On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, letmebreathe.in collaborated with Earth Day Network to crowdsource and curate India’s largest climate action manifesto. This initiative was supported by Twitter India.
#FiftyForFifty, a digital campaign was launched resulting in a crowdsourced manifesto of 50 steps to take for sustainable living and climate action. Young people, celebrities, sportspersons, activists, students, and journalists sent suggestions through videos and written articles, driven from their personal experiences.
The first step to climate action is you. Smaller changes lead to a larger action. The manifesto covers simple steps like growing your vegetables, being a conscious consumer, protecting your city’s forests, and conducting a home energy audit. These actions were crowdsourced using Twitter tools like polls, web cards, videos, and Twitter live. Many people shared their tips and tricks around the same and encouraged others to send in their suggestions as well. The 50 steps curated are actions that anyone can try to incorporate in their daily lives and achieve individual behaviour change, especially during the lockdown.
You can head here to access the #FiftyforFifty Manifesto- India’s largest climate action manifesto.
To bring out more focused conversations on sustainability, LetMeBreathe.in also launched four #FiftyForFifty Twitter Lists on topics like sustainable fashion, zero-waste living, celebrities for sustainability and activists for climate action.
Tamseel Hussain, Founder, Letmebreathe.in. said: “Climate action starts at home and it starts with changes in our own behaviour. This is the best time to reflect on your habits and improve them for the planet – if not now then when? If not us then who? With all of us staying at home right now, we can come up with 50 things which can become a manifesto, that will breed the future of climate action.”
Actor, Producer, UNEP Goodwill Ambassador and UN Secretary-General’s Advocate for SDGs, Dia Mirza along with actor and musician Monica Dogra joined the discussion, with LetMeBreathe.in’s Tamseel Hussain and Earth Day Networks’ Karuna Singh through an online video chat and shared their recommendations for the manifesto.
“The world is collectively experiencing a reality check, and I think it has and will bring forward more people to participate in action towards improving the environment, not just at an individual level but also at a policy level, for governments and industries to do better,” said Dia Mirza.
Commenting on the initiative, Shagufta Kamran, Senior Public Policy Manager, Twitter India said, “Earth Day is an important day of action in the world on the issue of climate change. At Twitter, we’re delighted to partner with the LetMeBreathe, and are positive the #FiftyForFifty campaign will drive positive environmental awareness and education, and mobilize citizens around the movement. We believe taking these steps are important and we are committed to playing our part.”
“This unprecedented time has stopped us all in our tracks,” said Kathleen Rogers, President of Earth Day Network. “As each of us ensures that those around us are safe and well, it is in a momentous opportunity to examine our individual and collective relationship with the natural world and how our activities impact the planet. The way forward is hopeful, and we have an opportunity to forever change how we interact with the environment in our own backyard and our community at large.”
The pandemic is a stark reminder of the vulnerability of humans and the planet, and while we are amid a lockdown, it gives us time to reflect on our relationship with Earth and nature.
LetMeBreathe.in is India’s first tech-based platform for impact-driven stories on pollution, climate change and sustainability from even the smallest of towns. The platform is powered by 1000+ dedicated storytellers from over 15 Indian cities. Imbuing the power of storytelling in the climate change narrative, this people’s platform serves as a repository of verified information while creating impact through public engagement.
Earth Day 2020 comes 50 years after the first Earth Day which, in 1970, mobilised over 20 million citizens to demand action on the environmental challenges of the time. Today, Earth Day is observed in around 190 countries and by close to 100,000 organisations.