been initiated by DevCom Bharat, a sustainability knowledge and communication agency, along with leading universities and colleges ranging from Miranda House, Delhi University, to the Central University of Kashmir, and two NGOs – Ekta Foundation and Lok Samvad Sansthan. Internship industry partners include Blueleaf Energy, Bisleri International, UFlex Limited and Rajasthan Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
The Advisory Board comprises five serving and former Vice Chancellors. DevCom Bharat also produces the Sustainability Karma Podcast on All India Radio, and partners with NDTV as an Awards Process Partner for the Adani Green Talks Social Impact Awards.
Launched by Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, the Voices of Bharat: Yuva for Sustainability initiative has been endorsed by Deputy Chief Minister Prem Chand Bairwa; Sanjay Sharma, State Minister for Forest, Environment & Climate Change; and Dr Manju Baghmar, State Minister for Women and Child Development.
Its activities so far include organising the 1st Yuva Sustainability Conference, which was covered extensively by the media. It partnered with All India Radio and Doordarshan to air special programmes on the conference and engaged with national and regional media such as The Times of India, Dainik Bhaskar, and Rajasthan Patrika for amplification.
The 2nd Yuva Sustainability Conference was conducted online in association with Jamia Millia Islamia and the Speakers included Prof K G Suresh, Director, India Habitat Centre; Former VC, Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication; Former, DG, Indian Institute of Mass Communication; Prof (Dr) Rihan Khan Suri, Director, Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Jamia Millia Islamia; Prof Bijayalaxmi Nanda, Principal, Miranda House, University of Delhi; and Rajendra Bhanawat (IAS), Trustee, Foundation for Education and Development.
Other speakers included International luminaries like Erik Solheim, Former Executive Director, UNEP; and top sustainability experts like Richard Rekhy, Vice-Chairman, Grant Thornton Bharat; Santhosh Jayaram, Former Global Head of Sustainability at HCL Technologies; and Sandeep Chandna, Chief Sustainability Officer, Tech Mahindra.
Four Yuva Sustainability Webinars have been conducted on All India Radio with eminent speakers including Dr Mohsin Wali, Physician to three former Presidents of India; Prof Govind Singh, Media Advisor to the Uttarakhand CM; serving and former VCs such as Prof Dev Swarup, Prof Sudhi Rajiv and Prof Subhash Dhuliya; and CEOs such as Prashant Singh of Blue Planet and Abhishek Agashe of Elima.
In addition, Sustainability Karma Masterclasses are being conducted on All India Radio, curated by Prof Prateek Raj of University College London. The speakers include Dr Arvind Bodhankar, CSO, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel; Dipankar Ghosh, Sustainability & ESG Practice, BDO in India; Dr K K Upadhyay, Chair, Centre for Sustainability & CSR, BIMTECH; Santhosh Jayaram, Former Global Head – Sustainability, HCL Technologies; and Shailesh Haribhakti, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Haribhakti & Co.The Voices of Bharat: Yuva for Sustainability initiative in a first of its kind runs an online Yuva Sustainability Internship programme. The initiative aims to nurture a generation of sustainability champions to sensitise more than 10 million people on climate action and build the entrepreneurship skills of youth at its upcoming Incubation Centre for Impact Entrepreneurs to advance the cause of people, planet and prosperity.