Submit a tip
Do you have info to share with HuffPost reporters? Here’s how.
16 year old, Kehkashan Basu has been spreading the message of peace and sustainability since she was only 8 years old working tirelessly to enlist the support of children and youth across geographical boundaries. In 2013 at the age of 12, she was elected for a 2year term, Global Coordinator for UNEP’s (United Nations Environment Programme) Major Group of Children & Youth and a member of its Major Groups Facilitating Committee making her the youngest person and the first minor, ever, to be elected into this position in the history of UNEP. She is also the Youth Ambassador of World Future Council, Global Advisory Council member of Young Men 4 Gender Equality, the 2013~2014 Global President of the Children’s Board for Plant-for-the-Planet and was a Global Youth Ambassador for A World At School (2014~2016) to promote the cause of global education. Kehkashan campaigns globally for gender equality, sustainable consumption, future justice, rights of the girl child and the right to education. She is the founder of a youth organization, GREEN HOPE UAE, which seeks to provide a networking platform to children and youth in the region to carry forward the Rio legacy through several environmental workshops and ground level projects on climate justice , stopping land degradation , biodiversity conservation, waste segregation and reversing land degradation. It now has over 1000 members across the Middle East, India, Brazil, USA, Canada , Europe and SE Asia. Empowering young people is her passion and she spends a lot of time personally training and guiding many young people, majority girls, to conduct "on the ground" campaigns on mitigating climate change. She was invited by UN Women to New York to speak at their “2014 Leaders Forum on Women Leading the Way on climate change” and thereafter took part in the historic New York Climate March. In recognition of her exemplary work on climate justice, the UK Youth Climate Coalition chose her as one of the “Climate Heroines” of 2014. In her role as the voice of children and youth, she has spoken at several United Nations and other international summits, travelling to over 20 countries. In addition to being a climate justice activist , Kehkashan campaigns globally for gender equality, sustainable consumption, future justice, rights of the girl child and the right to education. For her environmental advocacy at a global level, Kehkashan has received international awards from UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification ) in 2012 , the 2012 Korea Green Foundation award , the 2013 International Young Eco-Hero award from Action for Nature, USA, the 2014 Kids are Heroes award, the 2015 Solar Pioneer Award , the “Ambassador for the Environment “ from GESS Education Awards2015 , the 2015 Diana Award and the prestigious 2014 NRI ( Non-Resident Indian) of the Year award.