Eco raise magazine 2014 by Eco-Raise Society

2nd ONLINE MAGAZINE

In one look... Welcome Message ……………………………………..……………………………. 2 Message from the President ………………………………………………….…….. 3 Being Eco-Friendly with Aeris ………………………………………………………. 4 Eco-Raise Society an Insight………………………………………….…………….. 5 Message from a collaborator ..……………………………………….……………. 7 Is being Vegetarian more Eco-Friendly?…..……………………………………..….. 8 Becoming a member’…..………………………………………….……………….….. 9 Projects 2013……………... …………………………………………….…………….. 10 Annual Financial Report 2013…………………………………...…………………. 29 Executive Committee of 2013…………………………………………...……..….….. 30 Eco-Raisers of 2012 ………………………………………………………...……...… 31 Eco-Raise throughout the eyes of the world ……………………….……...………., 32 Acknowledgments ……………………………………………………….….……… 33 The Editing Team ..………………………………………………….…….….…….… 34 Most Outstanding Project Managers/Assistants/Eco-Raisers …………………. 35

Dear Readers, The first two year mandate of the Eco-Raise Team is over. It has been two years of great cooperation, team spirit, passion, inspiration, work and networking. Though full of obstacles, the journey has been a full learning process. The Eco-Raise team has once again brought to you the online magazine, an interesting way to highlight the main events of 2013. Some new features such as articles written by members have been added. We hope that this magazine inspires you to get involved in the protection and conservation of the environment. Even the smallest gesture counts and it would indeed be an achievement if the Eco-Raise Team could be the source of inspiration for people! We encourage everyone to participate in the environmental cause and together we can make a difference! We highly encourage people to send us feedbacks so that the Eco-Raise Team can improve itself for the betterment of the organisation and the environment! Have a good read ahead! "I was part of the editing team for a short time but I enjoyed this experience. I believe that teamwork divides the task and multiplies the success. I thank each and every Eco-Raiser for their support during these few years and I hope a green and sustainable environment will prevail in future." - Vandana Heetun (Editor)

Ms. Kapeesha Askoorum Public Relations Officer Editor In Chief 2013-2013 2

Dear Readers, Our 2nd online edition of the Eco-Raise magazine is finally out! Once again, it has been a very long and successful year for Eco-Raise Society. From sensitisation campaigns, clean-up campaigns, hands-on workshops to exhibitions, Eco-Raise Society had reached another level in the world of Environmental NGOs. This year has been very fruitful whereby we got the chance to present Eco-Raise Society to the different representatives of the African Regions during the Waves of Change campaign and during the AIMS SIDS youth Consultation at Seychelles. Moreover, the Eco-Raise Society is much thankful to all Associations and Organisations that had faith in us and believed in our competency to work together as one. Not the least, I would like to thank our members who kept on helping and participating in our different projects done throughout the year. I wish the new Managing Committee 2014-2015 good luck and I completely believe that they, with the help of our members, will take not only Eco-Raise Society but the environmental awareness to a higher level. I would like to dedicate this Magazine to everyone who, in a way or another, helped in the various stages of Eco-Raise growth and on an ending note, I wish to thank the Editing Team for their good work in making this 2nd online Edition a success.

Mr. Sundy Ramah President 2012-2013

Being Eco-Friendly with Aeris After being officially launched in June 2010, Aeris developed itself into a full-fledged Digital Advertising & Marketing Agency. Effectively managed, Aeris knows a growing success while well establishing itself since the beginning of 2013. Niven Rayapoulle, the Managing Director, has always considered the human and environmental factor to be of paramount importance for the welfare of society at large. Since February 2013, Aeris geared up its expertise in Mobile & SMS applications to help the dedicated members of ECO-RAISE in their amazing endeavor “its always impossible until it's done" -protection Nelson Mandela towards environmental and sustainability. Good communication among people paves the way to success and at the root of it is having the appropriate medium to communicate. Aeris is honored to assist the ECO-RAISE members in their internal communication with the effective SMS Platform for an eco-friendly communication. “Looking ahead, we are keen of our contribution in the great environmental initiatives of Eco-Raise towards a greener and healthier Mauritius.” said Niven Rayapoulle.

