WTaking an evening walk by the Seine overlooking the Eiffel Tower bathed in night light is a memory that I will forever embrace. The cool wind made us shiver every now and then, but joggers were clearly unfazed even ones in their shorts! Being able to walk so easily and so enjoyably in a capital city right beside a major attraction compared with my experience of living in Kathmandu where walking is difficult to say the least was a great surprise. We walked an average of 20,000 steps a day in Europe which I would only have achieved in Nepal if I went on a field trip or hike. So, this whole trip was a very welcoming new experience!
The reason we got to go there in the first place was because my team had won the Team Up for Climate Challenge 2024 organized by EGIS Foundation. Among other things we won a trip to Paris as a study and ceremony attendance opportunity. All five of my team members got a chance to go to France which was a first for all of us. With official meets and events to attend during the day and evenings for us to explore Paree we tried to make the most out of our visit.
Our team receiving the certificates for winning the challenge along with the broader EGIS Foundation team. The ceremony video to the right.
Of particular note were the night light of Eiffel Tower viewed from the riverbanks of Seine; the walk along the fashionable avenue of Champs Elysees – it had rained heavily, and my feet were soaked to the bones but my first purchase of Salmon shoes made it worth it!; the hike to reach Sacré-Coeur at the Montmartre hills where everyone seemed to be in a rave; to witnessing the rebuilding of Notre-Dame. But the icing on the cake was the experience to live pitch our idea at Climate Academy in front of a live audience!
Many of my favorite authors produced one of their greatest works in Paris and many of my favorite films particularly Before Sunset was filmed here! And after visiting the city for myself I can see why it has been a source of such inspiration. Paris is indeed a moving feast!!!
After the French leg of our tour, we made our way to Netherlands particularly the Wageningen University & Research (WUR) which I deem to be the starter of our initiative’s youth-led initiatives! We had messaged our WUR team that we will be in Paris, and they immediately invited us to visit WUR. After more than two years of engagement we finally got to meet them. After visiting WUR, I am sure every university visit will pale in comparison. The whole area was a combination of research center, academic centers, entrepreneurial hubs and more. The premises of the university had wetlands, not just a beautified pond but a proper wetland with birds swimming, vegetations surrounding it, and riparian zones as well.
But before we made it to WUR we had made a day out of Amsterdam and another at Utrecht. Visiting Netherlands really alters the perspective that we need more spaces for roads to have a big functional city. The streets and roads are all designed in a way to make way for cyclists and pedestrians. Canals and boating are a big part of their culture and efforts to conserve the structure could be clearly seen from floating treatment along the banks. At Utrecht we did some canoeing ourselves in the middle of the city! Our first mentor, Jitse was kind enough to be the host for the day. We ended our trip with a visit to Wetlands International where we exchanged information about our works and how we could collaborate in the future. Then we made our way to Rome, Italy!
Left and right our team canoeing at Utrecht. Middle most likely a boating competition in Amsterdam
This was a second trip to Rome for me as I was here last year for the Youth4Climate solutions event and this year attending the World Food Forum (WFF). But this time I really got to see the city in all its glory. Rome boasts architecture with ruin value! Great care and attention have been given to preserving different monuments. The stroll along the Colosseum during night is forever etched in my memory. The Trevi Fountain which I so greatly rejoiced visiting last year was under renovation this time and I didn’t get to toss a coin. So, will I get to return to Rome again? I hope the fountain will understand 🙂
At WFF we attended the Youth Food Lab program where we had participated last year and was awarded the Youth Seed Award. This year getting to witness the live pitch from passionate youths on agri-food systems is a remainder that while the world is full of problems there are passionate people who are trying to change the status quo and make the world a better place for today and tomorrow. We also got to connect with our Youth4Climate team and discuss how our project was faring.
Traveling to these countries have provided an outlook of what an urban design looks like, how nature-based/nature-positive solutions and heritage conservation can look at an urban context, and how mobility plays an important role in our lives. I cannot for the life of me imagine recreating the walks even if I want to here in Nepal. Except for some light evening walks I could never imagine commuting to work on foot unless it was super close, but nothing is close to me!
