Come March 5 and if you are between the ages of 20-29, live in Goa and want to contribute to society, all roads must lead to the Shape Connect Goa conference at the Kokum Design Centre, Alto Porvorim. Organised by the Global Shapers Panjim hub, this day-long meeting starting at 9am will seek to get the youth of Goa to work on projects which will improve life in Goa at the social, environmental and civic levels. Global Shapers ( www.globalshapers.org) is a subsidiary of the World Economic Forum aimed at equipping young people across the world find solutions to day-to-day urban problems.
The Global Shapers Panjim hub which was started in Goa three years ago is part of a national network of 30 similar hubs and worldwide network of 410 hubs all governed by the Global Shapers head quarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
What is interesting is that Global Shapers attracts very talented youth into its fold. Youth who are determined to make a positive difference to the society they live in. A case in point are two, young Goan ladies, Mrinmayee Thakur and Gabriella D’Cruz ( see picture).
Mrinmayee, a final year architecture student at the Goa College of Architecture turned a break in her undergraduate education to her advantage by deciding to research the life cycle of butterflies. Meticulously studying the life cycles from the cocoon stage to the butterfly stage, Mrinmayee and a colleague documented the life cycles of a mind-boggling 100 species of butterflies. Her painstaking research soon to be converted into a book, has spurred the energetic young woman to make presentations on butterflies in a programme titled, ‘Metamorphosis with Mrinmayee’ across the length and breadth of Goa.
Under the aegis of Global Shapers Panjim, the budding architect has also been conducting the popular, ‘Trailing Biodiversity’ programmes across the schools in Panjim and Goa. Typically, Mrinmayee and her colleagues conduct environment walks for groups of school children where the children are exposed to the flora and fauna around them which includes bird and animal life and species of trees. “What I like most about Global Shapers is the opportunity to do plain and simple social work,” says Mrinmayee.
Similarly, Gabriella D’Cruz a graduate in environmental sciences has trained as a conservation diver in Thailand and is passionate about conservation of marine life. Diving regularly with other local divers around the Grande Island of Goa, Gabriella has been trying to keep the precious coral reefs around the island pollution free. According to the budding marine conservationist, the preservation of the coral reefs around Goa is critical for protection of marine life. Gabriella who did a one-year project with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) even presented a paper titled, ‘Sustainable marine tourism in Goa’ to the government of Goa.
Ever passionate about marine conservation, Gabriella has been making presentations and delivering talks on the need and importance of marine conservation under a programme titled, ‘Oceans of Change’ in several schools and colleges across Goa. Says the articulate young woman, “Coral reefs support 25% of all marine life. Damaging the coral reefs will affect our fish stock,”
The two young ladies along with their small team have carried out many initiatives for the benefit of Panjim city, one of which was a proposed ‘Tree policy for the city of Panjim’. Intensive study of the flora and fauna on the Altinho Hill in Panjim under a project named ‘Tree2Tree’ resulted in the Global Shapers team documenting the presence of 200 species of trees on the hill top. The team later presented the Corporation for the City of Panaji (CCP) with a white paper on the trees atop Altinho with suggestions for their well-being. “We presented a document to the CCP with suggestions for their protection,” Mrinmayee said.
Both Mrinmayee and Gabriella are of the opinion that the exposure to the Global Shapers community has made a very positive difference to their lives. “By being a Global Shaper, one gets access to international groups of like-minded, committed individuals, besides presenting us with a platform to display our work before an international audience,” Gabriella said.
Both Global Shaper volunteers are hoping that many more Goan youngsters will join their fold through the March 5 conference.