Photo Courtesy of Kurtish Venkatiah 4

Eco-Raise Society The idea of creating Eco-Raise Society cropped up to a group of university students after a wonderful lagoon cleaning experience. It occurred to them that people knew little about the state of our environment and that so little was being done to protect it. The zeal to do something for Mother Nature gave birth to Eco- Raise Society. On the 3rd November 2011, it was officially registered as an NGO with 13 members. Today, after one year, an amazing journey has been accomplished and still much more remains to be done. With the help of its 41 members and collaboration of other organisations, the Eco-Raise Society has accomplished an amazing one year journey. The objective of the society is to act as a platform and unite every individual/persons/ organisations under a single banner, which is the protection of the marine and terrestrial environment. Our first collaboration was much before the society was officially registered! The NGO, after registration, worked and participated in various environmental projects such as lagoon and beach cleanings, interactive and hand’s on workshops with national and international students, sensitization campaigns, endemic tree planting and global dialogues amongst others. The organisation and participation in all these projects would not have been possible without the support of all our collaborators. However, the work does not end here. Eco- Raise Society has the vision to sensitise the maximum number of people so that the ‘Green’ attitude comes to every Mauritian Global Dialogues Lagoon cleanings naturally and also to promote students and youngsters to work on their own environmental projects. Our members have the possibility to become Tree plantings Workshops a project coordinator of an environmental project or work on different projects with us thus, giving the green touch necessary for their future. “You can start with nothing. And out of nothing and out of no way, a way will be made.” ~Michael Bernard Beckwith Eco-Raise Society’s membership is open to any person above 18 years old. 5

An insight…. Its Pathway  Founded in 2011  Registered as an NGO in 2011  Registered under the MoESD in 2012

Our Vision

Projects 

Environmental Forums



Interactive & Hands-on Workshops



Tree Planting



Lagoon/Beach Cleaning



Sensitization Campaigns & Projects

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Schools Outreach



Innovative & Sustainable Working Sessions

The society has the vision to unite students, professionals, organisations

Eco-Raise in Number

and individuals sharing a common vision of a proper sustainable Mauritius



35 and increasing Members

to work together under the same banner of sustainability and protection of



9 Executive Members



More than 12 past projects



2 On-going projects

the Marine and Terrestrial environment.

Opportunities to Members 

Opportunity to work, assist and manage environmental projects

Registration



Build extensive network with national and international eco-people



Develop their communication skills

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Build and develop their leadership and expertise skills

Registered in 2011 under the Registrar of Association of Mauritius with registration number: 12574

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Develop innovative ‘green’ ideas and the chance to concretize it



Receive automatically 25% discount on all re-purposed articles made

Official Partner:

Contact info: 

Website: www.ecoraise.org

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Email address: info@ecoraise.org

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Facebook page: https:// www.facebook.com/ecoraise

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Facebook group: https:// www.facebook.com/groups/ ecoraise.soc/

Message from a collaborator Lead Green Project was an initiative of AIESEC Mauritius which started in 2012. Phase 1 focused on terrestrial and marine life whereas Phase II and III were essentially about weather patterns and waste management. Local students from AIESEC Mauritius felt the need to achieve a sustainable environment and preserve the natural beauty in Mauritius for future generations. In this perspective, AIESEC Mauritius launched the Lead Green Project to bring awareness to the local population about the environment and the importance of conservation. We successfully delivered a combination of workshops, presentations, awareness and cleaning campaigns in Mauritius, hence achieving our aim to change people behaviour for the better in these areas. We started by arranging workshops on “terrestrial and marine life” and “Reduce, Re-use and Recycle” launched in June 2012 and December 2012, involving 40 international AIESECers from around the world and members from the Eco-Raise Society. Together we looked at ways to reduce the impacts of marine and land pollution, identify practical solutions that could be implemented. The workshops were a huge success; several ideas about re-use were developed further and put into practice. On the 30th of March 2013, Mauritius witnessed one of its darkest days with more than 10 deaths in Port-Louis due to flooding. This brought into focus the causes of unnatural weather patterns. The Eco-Raise Society in collaboration with AIESEC Mauritius organised environmental conferences “Climate Change and Solutions” on the 25 th and 29th of April 2013 respectively. The event was host by Mr Kae Shummoogum, trained by Mr Al Gore, and President of Gasonic Instruments Inc & EnviroRentals from Canada. This was an important step for us as it gave the first media coverage of the Lead Green Project, helping us to reach a wider audience. Our on-going work in the project was reported on by up to 4 national newspapers. Our message was delivered with a combination of national campaigns and workshops in several local educational institutions. From the various media attention and sponsorship from Orange the cleaning campaign at Ebene was an astounding success with potential to run similar campaigns in other cities. To end the project with a “bang”, two big awareness campaigns at Rose Hill and Bagatelle were arranged with the attendance of nearly 1200 people over 6 weeks. The “Lead Green Project” was the biggest project ever undertaken by AIESEC Mauritius. The involvement of international and national organisations gave it a phenomenal success, spreading our message on sustainable environment. I wish to thank the Eco-Raise society, especially Mr Sundy Ramah for making this project a success. On a personal note: “Keep believing in yourself, all big changes for the better involve you taking the first step”. Yours truly, Mr. Ameeruddheen Khodabacus Coordinator and Project Manager of the Lead Green Project AIESEC Mauritius

