Moksha Roy is an Indian-origin British student who has the distinction of being the world’s youngest sustainability advocate. She came into the limelight in 2023 after she was awarded the Point of Light award by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in recognition of her extraordinary dedication to sustainability.
There are small things we can all do to make a big difference to everyone around us.” – Moksha Roy
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Moksha Roy was born on Wednesday, 14 October 2015 (age 7 years; as in 2022). His zodiac sign is Libra. Moksha is from Bushey, Hertfordshire.
Family
Guardian
His parents, Dr. Sourav Roy and Dr. Ragini G. Roy is a scientist, author and philanthropist. He founded the ‘Centre for Big Synergy’ (CBS), a civil society organization of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in 2018; The organization aims to inform, inspire and engage global stakeholders to achieve all 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Moksha Roy’s parents
sustainability campaign
microplastic free 2023
Moksha Roy started working on the ‘Microplastic Free 2030’ campaign when she was 3 years old. The campaign, supported by the Center for Big Synergy (CBS), aims to educate over one billion children and their families about the issues of microplastic pollution and inspire them to take action against it. Moksha contributed to CBS’s educational outreach, especially to underprivileged school children in India. He also created an awareness video about microplastic pollution, which CBS used in its educational sessions.
Moksha Roy during an educational session organized by the Center for Big Synergy (CBS) as part of the Microplastics Free 2030 campaign at a school in India
As part of the campaign, Moksha wrote a letter to Santa Claus for the ‘Plastic Free Christmas 2021’ contest, asking for plastic-free gifts and encouraging her peers in the UK to do the same.
Moksha Roy’s letter to Santa Claus
unsdg
After learning about the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) from her parents, Moksha Roy was shocked by the fact that many of her family members and friends were unaware of these goals and their importance. In a conversation with her parents about how children around the world could be educated about these Global Goals, she suggested that world leaders could mandate teachers around the world to include these Goals in their curriculum.
letter to world leaders
In 2021, Moksha took the initiative to write a letter to the British Prime Minister, requesting him to encourage teachers in the United Kingdom to educate children about the UNSDG. After this, he wrote more than 193 letters to all the world leaders. They received responses from leaders, governments and representatives of 22 countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Croatia, Namibia, Malta, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Portugal and Norway.
Moksha Roy’s letter to world leaders
Notably, the UK Secretary of State for Education, Nadim Zahavi, accepted their request and considered it for the upcoming Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy for Education and Children’s Services; Indeed, in April 2022 the Global Goals were formally integrated into the strategy. Nadim Zahavi wrote,
We shared the first version of our strategy in November 2021. We will consider your useful idea as we continue to work on the final version which will be ready in April this year (2022).
Several other world leaders, including the Mayor of London, also assured Moksha that they would take his request into consideration while revising the national curriculum.
A collage of reactions Moksha Roy received from various dignitaries for her efforts towards sustainability
environment and children
Moksha’s dedication extends to animal welfare and child-centered initiatives as well. She actively raises money for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and contributes to the conservation of snow leopards, penguins, polar bears and their habitats. Furthermore, Moksh decides to forgo his birthday gifts. Instead, she asked her friends and family to donate to the United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF in honor of her special day. As a result, she was able to raise almost £350 for UNICEF UK in 2022.
Thank you message to Moksh from UNICEF UK for raising funds
Awards and Honors
- 20 October 2022: British Citizen Youth Award (BCYA)
Moksha Roy with the British Citizen Youth Award (BCYA)
- 20 July 2023: Point of Light Award from British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
facts/common sense
- In an interview about Moksh’s early inclination towards environmental protection, his mother, Dr. Ragini G. Roy shared an inspiring incident. When Moksha was only three years old, she expressed her desire to buy glitter for her nursery activities; However, being environmentalists, Ragini and her husband, Sourav, inform Moksh that glitter, being a form of microplastic, could harm the planet. To her surprise, Moksha’s response was that she wanted to save the environment, which marked the beginning of her environmental activism. Moksha said,
I want to save the mermaids, the fish and the octopus!”
- As Moksha grew older, her commitment to environmental protection deepened. She made conscious decisions to reduce her consumption, especially clothing and toys containing plastic. Additionally, he began recycling and donating items as a means of raising funds for less fortunate children and encouraged his friends to do the same. In addition, she tries to help animals and insects on a small scale by building a Bug Hotel and Hedgehog Hotel, providing sugar water for bees in her garden during the summer, and planting wildflowers to help bees and other insects find food.
- Moksha Roy runs a self-titled YouTube channel, which she uses as a platform to raise environmental awareness and encourage others to do their part in conserving the planet. She often leverages the power of storytelling through her videos to communicate and promote environmental consciousness.
- Moksha often uses her creativity to advocate for the environment; She conveys her message through her writings, drawings and various art forms.
an owl family created by Moksha Roy from waste materials such as toilet roll tubes, dried vines and leaves, and used cupcake cases; This project won him the runner-up prize in the Royal Society for Protection of Birds’ Wild Art 2021 competition
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn