Taimoor Siddiqui

Age: 25

Pakistan

Through transformative climate education, Taimoor (he/him) engages young people to step forward in building sustainable and resilient communities.

How are you using education to build more sustainable and equitable communities?

For a period of six years, I have been working and volunteering for the promotion of sustainable development goals in Pakistan. Through transformative climate education, I have been sensitizing young people in schools, colleges, universities, and in a wide range of rural and urban communities. From in-person training to online webinars, and from community meetings to focus group discussions, I have used every method to transfer this core message of environmental education: “Care for your environment. Conserve it ethically.” Through this approach, I have sensitized and engaged more than 20,000 people and have created hundreds of local climate action leaders who are now working in their respective communities for better grassroots-level outcomes.

Tell us about your journey to where you are today.

My climate activism journey started in 2015. As a newly enrolled student at the university, I was interested more in the social development and volunteer work. I attended my first ever training under British Council Active Citizen’s program. This was the turning point of my life. After attaining that training, I started my social action project by the name of Project Clean Green, commencing with an awareness session on the university campus and planting saplings. Within 3 years, I planted over 1,000 trees and sensitized more than 7,000 people. The lack of awareness amongst young people regarding the climate and the environment was something that inspired me to come forward and take the lead. In 2019, I was awarded with national and international awards in United Kingdom for my work. In 2021, I was selected as the official youth delegate of Pakistan for PreCOP26 Conference in Milan, Italy. In the same year, I won funding of £3,000 GBP to enhance my project on an international level. I was also a finalist for the GEEP Youth Innovation Challenge. As of now, I have planted more than 7,000 trees and sensitized 22,000 people. Moreover, this project of mine has been adopted as a prototype to be implemented in public sector universities of Pakistan. In my journey, I have seen many ups and downs, but I always had one concrete ideology in mind: “If you can take it, you can make it."

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT ME

What advice would you give to the next generation of leaders?

Always have a strong and firm belief in your abilities. A constant drop of water can break a rock. You are more than that for sure. Never give up.

What is your superpower?

I believe it's empathy. It can win you daily life wars without even fighting. It can make you a better human being.

What book, film, or art piece has had the greatest impact on you?

The movie Unbroken changed my life and has boosted my confidence to never give up in any situation.

If a genie granted you one wish, what would it be?

To have at least, equitable food resources for humans across the globe.