On 24 August 2024, Jahanzaib College, Swat echoed with energy, hope and passion. The Progressive Climate Foundation (PCF) held a solid seminar on Clean and Green Swat: Youth Power for Climate Resilience. It was not a talk show, but a call to action, a call to young people. The seminar aimed at making youth the true agents of change to secure a sustainable future. Students and teachers, climate activists and politicians, this group of people made the event a living color of mutual knowledge and passion.
Key Highlights
The key highlights of the Seminar are as follows:
A Group that Speaks on Behalf of Farmers and Food Security
Guest of honor Dr. Jan Muhammad who is the Deputy Director, Agriculture Department, pointed out the desperate nature of the problem of climate change on local farming. The Malakand Division was also facing a threat on crops and he advised the audience to adopt change strategies which could save not only their livelihoods, but also their food security.
The Power of Youth in Steering Global Climate Action
Tawseef Khan, the Founder and President of PCF, presented a great motivating keynote, reminding the audience that the solutions they desired were in the hands of their youth. He stressed that youths should not sit back as onlookers, but be front runners as agents of resistance.
If Not You, Then Who?
Project Director PCF, Mian Shahid Hamid, in his welcome note directly addressed the students:
Youth can be the source of change — if not you, then who will lead the way?
His words predetermined the mood of the day and made it responsible and motivating.
Climate Change awareness in Swat
PCF HR Secretary, Roshni Hadi, discussed the way climate change is already transforming Swat. Because of unpredictable weather patterns to the changing ecological balance she emphasized the reason why building local resilience is not just a choice anymore but an emergency.
Climate activist Asif Javid energized the audience and urged them not just to learn about the problem but to be change agents. Additionally, he aimed at making youth the true agents to the climate solutions.
Collective Action is the Key
Syed Salman Nasir, PCF District Coordinator Swat, reminded all present about the fact that climate change is a common problem. He encouraged everyone to unite, work hard and carry out regular awareness campaigns to conserve the weak environment in Swat.
Concluding with interactive discussion, the event saw students, teachers and community members sharing ideas and committing practically, either through plantation drive, raising awareness or fun environmentally friendly behaviors in their day to day lives. The fervor of the room was unquestionable. It was not merely listening but it was about bringing a movement.
Why It Matters?
Swat is one of the most breathtaking valley with fertile lands. It is an endangered regions to climatic changes in Pakistan. PCF is also not just creating awareness in the form of the programs like Clean and Green Swat. It is also producing a generation that is ready to fight in order to save what it has people and future. Basically, the seminar was not a destination but a beginning point of a journey. A visit whereby the youth in Swat are not observers of events but participants as climate resilience soldiers.
