Pakistani artist Nayab created a digital art piece to increase awareness of the effects of ocean acidification on biodiversity and the ecosystem.
Nayab Zahra from Pakistan is one of three young people from the Commonwealth who have been named winners of a global competition that aims to motivate, encourage, and honour young people who are taking initiatives for oceans protection.
Over 131 young people from across the Commonwealth documented and shared their involvement in actions for protection of environment and promote the sustainable use of oceans as part of the #YouthLeadSDG14 Action Challenge competition, which was launched at COP27 by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, and the Commonwealth Youth Climate Change Network (CYCN).
The winners of this year are: Sufyan Binyamin (Nigeria), Zahra Nayab (Pakistan), and D. E. Adewale (Nigeria). The 190+ action submissions from 23 Commonwealth nations greatly impressed the panel of judges. Since 2023 is the Commonwealth Year of Youth, this year is being devoted to highlighting young people.
Pakistani artist Nayab created a digital art piece to increase awareness of the effects of ocean acidification on biodiversity and the ecosystem. She holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Antwerp in Belgium and is a STEM student.
For her theoretical and practical demonstration of the elimination of plastic components by promoting the use of polyolefin as a plastic substitute, she was awarded the 2017 Jabir ibn e Hayan Award. She received the Al Farabi Medal in 2020 for her innovative use of bio conductor modular, an AI, in conventional medicine.
She received the prestigious IFSPD Fellowship in 2022 as an official research member from the governments of Sweden and Norway. She also received the Government of Pakistan’s National Youth Award 2021 in the categories of literature, education, technology, and innovation.
Azeez Abubakar, CYCN Partnerships and Engagement Chair, congratulated the three winners for their creative ideas, commitment, and dedication to addressing climate change and protecting the environment and oceans. He believes that youth-led action on SDG14 can have a significant impact on efforts to protect the blue economy.
The originality, viability, and scalability of their work, as well as the impact they had, were all taken into consideration when choosing the three winners. Everybody received a £1,000 prize
CYCN, a network of young people working to address climate issues, spearheaded this year’s competition, following a successful #YouthLeadSDG13 campaign last year.
They call for a “powerful wave of change” to ensure current and future generations co-exist in a nurturing relationship with the ocean. All stakeholders need to protect, restore, conserve, and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development. CYCN is one of 13 Commonwealth Youth Networks.