Is being Vegetarian more Eco-Friendly? By Kevalina Deeljore Since the last decade, there has been an increase of 20% of meat eaters in the world. One third of the earthâ&#x20AC;&#x;s land is being used to rear farm animals. 1 According to the onegreenplanet.org, lamb is the leading environment destructive food, releasing 20 kg of carbon dioxide for the production of 500g of lamb.2 This is enormous! Now just imagine how many such farm we have all around the world which contributes in the increased of Carbon Dioxide emission. According to the National Geographic the production of 1 pound of beef requires 6 810L of water whereas to produce 1 pound of soybeans, 818L of water is needed!3 The protein content of 1 pound of beef (28g) is twice as that of 1 pound of soya beans (14g). On the whole, you could save 5 174L of water by just eating 2 pounds of soya beans instead of eating 1 pound of beef!

Here are some advices on how you can help to save the environment:9

The farming of billions of Cattles and Sheep are accountable for the production of 37% of methane due to anthropogenic activities.4 It is true that 17% of methane is produced from the cultivation of rice5 but here also we can see the difference in greenhouse gasses emitted from the production of food for non-vegetarians and those for vegetarians. The difference is drastic!

1. The deforestation to either rear animals or to produce their feed;

Nevertheless, if you would like to considerably reduce your carbon footprint in your daily life, going vegetarian would not be enough. You should eat less rice or switch to another source of carbohydrate, perhaps wheat or corn. But careful! An increase in the number of vegetarians could also cause more harm to the environment than you think!! Yes! Due to the importation of soy, pasta and pulses from other countries, more energy is being used.6 Thus; it is recommended that you make sure to buy organic and local food from your daily market! For those who are non-veg, it is advised to buy grass-fed beef as it is better for the consumerâ&#x20AC;&#x;s health rather than those fed with soy and corn 7 which are done by conventional factories.

So, make the wise decision: go vegan and save the world!

If we talk now in terms of seafood, certain techniques of aquaculture can also cause harm to the environment. High supplies of food can cause algal growth thus, causing oxygen depletion in turn causing death of other species. Antibiotics used to grow fish can accumulate into other surrounding organisms and be toxic to them. The introduction of alien species can also cause damaging changes in the ecosystem.8 Being vegetarian is beneficial for the environment as long as more local products are used. However, the person should limit its consumption of dairy products!

1. Choose pulses instead of animal products. 2. Have meat free Mondays. 3. Buy local and seasonal food. 4. Make sure to read labels to know whether your products are from sustainable agriculture or fishing. 5. Try growing your own vegetables and fruits using organic fertilisers from composting. 6. Avoid buying meat from the supermarkets; get it from your local butcher. Because when contributing to:10

you

eat

meat,

you

are

directly

2. The overheating of the planet due to the production of greenhouse gases by animals; 3. The unsustainable use of water and; 4. The polluting the earth.

References: 1,9,10.http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/ food_and_drink/1190709/ can_becoming_a_vegetarian_help_save_the_planet.html 2.http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/mostenvironmentally-destructive-foods/ 3.http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/ embedded-water/# 4.http://www.ovoenergy.com/2013/08/is-being-vegetarian-better-forthe-environment/ 5.http://www.princeton.edu/engineering/eqnews/spring04/ feature4.html 6.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/ climatechange/7219223/Becoming-vegetarian-can-harm-theenvironment.html 7.http://www.sustainabletable.org/260/animal-feed 8.http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/aquacult/overview.php

Kevalina Deeljore BSc (Hons) Biology Eco-Raiser

Student

Entrance Fee: Annual Fee:

Membership

Ordinary

Rs 150

Rs 100

Entrance Fee: Annual Fee:

Membership

Rs 150

Rs 200

 Get your own trendy membership Card  Opportunity to work on different environmental projects  Become Project manager and work on your own project  Beneficiate 25% discount n all re-purposed product made  Build an Extensive network with national and international ‘eco’ people  You get to be an active part in making a green Mauritius

Email: info@ecoraise.org

Projects 2013

Climate Change & Solutions Workshop Climate patterns play a fundamental role in shaping natural ecosystems, and the human economies and cultures that depend on them. But the climate we‟ve come to expect is not what it used to be, because the past is no longer a reliable predictor of the future. Our climate is rapidly changing with disruptive impacts, and that change is progressing faster than any seen in the last 2,000 years. Rising levels of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere have warmed the Earth and are causing wide-ranging impacts, including rising sea levels; melting snow and ice; more extreme heat events, fires and drought; and more extreme storms, rainfall and floods. This is posing significant risks to human health, forests, agriculture, freshwater supplies, coastlines, and other natural resources that are vital to economy, environment and quality of life. The „Climate Change & Solutions Workshop‟ was brought by the Eco-Raise Society along with AIESEC UTM*CTI. The purpose of this workshop was to educate the participants about climate change and to devise collective actions to be taken against rising greenhouse gases. The focus of the workshop was on solutions to climate change through efficient energy use. The workshop was done twice during the month of April 2013. The guest speaker, Mr Kae Shummoogum who also conducted the whole workshop, is a Mauritian who owns and operates an environmental business in Calgary, Canada. He is one of the leaders of the Climate Reality Project and was trained by the former American Vice President, Mr Al-Gore himself. Mr Kae Shummoogum raised a question on our knowledge of climate change, if we knew about its threats to the planet and its inhabitants. He also questioned each person present if they knew how they could act to prevent the ever increasing emission of 11

