Harnessing the message of COP28 on a individual, corporate, community and societal scale: A culmination of the hard work and passion of Juhi Yasmeen Khan and Mohammad Mustafa – a mother & son duo. The inaugural event of the ECO WALK dazzled, implored and excited all who attended. The ECOWALK Gathering held within the esteemed premises of Expo City Dubai within the beautiful Slovenian pavilion acted as the stepping stone for kickstarting the chain of change society so desperately needs. Beginning with a presentation from Youth Environmental Ambassador and Co-founder of ECO WALK, Mohammad Mustafa, the event began on the note of climate action and collective change.
Aligning with the vision of COP28, to encourage & spread knowledge about Climate Action and to make behavioral changes on personal level to take pledge to take a first step by individuals in Climate Action there was a Panel talk held by Climate advocates, Sustainability Champions & pioneers of their respective fields to people of determination, cancer survivors, artists etc.
The Event was attended by several sustainability champions & climate advocates who took the pledge to fight climate action on an individual, corporate, industry and community level.
The event united several stakeholders, from industry professionals, students from universities and schools, influencers, media houses and people who care for the planet. The event was adorned with beautiful signs and plaques created by over a 100 students from the ‘Little Flower School’, a wonderful institute teaching the youth about sustainability and how to protect the planet.
Likewise every element of the event was taken up with the utmost consideration in its emissions and sustainability, such as the ECOWALK board was made up from reused wood, T Shirts were made by recycle material, the food was all vegetarian ensuring lower greenhouse gas emissions and even the goodie bags all had several Ghaf tree seeds, plant insulation for green spaces and environmentally conscious facial products.
Even when it came to waste management, we invited D-grade a company who takes waste like plastic, and creates them into wonderful products. And to spread the message of Love for Climate Action special Love pins were distributed to all attendees and all attendees created a beautiful paint work on ECO WALK ‘s wooden logo made by Eagle Eye.
Within the event, the attendees were able to sign their names on a pledge wall and take their stance for the Pledge against climate change, further pioneering ECOWALKS message of unity. Following the thrilling panel discussion attendees were able to explore the Slovenian Pavilion and enjoy the green architecture whilst speaking with their fellow Ecowalkers. We celebrated their efforts by awarding them with token of appreciations to show how kindness pays itself forward.
Although being an inaugural event, the scale of love and commitment shown right from the start truly warms the heart and shows us how through working together we can actively shape our future. Juhi Yasmeen Khan the founder of ECO WALK & Advisory board Gulf Sustainability Awards said, “Truly it was such a beautiful sight to see how so many people came during their busy schedules to support this initiative and even bring their special passions here. We hope in the future to have more and more people, making this already growing global movement much larger.”
Mohammad Mustafa also stated that, “ECOWALK’s main three SDGS was climate action, responsible consumption and partnership for the goals, and the hard work of the people for this event, and the support of all who came shows us how easy it is to work on these if we all work together”.
Mahir Al Kaabi- Advisor to Chairman & independent Board Member said “We need to allow the youth to grow and thrive with the resources provided by the government, and follow in the footsteps of H.H Sheikh Mohammed bin Rasheed Al Maktoum and the vision imprinted by H.H. Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan.
Priya Sarma Sr. Sustainability Lead & Corporate Affairs Manager & Chair of Circular Packaging Association said “Unilever is committed to achieving Net Zero across its value chain by 2039. However, to achieve the UAE’s ambition of Net Zero by 2050 we need the engagement of all stakeholders, especially consumers, whose many small sustainable actions can help collectively make a big difference”.
This is the message of ECO-WALK that aims to spread the message to all to help contribute towards the health of the planet by reducing, reusing, recycling and repeating sustainable behaviors.
With the event coming to a successful conclusion, the long history of the ECOWALK seems not only fruitful and hopeful but shows real change. We are excited to welcome more and more people and take this larger every year, eventually creating such ambassadors who actively fight climate change and invoke that same passion in others.
Pledge Ambassadors of ECO WALK: The pledge to take Climate Action was taken by champions of different fields as Climate Action Pledge Ambassadors, to name a few – Nitinn R Miranni Award winning Actor & renowned Comedian, Amb. Adeshola Helen Onadipe-President African -Arab Women Chamber of Commerce & Founder Ladies In Business Magazine, Mahir Al Kaabi – Advisor to Chairman & independent Board Member, Lara Tabet –TV Presenter, Luxury Brand Ambassador & Philanthropist, Max Fardan – Marufjan Azimov- Cancer Survivor- Model & Influencer, Neil Skehel -Founder & CEO – Awards International, Maya Al Hawary- the first female PhD holder in smart leadership & EQ in MENA, Priya Sarma- Sr. Sustainability Lead & Corporate Affairs Manager for B&W & HC categories Middle East & Turkey -Unilever, Eng. Hamid Al Ali – renowned TV presenter Dubai One, Capt. Sahar Rasti – Award winning First Emirati Female Ship Captain and Founder SJR Group, Milan Nicolic- Senior Awards Consultant -Awards International UAE, Rinku David- Senior Consultant – Climate Change & Carbon Advisory- Middle East – WSP, Dr. Adil Al Marzouqi -General manager Omniyat World Centre along with Al Shaimaa Al Elimi, Peter Farrington – Award winning International Environmental Specialist & Artist, Sasa Bavec- Member of KNAUF insulation board & managing director of system division, Kalpana Iyer- Famous Bollywood Actress & Artiste, Ahmed Ali Obaid Alhefeiti- an Emirati Founder of Wadi Dafta Plantation & Retired Lieutenant Colonel of Medical Services of UAE Armed Forces, Mazhar Farooqui- Multi Award winning Investigative Journalist & Senior Editor – Khaleej Times, Lekha Menon – Content Partner Lead, Dubai Economy & Tourism, Zenifer Khalil- Freelance feature writer, Tatiana Antonelli – Founder-Goumbook- Changing Mindset, Zoha Beig- Founder – 321 Events, Mehboob Ghulam Ali Meghani -CEO Prime Vision, Zahirah Muthy- Managing Director ZeeArts, Nilofer Salim & Nadeem Salim-People of Determination – Global Development Delay, Viridiana Bello Huitle – Conexion Circular Sustainability Consultant Chemical Engineer & Climate Fresk Facilitator, Yasmine Barbir- Circular Economy FMCG & ESG Consultant & Founder Responsible Legacy, Arwa Beig- Zaas Fashion, Keisaku Nishida from Westfield event Management, Parvez Ansari- Managing Director – TED Network, Sheeba Ansari- Faculty Higher college of technology, Shumaila Ibrahim – Dubai Glam, Emma Barber- Dgrade, Safa Parvez- Artst & Fashionista, volunteers from Wollongong University and Taquiya Begum – Head Administrator – Little Flower English School Dubai with many School children and along with Gulf Sustainability Awards team, the team from ChromeME, The Sustainable Times team and various other pledge Ambassadors & supporters, etc.