Google is a company that believes deeply in entrepreneurship. And this is a company that believes deeply in the power of information. We don’t think there’s another organization that combines these two things in a more compelling way than Ashoka.
Earth Day 2007
A Call for Action on Climate Change
To commemorate Earth Day 2007, Ashoka highlights climate change as a top concern demanding worldwide, systemic action. For the past 26 years, Ashoka has invested in leading social entrepreneurs – changemakers around the globe addressing critical social and environmental issues in innovative ways. Ashoka celebrates the remarkable contribution of Ashoka Fellows who are pioneering grassroots initiatives that have a collective impact on climate change. Fellows are:
- Preserving indigenous land and natural resources,
- Increasing community owned and managed timber enterprises,
- Enabling youth to take active roles in environmental conservation,
- Developing new sources of energy, and
- Encouraging women to lead green campaigns in their neighborhoods.
Ashoka Fellows around the world are striving to improve the health and sustainability of our planet and the welfare of its citizens by tackling global issues such as climate change. Ashoka takes this opportunity to raise awareness of their ground-breaking approaches and relentless commitment to creating a healthier planet.
Dune Lankard, USA
For Dune, a Native Alaskan Eyak, the Exxon Valdez oil spill not only had a strong environmental impact, but it also threatened the livelihoods of the indigenous people and their culture. His Cultural Conservation Initiative works to preserve the land, natural resources, and Native way of life, including retaining a healthy subsistence lifestyle. Dune believes that Native Alaskan stewardship of the sea, forests, land and wildlife, along with permanent protection of endangered lands, offers the best long-term economic and environmental prospects for his people and for the world. A TIME Magazine Hero for the Planet, Dune has been recognized globally for his work helping indigenous people protect these “last wild places” while also preserving their cultural heritage.
Silverius Oscar Unggul, Indonesia
Silverius founded JAUH of Southeast Sulawesi to provide a sustainable, community-owned alternative to state-owned forest management. He won a concession from Indonesia’s Forest Ministry allowing, for the first time, forest communities to manage state-owned land. This has facilitated villagers to manage their own “eco-label” timber enterprises for the existing forest resources. Silverius’ model has given the people an economic incentive and a stronger sense of ownership over these valued resources, which has led to a more environmentally sustainable way of harvesting timber while at the same time reducing commercial logging companies’ economic and environmental degradation. Through this community-based timber enterprise, Silverius has unlocked the opportunity for local people to become the suppliers of environmentally-friendly timber.
Joaquín Felipe Leguía Orezzoli, Peru
Joaquín has been passionate about the environment for his entire life – as a child he loved having his own garden and spending his summers in the Amazon jungle. Today, Joaquín directs this passion toward protecting the Peruvian Amazon Basin, where he is redefining environmental education as a community experience by moving lessons from the school to the jungle. Joaquín is leading communities in the creation of Children’s Forests – areas of land managed by youth. He pairs children with adults to identify pressing environmental problems in the community, develop long-term plans of management and farming, and gather the resources they need to put their plans into practice. Joaquín’s program combats environmental mismanagement, while at the same time strengthening children’s knowledge and skills to sustain conservation efforts long-term.
Marie Haisova, Czech Republic
Seeing a connection between the poor state of urban environments and the marginalization of women in the Czech Republic, Marie Haisova has launched an aggressive campaign to involve women in reducing the pollution that plagues major Czech cities. Marie’s program encourages mothers to spearhead the development of a beautiful and healthy urban environment of new parks and green spaces. Her program provides training and leadership-building seminars for women so they can effectively launch their own neighborhood campaigns. By providing women with the opportunity to change the area in which they live, Marie is both improving the poor condition of city environments and empowering women to become active community leaders.
Yusupha Kujabi, The Gambia
When Yusupha was a child, he would often design and make his own toys. Today, he is using that same creative spirit to help rural Gambians improve their personal and community health. Yusupha designs easy-to-make solar energy devices, trains rural groups to use and reproduce them, and teaches solar food processing and preservation techniques that can be used to generate income and achieve self-sufficiency. Yusupha works with grassroots populations, therefore avoiding costly imported solutions and allowing citizens to manufacture and service the technology themselves. His program averts chronic food shortages while drastically reducing pollution by replacing fossil fuels with clean sources of energy. Because his model is flexible and accommodates specific community needs, it has spread throughout West Africa, improving the human and ecological health of the region.