Tehran – The first international award for women’s environmental activities in BRICS countries, entitled “Green Future” will be judged by 16 ju judges from 10 countries, including two Iranian female scholars.
Masoume Ebtekar, a professor at Taviat Modales University in Tehran, and Siminduk Silvani Alani, director of the Scientific and International Cooperation Institute (AEOI) at the Institute for Science and International Cooperation (NSTRI) at Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI), have brought the event to trial at an event from Iran.
The first international contest of women’s projects from BRICS countries, launched by the Eurasian Women’s Forum and the Rosatom Council, is dedicated to sustainable development and environmental protection.
One of the main objectives is to promote environmental initiatives, encourage peer exchanges and share benchmarks in BRICS countries.
The contest started at the IV Eurasian Women’s Forum in St. Petersburg on September 18th.
The contest also aims to discover women-led corporate practices in sustainability and environmental protection in the BRICS countries, promote prominent environmentally oriented projects created by women, and build a global women network to collaborate in the field of environmental protection.
Women from Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia led environmental projects or initiatives that matched their next competition nomination.
The “Green Workforce” nomination welcomes female leaders running education initiatives and mentoring projects that address current demand for young professionals in the eco-oriented field.
“Ecological Culture” invites female leaders to develop public initiatives that promote environmental awareness and environmentally friendly behavior in society.
“Environmental Protection” focuses on projects that contribute to the conservation and preservation of specially protected natural areas (SPNAs).
Green Corporation focuses on female leaders who successfully run environmental projects in large industrial companies and eco-oriented businesses.
Greentech is dedicated to innovative achievements that contribute to environmental protection through science and technology.
The awards ceremony will be held in May 2025.
Women are closely linked to environmental protection: the head of the DOE
Emphasizing the role of women in environmental preservation, in December 2024, Shina Ansari, head of the Ministry of the Environment (DOE), said that boosting cooperation between different layers of society and the development of green businesses is key to protecting the environment.
“Today, we face many environmental challenges, such as climate change and air pollution, but these issues will not be resolved unless we are addressed collectively,” Irna quotes Ansari.
“Women’s participation plays an important role in maintaining the environment because women and the environment are intertwined. Women have shown high sensitivity and concern about the environment,” the official added.
Assigning responsibility to women can help resolve some of the environmental issues. For example, women can play an effective role in waste management that they had not noticed before. They can be trained to do so at home, which significantly reduces the amount of waste, Ansari emphasized.
Women can also play an important role in improving sustainable agriculture, or protect forests such as the Hycaria and Zagros forests that are currently in poor condition.
Addressing environmental challenges should be a top priority for governments. Also, collaborative efforts are needed as a single organization cannot handle the problem well, Ansari pointed out.
“Let’s work together to ensure that we can take constructive measures at the governance level to mitigate environmental issues,” the official said.
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