greenhouse gases. The participants were questioned about how to protect the planet against rising sea level and atmospheric temperatures. It was a very interesting workshop which changed the mindset of the participants on the various solutions brought forward that could be applied for climate change.

Waves of Changeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Opening ceremony at the Institut Francaise de Maurice (IFM) 6 months after the clean-up campaign of lâ&#x20AC;&#x;Ile aux Benitiers (29th and 30th September 2012), whereby more that 450 bags of dumped wastes (250 Plastic Bottles, 60 Ceramic, 20 Metal, 10 Polystyrene among others) were removed from the island by 200 Volunteers, the wastes were transformed into art decorations and have been exposed at the Institut Francaise de Maurice (IFM) from the 6th of April to the 17th of April 2013. The artists who worked on the transformation used the marine theme whereby sharks, turtles, fish, rays, jellyfish among others were made using scrap metals, plastic bottles, bottlesâ&#x20AC;&#x;s caps, cans, cloths, papers and other wastes. The Ile aux Benitiers cleaning campaign was an initiative of the One Future One Planet platform during which different partners worked hand in hand, among which was the Eco-Raise Society, to make the campaign a success. The Waves of Change then came as an initiative by the One Island Institute to transform these wastes and give them a new life in terms of art. After more than 3 months of work, the objects were finally ready and exposed at the IFM. The launching ceremony gathered many representatives of different organisations who were in the cleaning campaign and the working session to transform wastes into art. The ceremony started with the speech of the representative of One Island institute followed by the Sponsors (IOC and EU). A video of the Waves of Change was also launched during the night. The exposition was opened to everyone from the 6th to the 17th of April 2013 for the visits at the IFM, with special themes days for instance Kids Activities, Partnership Dialogue and Woman Uniting events.

On Saturday 12th, there was the Wave of Change Main Event, whereby there were presentations of project or actions being done in the context of the Wave of Change Campaign series, by delagates from Zanzibar, Madagascar and Comoros, followed OFOP Benitier Project with MMCS, Eli-Africa, Reef Conservation and Eco-Raise Society. There were also Slam sessions, group sharing and Live music, throughout the day. On the 17th the Exposition culminated with a partnership dialogue session between all partners who participated. All the Art objects were exposed at IFM for 3 more weeks.

Zero Waste Society Workshop The

Zero

Waste

Society

Workshop

was

organized by Eco-Raise Society and co-hosted by One Island Institute under the Wave of Change Campaign for Green Revolution Phase 1.

The

event

Community

was

Centre.

held The

Coromandel

purpose

the

workshop was to deliver a brief introduction of waste management, explain the concept of the three “Rs” (that is: reuse, reduce and recycle), and solid waste management in the context of Mauritius. The participants for this workshop were mostly interns from AIESEC UTM*CTI and some of our members from Eco-Raise Society. The project was put in place with the goal to encourage local people mainly youngsters in developing

greener,

cleaner

and

ecofriendly environment by having a better waste management and using recycling as an essential mean of re-generating waste. For the workshop, the main program elements included the process used in Global Dialogues: Connect, Envision, Engage, Reflect and Share. These following pertinent questions were asked to the participants during group sessions: “For you, what is a zero waste society?”; “What do we need to learn and change to transform our hyper consumption society into one that produces no waste?”; “Why do we produce so much waste?”; “What is wasted out there beyond materials?” These dialogues sessions have been an ideal way to really take time to think and discuss about the issues of waste management and the possible solutions that could be put into effect to remediate to it.

It has been great experience for all participants and one that is set to hopefully be organized once again in 2014 with the aim of promoting awareness towards the concept of a â&#x20AC;&#x153;zero waste societyâ&#x20AC;?. Truly through this project and through the activities done, Eco-Raise

Society and all people participating will

be making a positive impact within the community, by raising awareness about our growing environmental issues, and about working together towards a common solution.

