'Everything comes back to the Earth': Dia Mirza bats for conservation on International Youth Day 2024

Dia Mirza

Dia Mirza, an actor, UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador and United Nations Secretary-General Advocate for Sustainable Development has often been vocal for change and has contributed her efforts in the field of social change, conservation and the environment, urged people on thinking more about India's future. Dia Mirza attended the Youth Sabha 2047: Shaping India's Future event on International Youth Day on August 12.

Dia Mirza bats for conservation on International Youth Day 2024

Sharing her thoughts, Dia told ANI, "Everything we use in our daily lives comes from the Earth and has to go back to the Earth in a form and shape that is healthy for Earth and people. A few days ago, we spotlighted to the world that we had overshot the resources the Earth provides annually to all of us, it's called Earth Overshoot Day. This happened in August...we have 4 more months in this year left and we have already surpassed in our consumption or what the earth provides. Which means we are stealing from our own children and grandchildren what they will require to live, to be healthy, to be happy." recommended by

Dia urged people to reject single-use plastics and return to sustainable roots. She added, "Change occurs when we make individual choices. So refuse single-use plastics. The simple things that we can refuse are bottles, cutlery, crockery, use your own. I there are young people in India in villages who are starting steel banks where big occasions and big functions are being hosted without creating a single waste product, especially of plastic. So we need to go back to the basics and go back to our roots because our ancestors and our predecessors who lived and walked this earth knew that we needed to be less harmful to the earth. We are the land that serves food in leaf plates, who served water in metal ware and in clay pots."

On Monday, several students gathered for Youth Sabha 2047, an intergenerational town hall organised in New Delhi by the United Nations Foundation and leading think tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), as part of the Next Generation India Fellowship.The Youth Sabha 2047 marks a significant milestone as India lays down a blueprint to become a developed country by 2047.

The Youth Sabha brought together 11 Next Generation India Fellows, students, policymakers, government officials, civil society leaders, and diplomats for a day of engaging discussions, high-level panels, and interactive sessions aimed at shaping India's future with the youth at the centre of it. (ANI)