Let’s’ P.A.O.W. ‘Together ! By Nihit Tiwari

We have taken much more than our Earth could provide us over the years without helping it back. It’s all about starting from somewhere, so we request you join the project and let us P.A.O.W. together! Let’s connect and help each other understand what nature needs from us and how we can change our way of living. Let’s empower the youth and upcoming generations to learn and shape their longstanding future by knowing the importance of environmental sustainability and climate change.

Have you ever thought of being a hero? Well, we all have a hero within us who wants to achieve great things and take on a responsibility, such as to save the world from disasters or combat challenges vital for humanity’s survival and prosperity. Well, I know, responsibility is a big word! But what if I tell you that maybe this is your chance to practice that heroic spirit within you? Or you must be just wondering about my obsession with the heroes.

I would love to take you a year back to when I was the Students’ Union President at the University of Bolton (2021-23), the time I started my journey to help students in the best way possible and enhance their student life by making things happen for them; by organizing events or bringing in new facilities or building up different side courses and what not! While helping out students, I also wanted to seek how I could make an impact on them for a longer term which they could take along with them to build a better future for not just themselves, but for others around them. I developed a course for personality development sessions within the university. I tried to help students develop their ideas, allowing them to grow in various aspects. While doing so, I came across this beautiful “EXTRAORDINARY” opportunity of my lifetime to attend the United Nations Ocean Conference 2022 in Lisbon. Before I go further, I would love to take you a few more years back to mention that I was born in New Delhi, the capital of India, which is quite distant from the ocean and I had never travelled much near the ocean sides, so I never really got to experience how the oceans were affected by our way of living. At present, when I went to the U.N. conference, I got an opportunity to meet valuable researchers, delegates, scientists, marines, deep sea miners and such experienced people who knew so much about the ocean; I was enlightened and learnt a lot about how we are damaging our mother Earth’s resources for the benefit of our living.

As I travelled back to the U.K., it got me thinking that it is precisely what I need to teach to the other students at the university. One conference changed my life, and I had never felt this close to nature. In July 2022, I received another opportunity to go to the curtain raiser of The Canvas.

In this student S.D.G. accelerator initiative, I pledged to become an S.D.G. 13: Climate Action ambassador. During my ambassadorship, I took the responsibility to educate students and the local community of Bolton through campaigns on how we can bring change and positively impact the world’s environment.

At the University of Bolton, with the help of various colleagues, we have created a new project called the P.A.O.W. to help the university become a pro-environment university, which stands for Pledge, Act, Observe, and Win. P.A.O.W. is not just a word but an expression and a statement to inspire!

You might have heard this expression during childhood when a hero hits a villain, which signifies good winning over evil. Similarly, we will fight against the odds and educate students to help Mother Earth regain its strength by engaging with the local vendors and communities by taking a PLEDGE from them to litter pick in at least 5 meters of their front and back areas to keep the surroundings clean as would love our students to eat at hygienic restaurants and take-outs. The university is willing to take charge of the ACTION by pursuing campaigns like litter picking, tree plantations, cleaning lakes and rivers with locals and the students, and linking with the local council to OBSERVE on the actions the students and the local communities took to sustain the environment. Small changes make significant differences; by starting with the local areas in Bolton and gradually expanding, we can all WIN towards our goal to save Mother Earth. As an ambassador, I’m also looking into linking with various organizations and app developers to see how we can spread awareness and bring climate change into the spotlight by providing different courses and holding up similar conferences where I started from as it’s all about that one life-changing opportunity.
We have taken much more than our Earth could provide us over the years without helping it back. It’s all about starting from somewhere, so we request you join the project and let us P.A.O.W. together! Let’s connect and help each other understand what nature needs from us and how we can change our way of living. Let’s empower the youth and upcoming generations to learn and shape their longstanding future by knowing the importance of environmental sustainability and climate change.

And here I believe you know why I am so obsessed with the hero within us. Let’s bring that hero out to save the world for real!