“We say Zero Tolerance towards Dumping” L‟aspect environnemental est là. Mais peut-on dire de même de la pratique? Certains diraient que bien évidemment la pratique se fait tous les jours et d‟autres diraient même que les lois „sévères‟ qui l‟entoure assure cela. Avec toutes les

conferences

environnementales,

les

publicités, les campagnes, les millions de roupies qui sont injectées annuellement entre autres, peut-on insinuer que c‟est la volonté qui fait défaut ou est-ce l‟effort? C‟est ni l‟un ni l‟autre. C‟est surtout l‟irresponsabilité civique et environnementale qui est à l‟origine du manque

pratique

devoir

envers

l‟environnement. Les soixantaines jeunes qui étaient présents à Ebène le Samedi 20 juillet 2013 pour essayer de diminuer, pour ne pas dire combattre les déchets, pourront sans doute confirmer cela. Déchets qui ont été jetés, abandonnés et maltraités par moi, vous, petit et grand, riche ou pauvre. Une soixantaine de jeunes qui n‟ont fait rien d‟extraordinaire, mais ce sont des jeunes de divers institutions (tertiaires), de différents pays, et groupes environnementaux - Eco-Raise Society, AIESEC entre autres et surtout et avant tout, la collaboration “d‟Orange Business Services”. Même les employés d‟Orange Business Services ont pris part à cette activitée. Ils ont tout donné du début jusqu‟à la fin. Cependant avec les meme T-shirts de “Zero Tolerance towards Dumping”, la meme volonté, et la même véracité, il était impossible de distinguer les membres des différents associations ainsi que les employés “d‟Orange Business Services”. Collaborez et s‟amusez. Pourquoi ce geste à la cybercité d‟Ebène? Bein, on devait commencer quelque part et où d‟autre qu‟une place avec des milliers des gens qui font le va et vient quotidiennement! Avec les regards curieux

des

passants,

des

piétons

des

automobilistes, nous étions tous hyper motivé. Et pour ne pas mentir, motivé et quelque part dégouté. Dégouté, pas par les déchets, mais

dégouté par les actes d‟irresponsabilité. Une soixantaine de sacs de déchets en moins de deux heures? Dans une espace moins d‟un kilomètre? Est-ce possible? Bien sûr que oui! Des déchets dont on ne connaissait meme pas l‟existence jusqu‟ici. Bien que l‟éducation est un facteur clé pour promouvoir et conscientiser l‟importance de sauf garder l‟environnement et la responsabilité civique de chacun, il est aussi important de faire ressortir l‟aspect moral. Une grande majorité de la population Mauricienne est alphabétisée mais pas éduquée. Alors, il faudra revoir cette stratégie gouvernementale qui a porté ses fruits mais qui sera peut-être plus efficace en aidant ceux qui n‟arrivent pas à discerner pour mieux comprendre. Mais revenons à la responsabilité civique. Si nous avons tous des droits civiques nous avons aussi des responsabilités qui vont avec. La base est là! Utiliser les poubelles. S‟il n‟y a pas de poubelle où vous êtes, ce n‟est pas

problème,

gardez

déchet

momentanément en attendant d‟en trouver une. Comme quoi c‟est la moindre des choses que vous pouvez faire. L‟aspect environnemental est là. Pratiquez-le! Comme John F. Kennedy l‟avait bien cité, “Ne demandez pas ce que votre pays peut faire pour vous, mais ce que vous pouvez faire pour votre pays.” Un simple geste suffira. Alors, n‟hésitez pas à le pratiquer et on espère que les autres suivront.

Reforestation Campaign at Plaine des Roches Reforestation and forest preservation projects are part of the „solution‟ against global warming. These trees are a method to fight climate change by capturing carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere in trees and soil and have many co-benefits for the community and local wildlife. Reforestation maintains and expands wildlife habitats, protects biodiversity, and improves local environmental quality. Why reforestation projects are being implemented in Mauritius? Mauritius has a unique endemic flora and fauna. Our island has experienced a widespread decline in native species since its original settlement. According to the Mauritian Forestry Service, “only around 2% of the land area of Mauritius is considered to be covered with good quality native forests.” Invasive plant species are dangerous as they off set the balance of the ecosystem and act as a major threat to the island‟s native biodiversity. The invasive species are more successful than the native ones and they take over the food source often ruining the order of the ecosystem. This particular reforestation campaign, initiated by ELI Africa, took place on the 30th of March 2013 at Plaines des Roches village whereby two representatives of Eco-Raise Society volunteered in. Our main focus was to plant some endangered and endemic plant species and to remove some invasive plants. The area was covered by sugarcane and non-native eucalyptus trees. The site was determined as an ideal location for endemic tree planting since the land‟s topography and geology are able to sustain a wide range of endemic trees. The region is also home to the endangered Mauritian Fruit Bat, and by Including endemic fruit-bearing trees in the forest, the amount of habitable land for the bats can be

expanded.

The local people contributed enormously for this project and they were the one who guided us throughout the project. They also explained to the volunteers how to plant the trees correctly and the right

way

compost.

