Friday, March 31, 2017

Himalayan Master's Students Complete Residential in Arunachal Pradesh, India

The Himalayan cohort of the Class of 2017 Master of Arts in Applied Community Change just completed their Term III residential experience in Arunachal Pradesh, India between March 17-27, 2017. Their site visits were facilitated and organized by Nawang Gurung, Regional Academic Director, with help from Future Generations Arunachal, current students who reside in the area, and other local partners.

Himalayan Cohort of Master's students in Arunachal

Students were able to interact with a number of diverse projects and programs ranging from a school working to increase access to high quality, affordable education to vulnerable children to a program demonstrating the benefits of intercropping to increase income and also health outcomes.

Himalayan students visiting area with cultivation of cardamom, pineapples, and other crops

The main learning and excitement for the group was focused on learning about examples and opportunities for promoting environmental protection, economic opportunities, and community health in tandem. Using human energy and building on local successes and assets, communities have been able to show substantial behavior changes within short spans of time and have been able to be sustain impacts over time.


Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Programme in China Wins 2016 Top Cummins Global Environmental Challenge Award

Cummins is a powerful global leader that designs, manufactures, sells and services diesel and alternative fuel engines. In order to reach its vision of “Making people's lives better by unleashing the Power of Cummins” and to foster global environment improvement, Cummins initiated an annual competition from 2009 named as Global Environmental Challenge.

The top winner of 2016 Global Environmental Challenge was a water management programme in China that is being implemented by Beijing Foton Cummins Engine Co., Ltd (BFCEC) and Academy of Fuqun Environment. One of the Future Generations alumni from the MA class of 2015, Yu Xianrong, is the Programme Director at the Academy of Fuqun Environment and affiliated with Future Generations China.

Yu Xianrong in India while on residential as part of the MA degree program

The Programme, named as Source of Life---River Eco-restoration of Shang Zhuang Village (a village 60 km to Beijing city center), aims to realize sustainable watershed protection in Beijing suburb through a comprehensive multi-stakeholder approach on pollution control, ecological restoration, water source protection by action, environmental training and community participation. The programme duration is three years while 2016 is the first year.

Based on solid Need Assessment by using tools including Six Sigma and Participatory Rural Assessment, Academy of Fuqun Environment developed and implemented concrete need-based activities. Six workshops on water safety, health and zero waste were provided with active engagement from both the community and the corporate. A total of 202 Cummins employees volunteered 808 hours in testing polluted water quality, strengthening flood-control dam and clearing up garbage in the river way. Villagers’ domestic waste was reduced by 20% on average. The water quality in river way was improved as ammonia nitrogen was reduced by 26% while total phosphorus decreased by 50%.

Moreover, Academy of Fuqun Environment has fostered the development of village rule "no dumping garbage into the river”, and “rewards and punishment mechanism”. Another policy proposal – to collect domestic wastewater into a treatment plant, will be implemented in 2017 which will means 43,200 tons of wastewater will be safely treatment before discharging to the environment.

This programme has honored Cummins’ pledge that everything they do leads to a cleaner, healthier, safer environment in 2016. There is more to be expected in term of water resources conservation and community development.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Voices of Future Generations: Swami

"God is your soul and you're always with your soul, right? Without your soul you wouldn't be alive!"

A young child's enthusiasm for God is infectious in this clip from Canada. He flips back and forth between chanting and explaining his god - his best friend.

This is the final track in the Voices series. To hear them all, visit our site on SoundCloud.
 

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Voices of Future Generations: Penpal in the Outback

"Where you live, I think, it actually changes your opinion on quite a lot of things."

Words of wisdom from a child living in the Blue Mountains of Australia.

This episode of Voices is about a fourteen year old girl in Sydney and her penpal - only 70 km away, but in a different world. She talks about what it's like for her, an urban teen, to learn about life from someone her own age but living a wildly different life. But not so different in some ways as well.

"I suppose that where you live is what you make of it. It's all about the people and the things that you love," she concludes.