“It’s not a matter of just fighting for our future, it’s also worth fighting for our present. We’re experiencing the climate crisis every day.” Disha Ravi is a 22-year old youth climate activist from Bangalore, India. She co-founded the Fridays For Future movement in India, a peaceful demonstration to call for action against ecological breakdown and is a prominent figure in bringing together communities and voices to elevate the discourse of climate change.
The effects of climate change on humans have been detected worldwide, disturbed by this very fact she decided to take concrete actions for environmental conservation. Following the footsteps of Greta Thunberg she accelerated environmentalism across India and abroad, serving as an inspiration for many to join the climate change campaign. Her activities involve researching environmental issues, organizing climate strikes in public spaces, online campaigns against projects considered detrimental to the environment, outreach work with local communities and schools to create awareness. In one of her interviews she stated, "My motivation to join climate activism came from seeing my grandparents, who are farmers, struggle with the effects of the climate crisis".
She started her campaign by forming associations through the internet, Instagram and other social media. One of the tools used by her campaign to address issues which have railed the Indian government in recent times is an email campaign where mails were sent off from hundreds of accounts to oppose the draft Environment Impact Assessment 2020 plan put out by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in March 2020. For her work on climate change she has been named as a Gen Z climate activist. In keeping with her interest in climate change and vegan food habits, she also works as a culinary experience manager with GoodMylk, a company involved with making plant-based food accessible and affordable to people.
“Our future is in our hands. Our lives are what we choose to make them.” Climate change is real, it's time for all of us to participate in environmental movements and increase awareness among citizens.