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A part of HEAL project of Kochi Municipal Corporation

YouKAN – Youth of Kochi: All for Nature

HEAL (Health, Environment, Agriculture and Livelihood) is the flagship project of Kochi Corporation. Through this the Corporation aims to create a healthy city and healthy people through the promotion of better waste management and organic farming in urban areas. This multi-level development project also seeks to generate livelihoods for people in the city, especially Kudumbashree women and various vulnerable groups. Another primary focus of the project is protection of the environment. Through multiple interconnected programs, the HEAL project also aims to beautify the city. The Corporation has already allotted funds for the project in its budget. HEAL will be implemented in connection with various stakeholders in the city, including individuals, educational institutions and religious institutions.

About St. Teresa’s College (Autonomous) Ernakulam

St. Teresa’s College (Autonomous) Ernakulam, established in 1925, is a pioneering institution committed to the cause of higher learning of women and their empowerment. The college was granted Autonomous status in 2014 and has also been recognized as a mentor institution under the UGC Paramarsh scheme. In August 2019, the college was accredited with A++ grade with a CGPA of 3.57 in its fourth cycle of assessment by NAAC and was ranked 45th by NIRF in 2021.

The Bhoomitrasena Club in the college (Code No: 107/EKM/05/10), formed with support from the Directorate of Environment and Climate Change (DoECC), Government of Kerala, aims at grooming environmentally conscious and socially responsive young women who value the bounties of nature and strive to preserve them. The club has been judged as the best among colleges in Central Kerala for the year 2020-21, 2016-17 and 2012 by DoECC and the green activities under its guidance received many accolades over the years -Paristhithi Mithra Award - 2021 and 2016 by CEERD, St. Stephen’s College, Uzhavoor, Global Environment Project Award by World Malayalee Council in 2018 etc. The college has a rich history of promoting eco consciousness with the enactment of the Green Protocol in the campus since 2016.

YouKAN-HEAL Kochi

Kochi Municipal Corporation, GIZ, C-HED and St. Teresa’s College together will initiate a project in alignment with the LiFE project of Govt. of India, which aimes at mobilizing youth for reduction of single use plastics and promotion of sustainable practices/ecofriendly alternatives. This venture strives to effect solutions to the serious environmental crisis posed by plastic waste also leading to pollution of marine waters. The proactive involvement of children and youth is a critical step required in moulding an environmentally responsible future generation. Imbibing and adopting sustainable practices as part of the daily lifestyle/ routine is expected to lead to embedded behavioral changes in children. The entire task force of children and youth will be brought under the umbrella of the Cochin Corporation for collective action. Students will get an opportunity to claim collective ownership in actions taken towards environmental protection as they partner and work along with the Local Government

Objectives:

  • To promote eco-friendly alternatives and reduce single use plastics entering the environment and backwaters/ocean in Kochi.
  • To promote reuse of materials.
  • To design and implement sustainable habits/ practices in daily routine.
  • To onboard all educational institutions in HEAL project initiated by the Cochin Corporation specially with respect to implementing Green protocol for reduction of SUPs
  • To give collective ownership to children and youth in promoting environment sustainability in Kochi.

Objectives:

  • GIZ in association with C. Hed Cochin Corporation will create a dashboard owned by Cochin Muncipal Corporation (which can be viewed by the public) which will be part of    HEAL project and would chart  various micro challenges for reduction in plastic use, list participating institutions and reflect status and progress – both of  individual challenges as well as institutional progress  and communicate the periodic nudges, reminders announcements and congratulatory notes to active participants. They shall also assign a person to monitor information provided by various institutions and validate the same before display.
  • The Bhoomithrasena club of St. Teresa’s College will design challenges, pilot in implementing the challenges in their own campus by onboarding all their 4000 odd students, make corrections if needed after consultation with Cochin Muncipal corporation and subsequently, with the latter’s support, spread the initiative to all educational institutions in Kochi. They shall coordinate participating institutions, draft initial guidelines. finalise and circulate the same after getting inputs from the advisory council , monitor progress and draft periodic nudges and reminders. They shall also furnish an overall report of the project.
  • Once other educational institutions are onboarded, an advisory council consisting of youth from various institutions shall be formed who will suggest improvements if any needed in project implementation guidelines and volunteer for smooth implementation of the project.
  • Each onboarded educational institution will assign their own monitoring and co-ordination team responsible for promoting sustainable habits in their campus, and furnish relevant data to be displayed on the dashboard such as the green protocol sign boards displayed on campus, names of students who have volunteered to take up specific challenges, Photos of auditoriums/ other public institutions/ public functions mentored in adopting green protocol/ avoidance of SUPs etc. A channel of communication shall be established where there is clear ownership and responsibility for all information provided to the dashboard relating to their activities. Those travel expenses of participating institutions, incurred with prior concurrence from project co-ordinator (St. Teresas College), for promoting green protocol in public buildings other than their own campus can be reimbursed from the project fund on submission of utilizing vouchers/ bills.
  • Each educational institution shall, by March 31 2023 submit a detailed report of all related activities taken up for reducing plastic consumption and pollution which shall be evaluated and best performing institutions recognized and awarded so as to reinforce sustainable habits. While the reports of higher educational levels shall be evaluated by an independent committee consisting of GIZ, Haritha Keralam Mission, C-Hed and St. Teresa’s College (who will not be a competitor to avoid conflict of interest), the activities at school level shall be evaluated by the collective advisory council formed from all volunteering higher educational institutions in Kochi.
  • The awards will be distributed on next environment day 2023 by Mayor of Cochin corporation

Project Period: July 2022 – March 2023