Photos courtesy of Eli-Africa

use

with

Lead Green Project Lead Green Phase III was one of the projects in which Eco-Raise Society was involved in 2013. To me, this was the project in which I was most involved since I joined the group. One memorable event I took part in during this project was a workshop. In fact, this was the first time I got to meet the people from the AIESEC side of the project. This was also the only time I met members of Green Revolution Phase II, another project in which Eco-Raise Society took part. The workshop was conducted at the intern house in Rose- Hill and had as objective to make the interns aware about the environmental situation of our island, as well as expressing their thoughts on similar matters related to their respective countries. The workshop began, with a presentation by Eco-Raise. The interns were given an introduction of the organisation, followed by a presentation on the environmental situation of Mauritius, pollution and the laws related to the environment. This was a really nice experience, as I got to express myself in front of a group of foreigners I had never met before. Things got even better when they responded to the presentations by asking questions and sharing information they had, leading to an enriching and constructive conversation. The next part of the workshop turned out to be equally interesting, if not more. The interns were separated into groups, based on their geographic origins as far as possible, and they were asked to write, on large sheets of paper, about the positive measures taken by the governments in their countries for the environment. Here, the Eco-Raise members provided support by giving prompts to those who had difficulties remembering the good work of their governments.

Moving around, learning a bit about how life is elsewhere on the planet, simply by interacting with them, gave the feeling that some imaginary barrier had been lifted from the mind. Once their sheets were filled (which by then could be called posters), it was time for the different groups to present their works. Thus the learning sessions continued, one after the other, occasionally paused for question and answer sessions. The posters themselves differed greatly from one group to another. Some had prioritized text blocks with varying colors and fonts, to better represent their region or maybe simply their state of mind at that time. Others used a bit more of their imagination, by adding sketches and even stickers they had as symbols of their countries. All of them did really well and the result was a beautiful portrait of international measures for the environment. The workshop was but the beginning to an interesting chain of events which would allow many to make new, good friends, while learning more about, and working for a better environment.

An Eco-Raiser at the AIMS SIDS Youth Consultation By S.V. Sornum

Small Island Developing States or commonly known as SIDS, first recognized as a distinct group of developing countries at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992, are low-lying coastal countries that tend to share similar sustainable development challenges, including small but growing populations, limited resources, remoteness, susceptibility to natural disasters, vulnerability to external shocks, excessive dependence on international trade, and fragile environments. Their growth and development is also held back by high communication, energy and transportation costs, irregular international transport volumes, disproportionately expensive public administration and infrastructure due to their small size, and little to no opportunity to create economies of scale. Small Islands Developing States are divided into three groups according to the geographic location namely the Caribbean, Pacific and AIMS (Africa, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Seas). Each region has their own specificity and problems, but it has been found that many of these are repeated in the other ones. In order to identify problems and find solutions, there are different stakeholders who are involved in regional consultations are these includes, government, public and private sector representatives, NGOs, Youth just to mention some. Mauritius is a member of the AIMS region SIDS and in July of last year, there was a national and regional youth consultation that was held in Mauritius and Seychelles respectively. Eco-Raise Society was present in both consultation processes and the outcomes were far from expectation. The national consultation process was held in early July at the Indian Ocean Commission head office in Ebene and was a full day

session. Youth representation that worked in different sectors were present and different working sessions were held, whereby different problems and solution were identified. An outcome document was prepared which was presented during the regional consultation held in Seychelles Mid July. The Regional Consultation held in Seychelles was on a period of one week, whereby youth delegates came from Cape Verde, Comoros, Guinea Bissau, Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles. Bringing forward the different problems in our respective countries and our knowledge, networking, consultations and preparation of the outcome document were the main agenda of this meeting, while keeping in mind partnership capacities. Projects were also discussed on how it can be brought about in the national, regional and international context. The outcome document was then presented to higher authorities in the Regional AIMS SIDS Meeting whereby representatives of the different countries governments were present. It was a very pleasant and enriching experience for myself as Mauritian Youth delegate and Eco-Raiser, especially to the fact that when you arrive, you are a Mauritian Delegate! but when you leave, you return as an Islander and member of the big family! There was a sense of achievement when Eco-Raise was presented or talked about during the meeting. In the plane, back to Mauritius, my head was full with good memories and pictures of this consultation process. My wish, would be that Eco-Raise must one day be reaching those islands. I would also like to thank my fellow delegates and Eco-Raisers for having been amazingly supportive during this first â&#x20AC;&#x153;out of islandâ&#x20AC;? Journey of mine.

