Port Blair, Sept. 4: Sunita Sil, a young climate advocate from Andaman & Nicobar Islands, has been selected as one of 35 Climate Champions under the second cohort of the National Youth Climate Consortium (NYCC), a flagship initiative by Bring Back Green Foundation, supported by YuWaah at UNICEF India.
This prestigious fellowship recognizes young leaders between the ages of 18 and 29 who are committed to building climate-resilient communities through local advocacy and action. The selected cohort represents 32 states and union territories across India, including island and Northeast regions, and reflects a strong commitment to diversity and equity, with over half of the fellows identifying as women, and more than a third belonging to Adivasi and indigenous communities.
As part of the fellowship journey, Sunita attended an intensive Training of Trainers (ToT) from 25 to 28 July 2025 in Dehradun, organized by Bring Back Green Foundation. The training was designed to equip fellows with knowledge and tools around stakeholder engagement, storytelling, policy engagement, and youth-led advocacy.
During the six-month fellowship, each Climate Champion will lead a grassroots project focused on one of four key areas—awareness and capacity building, youth mobilization, research, or innovation—while directly engaging local communities and working with government stakeholders to ensure lasting impact. Fellows receive microgrants, mentorship, and support from a 25-member Technical Resource Group comprising grassroots experts, youth-led organizations, and sector specialists.
In its inaugural year, the NYCC fellowship impacted over 65,000 youth and community members across the country, and several alumni went on to represent India’s youth at global platforms such as COP29. This year’s cohort is expected to continue that legacy, with opportunities to contribute to international spaces like COP30, further ensuring that youth perspectives from the grassroots inform climate policy worldwide.
Sunita’s fellowship project will focus on menstrual waste mismanagement in Mathura Village, Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Through this initiative, she will conduct a door-to-door survey to understand menstrual hygiene practices and disposal methods, followed by awareness sessions to break myths and highlight the environmental impacts of sanitary waste. The project will also promote sustainable menstrual alternatives such as cloth pads and menstrual cups, aiming to reduce plastic waste and protect both women’s health and the island’s fragile environment.
“I believe that addressing menstrual waste is not only a health issue but also an environmental responsibility. Through this project, I aim to empower women and youth in Mathura Village with sustainable solutions that protect our community and ecosystem for the future,” said Sunita Sil.
The National Youth Climate Consortium recognizes that we must center youth who live and work at the frontline of climate crises. By bridging the gap between grassroots realities and policy spaces, NYCC not only amplifies underrepresented voices but also ensures that climate solutions are inclusive, community-informed, and sustainable.
The National Youth Climate Consortium continues to lead the way in building a participatory, bottom-up model of climate action, making youth-led engagement more equitable, participatory, and powerful than ever before.
She was a brilliant girl my classmate at Dbrait Diploma Civil department
With Congrats
Abdul Rizwan