World Environmental Health Day| Prajakta Koli on youth’s role in saving environment and meeting Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

For content creator-turned-actor Prajakta Koli, working with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as their India Youth Climate Champion marked a major shift in her perspective.

“If there’s one issue pressing humanity’s survival, it’s the environment,” says the 31-year-old, who is currently at Climate Week 2024 in New York (USA) as India’s representative.

On World Environmental Health Day today, she notes the importance of introducing environmental education at an early age: “When I was in school, we didn’t take environmental studies seriously. That mindset needs to change… Now, I use my social platforms to amplify conversations about climate action.”

The solution, she says, is for the youth to “simply be a part of the conversation”. “They are the most active demographic on digital platforms. They want to make a difference, have an impact and do their part,” she opines, adding, “For it to be truly effective, people in positions of power need to take the youth’s voice seriously.”

At Climate Week 2024, Prajakta got a chance to meet Danish actor and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, known for his role as Jamie in the series Game of Thrones. “We had great conversations both before and after shooting for my channel and discussed how he uses storytelling to advance conversations about climate action. He is so passionate about the cause, it’s really inspiring,” she says.