Selected for UN Ocean Decade Summit at Hawaii

Mysuru: Fourteen-year-old girl Manavattira K. Yashmi Dechamma from Nelaji village in Kodagu, presently studying in ninth standard at Acharya Vidya Kula in city, has been chosen for the UN Ocean Decade Summit scheduled to be held in Hawaii soon. 

She bagged the opportunity following her documentary on the topic ‘Water is sacred’ which won the H2021 Water Summit Storytelling Contest. The event was conducted for the age group of 13 to 17 years. Yashmi is the daughter of Manavattira Kushalappa and Nalini. 

She was introduced to the UN Ocean Decade Summit at her school and decided to take part in it. Concerned about the environment at a very young age, it was a good opportunity for Yashmi to present her views as she already had a good knowledge about climate change, water scarcity, global warming and other topics. 

She also gained knowledge from global speakers how climate change was affecting the earth and how the planet is facing further destruction. “The virtual UN Ocean Decade Summit gave me clarity on the issue and enabled me to present my ideas in a better way,” she said. 

The virtual sessions conducted by ‘H2021 Water Summit’ were based on a particular theme and that the theme ‘Water is Sacred’ was close to her heart as she hailed from Kodagu and the Kodava community worships River Cauvery. Yashmi attended four sequential weekends of simulated sessions and heard about the storytelling competition and decided to take part. 

The ‘H2O21 Water Summit’ will connect, educate, empower, and inspire youth leaders while engaging them in critical messaging for the world today. Youth from around the world will dive deeply into water at a pivotal time for the next generation’s future.  

“My mother used to tell me about how Cauvery is sacred for my community and hailing from the beautiful land of Kodagu gave me the inspiration to make the documentary. Also, in childhood, we used to enjoy rain and sadly now, rainfall, landslides and floods are causing destruction in this beautiful land,” she said. 

Her documentary contains the scenic beauty of River Cauvery and a Kodava song plays in the background. Yashmi shot the video with the support of her cousin Bhuvana Nanaiah and her father Nanaiah. The documentary narrates how the River is polluted today and how the entire lifeline along the course of the River is affected. Notably, her documentary highlights the efforts of green-conscious youngsters to save the river from further destruction. 

Yashmi’s documentary ends with a powerful message of healing the River. “We are already in peril and the earth has to be safeguarded for future generations. We also need pure oxygen and pure water that helped our ancestors survive and lead a healthy life. I have attempted to highlight the plight of River Cauvery that is a lifeline of South India and if we don’t protect the River now, we can’t even think of survival,” she said.