Anoka Primrose Abeyrathne has been an eco-activist for 14 years. She was nominated as a Climate Champion and Global Changemaker by the British Council. Anoka is also an AshokaYouth Venturer for Social Entrepreneurship. For the GLOBAL IDEAS Blog she will be writing about her work as a Climate Champion and her experiences with climate change.

Part I
People my age like to have fun. That is why the initiative we set up, is a “fun + action” initiative. Within the Sri Lanka Youth Climate Action Network (SLYCAN), we organize debates at university level, beach parties, replantation or clean-up campaigns, interactive workshops, discussion platforms, art exhibitions and and street theatre plays.  All of these activities are popular with children and young people. They are the catalysts of change in the society, in becoming eco-responsible adults.

As a volunteer for the NGO EMACE Sri Lanka, I work with the communities of Bolgoda Lake in Sri Lanka on a grass roots level. This way we are creating a win-win situation. On the one hand we save the mangroves in the region. On the other hand we help the villagers by promoting eco-tourism or solar fishing lamps. We help to develop sustainable fishing techniques and we are looking for customers for the handmade and eco-friendly products of the people. A programme to train eco-tourism guides, handicraft methods and sustainable fishing is ongoing. All of these projects will be expanded at national level, collaborating with branches of EMACE and SLYCAN islandwide.

My work enabled me to be the SAARC Youth Award Recipient 2010, for Outstanding Contribution to the Protection of the Environment and Mitigation of Climate Change.
These may be small steps but the impact is growing and creating a wave of eco-positive change among youth in Sri Lanka.

In cooperation with the British Council GLOBAL IDEAS will periodically present you with portraits and updates of the 'International Climate Champions'. The Climate Champion programme recognizes young people from all over the world, who are doing an outstanding job in campaigning and working for the protection of our climate.

Today, please meet Anoka Abeyrathne, a Climate Champion from Sri Lanka:

Anoka has been given the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Youth Award 2010. At the age of 14 she started working on the protection of the wetlands of Sri Lanka to combat Climate Change. Until today Anoka has helped replant more than 12,000 Mangroves in Sri Lanka. She is an activist in the South Asian Youth Climate Action Network. In 2010 she became a British Council International Climate Champion and was the Sri Lankan delegate to the Youth Forum on Climate Finance 2010 in Shanghai.