“In the 21st century, I think the heroes will be the people who will improve the quality of life, fight poverty and introduce more sustainability” ~Bertrand Piccard
In this quote, it is clear that Piccard is referring to today’s generation. I personally believe that the youth of today have the perfect opportunity to improve the quality of life not only for themselves and their own families, but also for all people, especially the most impoverished and introduce more sustainability!
Kanishq Verma from Doha, Qatar won the 2015 Peace Builder Of The Year. (Photo courtesy of PWC)
Some youth are learning how to fight poverty and bring about a sustainable way of life for others. A perfect example of a youth who is making a great difference in his local community is Kanishq Verma from Doha, Qatar. As a 10th grade student, Kanishq is not only improving the lives of his peers at Birla Public School, but he is also motivating others around the world to do likewise.
As founder of the Peace Welcome Club (PWC) in Canada, I am extremely proud to present 2015’s Peace Builder of the Year Award to Kanishq Verma for his outstanding community work. This is a milestone for PWC as it represents the first time that the accomplishment has been given to someone outside of Canada and it is only the second time in PWC’s lifetime that this award has been given.
Since 2014, we watched with amazement at Kanishq’s progress and how far he has gone with his involvement with our own Canadian group of PWC. He became a youth ambassador in 2014 and we want to commemorate his journey with us and reflect upon his success as a youth ambassador for peace. Kanishq is a phenomenal individual who is always taking the initiative to lead local projects. He is an active supporter of sustainability and helps to clean the surroundings including local shorelines.
We feel that PWC’s goal of raising the issue of creating environmental awareness among future generations is in good hands and Kanishq showcases his enthusiasm of a cleaner Earth through the various initiatives that he has conducted. His dedication to the environment is also seen in his school community with the creation of Birlasphere, an Eco Club, which is dedicated to promoting events related to sustainability. Kanishq has been a part of the Qatar Environment Day and the Environment Quiz to increase his knowledge on the environment and become a part of a bigger change.
The impact Birlasphere has had on the communities both locally and in school cannot be described in words. They have gone above and beyond by organizing, promoting and implementing various initiatives to influence peers to protect the environment. The schools recycling organization for paper has started the trend of printing on the reverse side of paper and reusing older books. Kanishq has designed and also created an influential poster campaign around his school to promote ideas on how to create an eco-friendly environment within the school.
During World Environment Day, Birlasphere hosted a quiz on World Environment Day to reach out to those who are not familiar with the environment. This school Club has done an amazing job of going out of their way to celebrate important events such as World Water Day and Earth Hour. Most importantly, all of these events hosted by Birlasphere have affected other students who are passionate about the conservation and preservation of Mother Nature.
In terms of the future, Kanishq plans on focusing his Eco Club on creating campus initiatives among students to integrate the values of respecting nature, culture and values within all students. He would like to spread the message that it is our duty to be the ones to take care of this planet and it is time to step out of the comfort zones and start taking action.
His journey within the community of PWC has been nothing but positive. As a creative individual, Kanishq Verma influenced us at PWC to create an interactive element to the FaceBook page by having quizzes held on a weekly basis. His passion for knowledge helped us create quizzes with interesting facts and fulfill our goal to educate the general public about the world through volunteering.
Therefore, as the founder of the Peace Welcome Club, I commend Kanishq Verma of Doha, Qatar on becoming 2015’s Peace Builder of the Year!
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Nominations for 2016 Peace Welcome Club Award
Do you know someone in your community who’s making a difference?
Someone who embodies the Peace Welcome Club spirit of helping other?
Let us know!
Their work should be service-oriented, and improve or enhance the quality of life for people in need around them.
• Nominations are open to youth all over the world from 8-18
• The essay should be a maximum of 500 words.
• Two references are required.
• There is no self-nomination.
• The selection of the Peace Builder of the Year is based on how strong the nominee’s work measures up in the following areas.
1. Money raised along with how many benefitted from the action.
2. Press coverage of the results.
3. What is behind the initiative along with creativity as well as challenges that are overcome in order to perform the work in a successful manner?
The successful candidates will be profiled in the newspaper and on all our media related sites. Interested? Deadline is January 31, 2016.
Please contact via email at [email protected] for further queries.
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