‘Youth Best Soldiers To Fight Climate Change’: Activist Hina Saifi Wins ‘Climate Warrior’ Indian Of The Year

Climate change activist Hina Saifi won the CNN-News18 Indian Of The Year 2024 award in the ‘climate warrior’ category on Friday. Hailing from a backward village in Uttar Pradesh, she was part of the ‘We The Change’ campaign launched by the United Nations in 2021.

Jury member Justice Indu Malhotra, Polymatech CEO Eswara Rao Nandam, and Network18 consulting editor Rahul Shivshankar presented the award to Saifi.

Beginning her acceptance speech with Urdu shayari, she first thanked her parents for educating her despite belonging to a place where there is no school education beyond Class VIII.

Asked what inspires her to raise awareness on climate change and environmental issues, she said her surroundings as well as the lack of education and awareness are what drive her.

“…I am also a changemaker and that’s important for me. I come from a background where women aren’t allowed out of their homes, so I thank my parents who gave me that chance. Those living in rural areas don’t believe in education or climate change, so I consciously thought of taking the first step towards climate activism. If we take the first step, then people follow you,” she said.

Elaborating on how the youth is her target, she said their passion and ideals are their biggest assets. She added that youth is the backbone of society and, without them, the country’s progress is impossible.

Saifi said it is not too late to save the environment. “We still have time to conserve and save our land, the air we breathe, our rivers; climate change is not just an environmental issue, but a battle for our survival. And young people are the best soldiers for this fight,” she said.

She added: “The youth of today are thinking about future generations, their passion and mindset is to make the country better. We still have time to use our resources well, move towards clean energy, and have more plantation drives; we can bring about change in this country and the world. We have the power and we can use it as the nation’s mirror.”

The other nominees in the ‘climate warrior’ category were UNICEF India’s Youth Advocate Vinisha Umashankar, sustainability activist Soumya Ranjan Biswal, environmentalist Chami Murmu, and entrepreneur Kriti Tula.

The jury for this edition comprises environmental activist Afroze Shah, former solicitor general of India Harish Salve and former Supreme Court judge, Justice Indu Malhotra.

CNN-News18 returned with the 14th edition of its highly anticipated flagship awards platform, which is regarded as India’s biggest and most credible news television awards. Recent editions have seen names such as Shah Rukh Khan, Neeraj Chopra and Virat Kohli as winners of the coveted title of ‘Indian of the Year’.