The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Political Dialogue Asia represented by Jonas Nitschke and Megha Sarmah, in partnership with the South Asian Youth for SDGs (SAYS) and Climate Action Nepal led by Ujjwal Upadhyay, is currently implementing two climate action initiatives in Chitwan, Nepal.
Emerging from the KAS Scholars network, SAYS reflects how young leaders continue to translate their learning and experience from their scholarship at National College in Kathmandu and the Asian University of Women (AUW) in Chittagong, Bangladesh into responsible and political participation within their communities. Bridging together both partnership tracks, the initiative began with a river clean up implemented by SAYS and Climate Action Nepal, with strong support and participation from local government officials from Chitwan, highlighting the importance of institutional engagement and support by councillors in environmental action in South Asia.
This was followed by the establishment of a Climate Smart Club at Chitrasi Secondary School, where students engaged in interactive sessions on climate change, biodiversity, and disaster risk management. The engagement further expanded through a visit to a local waste management site, with discussions focused on sustainable waste practices and their role in strengthening community resilience. One important achievement is the empowerment of women through this initiative.
As a region increasingly recognised for its ecological diversity and exposure to climate related risks, Chitwan provides an important context to explore the linkages between environmental conservation, disaster risk management, and local governance. A key focus of the initiative is to actively engage with local government stakeholders to better understand existing policies, implementation challenges, and community level responses.
Over the coming days, SAYS and Climate Action Nepal will continue engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, from women and marginalised communities to local government officials, to better understand grassroots realities and strengthen collaborative approaches to climate action.
By bringing together youth, communities, and institutions, the partnership aims to ensure that Climate Smart Clubs evolve into platforms for inclusive and community driven climate action. Through this collaboration, KAS, SAYS, and Climate Action Nepal reaffirm their shared commitment to empowering young people across Nepal, Bangladesh, and India to become climate conscious leaders and active contributors to sustainable and resilient policies in a region where climate policy is an important entry point for young people in political processes.
About this series
The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, its educational institutions, centres and foreign offices, offer several thousand events on various subjects each year. We provide up to date and exclusive reports on selected conferences, events and symposia at www.kas.de. In addition to a summary of the contents, you can also find additional material such as pictures, speeches, videos or audio clips.