The “IDLE NO MORE” Exhibition On Wednesday 10th April 2013, the Paul Octave Wiehe Auditorium was buzzing with eager students. The GREEN SURFERS, a team of 13 students from the University of Mauritius (UoM) organised an event having for aim to create awareness among the students on campus. The theme of this event was inspired by the students themselves- „Idle No More‟- who decided that our youngsters should be stop being idle anymore!!! A number of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) were invited on this occasion among which were the Mauritius Marine Conservation Society, Eco Sud, Mission Verte and Eco-Raise Society. It was a great opportunity for us to display the previous projects done by the Eco- Raise Society and also meet people having the same philosophy of working together towards preserving our fragile environment. The use of „old‟, „unused‟ clothes and empty plastic bottles to make attractive objects such as cushions were one of the major attractions. There was also the presentation of our E-magazine which drew a lot of attention. The Emagazine had a summary of all our previously carried out projects and our various collaborations with other NGOs. The first speech for the opening ceremony was given by the Ag. Vice-President of Eco-Raise Society, Miss Srishti Ramsaha. She praised the Green Surfers for their green initiative. She also emphasized on the willingness of Eco-Raise Society to collaborate with others for projects on the environment. She was followed by a speech from the Minister of Environment, the Honorable Mr. Dev Virahsawmy who also congratulated the youngsters for being concerned citizens. During his visit at our stand, the Minister was very impressed by the work done by Eco-Raise Society and also encouraged us to go forward with our future projects. During this event, the total money raised from the sale of tickets was donated to the victims of the flash flood of 30 March 2013.

Alongside the main event, a concert by local artists and a sketch competition by UoM students were also organised; for which the President of Eco-Raise Society, Mr. Sundy Ramah had been invited to be part of the jury panel for the contest. It was great to see the success of the event and we look forward to other events as this one to spread word and reach out to the public about the different projects that are being done by the Eco-Raise Society as well as, sharing our remarkable experiences and demonstrating our enthusiasm towards a greener Mauritius to the public.

Repurposing Sessions/4R’s Hands-on Workshop In the past, repurposing of un-used materials were not as famous and widely spread as it is now. Perhaps because people had little materials and they used essentially what was needed. However, now we have loads of things in our homes which sometimes have little/no use to us. Repurposing has become a way to declutter our homes. For example, using pallets to make furniture or using baby food jars as candle holder! Repurposing is an interesting and creative way of using old things. Repurposing has become fashionable! Besides having several advantages, repurposing is also environment friendly! This is why the Eco-Raise Society tried to focus on this creative way of reusing wastes as one of its major project for 2013. The organisation conducted several repurposing sessions to make cushion covers with old sarees, poufs with plastic bottles. However, the biggest workshop was the Creative 4„R‟s Hands on Workshop done at the University of Technology. The Creative 4 „R‟s Hands-On Workshop 2013 was done in the context of the LEAD GREEN PROJECT. In 2013, the LEAD GREEN project focused mainly on the recycling of unused materials and wastes. This involved 14 international students from the AIESEC network to help in making the maximum impact by creating awareness about the alarming rate at which the Mauritian ecosystem is being damaged due to these wastes. The workshop consisted of an „handson‟ approach to the repurposing of wastes whereby the participants could convert plastic bottles, CDs and other wastes into useful and decorative objects. The Creative 4„R‟s Hands-On Workshop for Lead Green Project was hosted by Eco-Raise Society in collaboration with AIESEC UTM*CTI. 22 participants attended the workshop. The workshop was conducted over two days. On the first day, there was a brief introduction of Eco-Raise Society. Then, the creative part started whereby the participants were given all the necessary materials that enabled them to convert waste into beautiful objects. On the second day, the

participants formed little groups of 4 people whereby each group made a PET bottle pouf after a brief tutorial session on pouf making. Objects made from wastes were:  Pencil holder from biscuit container and twine, baby food jar and ribbon, tissue paper roll and sticking tape roll. Necklaces from CDs, cardboard and ribbons. Photo frame made from shredded paper and magazines. Cushion cover from old sarees. Photo frame out of chocolate box. Candle holder from baby food jar and ribbon. Pouf with PET bottles, old curtains and foam.

Annual Financial Report 2013 29

Executive Committee of 2013 Managing Committee Sundy Ramah—President Lekraj Etwarysing—Vice President (Study Leave) Menaka Gukhool—Secretary Revtish Hurkoo—Treasurer Ronnie Francois— Asst. Treasurer

Public Relation Officer Kapeesha Askoorum

Project Coordinators Soundara Vellan Sornum Vandana Heetun Srishti Ramsaha (Ag. Vice President)

Auditor Kumaravellan Sornum (Kumaren) 31

Eco-Raise Members of 2013 Chaveena Askoorum

Kevalina Deeljore

Divesh Aubeeluck

Narvesh Kisoondhery

Youdisha Beecah

Jaya Baulroop

Vishika Beepur

Chetan Gukhool

Nitish Bhugowandeen

Deepika Pardassee

Dhanisha Gopaul

Jennifer Mooken

Cynthia Labonne

Mamta Ramlugun

Yohans Mahadea

Pavishram Rughoo

Sheyne Moodelly

Prabhakaran C. Pillai

Ryanish Munbodhowa

Rajeswaree Venkamah

Shalinee Ramah

See Yin How Tue

Revatish Sampat

Tanusha Fowdar

Mahalakshmi Sawmy

Hannaa Chouthy

Kumaravellan Sornum

Trishen Munisami

Yuram Venkatiah

Manukumar Mayput

Julia Vitry 32

Eco-Raise through the eyes of the world Bettina Knapp, Finance-Student, Austria "Wow, it was amazing to work with Eco-Raise Society; they really DO something for the environment! The team is so active and dedicated, it's just inspiring!"

Lucia Magnano, intern, Russia â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mauritius being an amazing and multicultural country, home to a unique coral reef full of sea life, it makes me happy to see that there's a group of very proactive citizens putting a lot of effort and giving part of their time to recover and preserve the natural patrimony of the island, with the people and for the people. Promoting and spreading the word about sustainable development, encouraging people to respect the environment and change their mindset towards it, something that may seem hard at the beginning but that's not impossible, are all highly valuable and challenging tasks. It was a pleasure getting to know some of the society members. I just wish I had met them earlier while I was in Mauritius! You could tell from the way they talked about their work and the mission of Eco-Raise Society how deeply committed they are to it, and how much environmental issues concern them, not just the local ones, but those global as well. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, ideas and time with us, it certainly refreshed my energies! Now that I'm back home, I'm planning to take part in an environmental-social project.â&#x20AC;? 33

Valeria Barbieri, Oriental Languages-Student, Italy “My first impression when I saw Sundy, Vellan and Haadeeyah for the first time was that they were very young. But when they started explaining about ECO-RAISE, I could feel their excitement and I understood that they were very involved and focused on our planet's problem. I learnt a lot of new (and moreover terrifying) things about the environment and how ‘we’ (humans) are doing nothing for helping it. I was (and I am!) really glad to know them and their association. Maybe because we are young that we can do something concrete to fight the pollution and to avoid the decay of the world we live in. Maybe because we have more energies that we have ideals or maybe its because we believe that TOGETHER we can really do something for the world!”

Narvesh Kissoondhery, Eco-Raiser, Mauritius "I believe that only through freedom and environmental experience that human development can occur. Thank you Eco-Raise Society for making me an Earth Warrior rather than environmentalist. One year of experience and sharing knowledge through meetings and workshops has made me more optimistic about the future of our environment. A very happy second anniversary and wish you a bright future.”

“Divided we are countries, together we are the world and as one we can make the change we want.” 34

This

Acknowledgements Acknowledgements two year mandate would not have

been

possible without the support and collaboration of our

members,

partners

and

collaborators.

would like to seize this opportunity to sincerely thank Mr Niven Rayapoulle from AERIS mobile solutions Ltd for being our first sponsor and providing an awesome messaging platform for us to promote our events and make our members to keep connected. A sincere thank you to Mrs Anneloes Smitsman from Ecological Living In Action (ELIA) for being a guide & motivator since the very start of

the

organisation;

Khodabacus for

Ameeruddheen

providing to us his network

contacts and being an enthusiastic supporter of the Eco-Raise Society.

Last but not the least, the

Believe Investigation Team (BIT) for always having time

support

terms

video

and

photography. We would also like to thank all our members

and

everyone

throughout this journey! Thank you all!

who

have

helped

The Editing Team Contributors Kapeesha Askoorum Editor in Chief Chetan Gukhool For: “Zero Tolerance Towards Dumping”

Sundy Ramah Designer & Editor

Soundara Vellan Sornum For: “An Eco-Raiser at the AIMS SIDS Youth Consultation”

Divesh Aubeeluck

Vandana Heetun

For: “Lead Green”

Editor

Kevalina Deeljore For: “Is Being Vegetarian more Eco-Friendly?”

Ronnie Francois Editor

Most Outstanding Project Managers, Assistants & Eco-Raisers of 2012-2013 Project Managers & Assistants 1. Kapeesha Askoorum 2. Chaveena Askoorum 3. Ibraahim Atchia 4. Divesh Aubeeluck 5. Lekraj Etwarysing 6. Ronnie Francois 7. Vandana Heetun 8. Sundy Ramah 9. Srishti Ramsaha 10.Pavishram Rughoo 11.Soundara Vellan Sornum

Eco-Raisers 1. Kevalina Deeljore 2. Chetan Gukhool 3. Narvesh Kissondhery 4. Yuram Venkathiah 5. Revtish Hurkoo

Official Partner:

CONTACT Email: info@ecoraise.org / contact@ecoraise.org Website: www.ecoraise.org February 2014