Alumni Impact: Meet Shakhzoda Mirakova, Founder of the EcoChange Project
Alumni Impact is a social media campaign that recognizes the excellent work being done by FIUTS alumni all around the world. Meet Shakhzoda, a FIUTS Uzbekistan Youth Leadership Program alumna, and learn about her project, EcoChange, to increase sustainability knowledge and empowerment for individuals to take action to reduce their ecological footprint.
During August, FIUTS welcomed 17 young leaders from Uzbekistan to Seattle for three weeks. Their program focused on environmental justice, sustainability, and conservation, and each of them worked with FIUTS staff and their peers to develop a plan for a Community Action Project to implement once they returned home.
We are so proud to share this post from Shakhzoda, who has successfully completed her project! Read on to learn about what she did and the impact it’s making in her community.
Shakhzoda Mirakova at the FIUTS final dinner event next to her project poster
Hi! I am Shakhzoda Mirakova, an alumna of Uzbekistan Youth Leadership Program!
On November 12-14, 2021 in Bukhara there were conducted a series of educational workshops as a part of EcoChange project, which was sponsored by American Councils. The main mission of the project is to provide sustainability knowledge and empowerment to take action individually and collectively to reduce our ecological footprint.
EcoChange participants planting a tree
The project has been primarily designed for 50 university students who were introduced to a wide range of ecological topics and engaged in interactive group discussions devoted to consumerism, zero waste culture, COP26 and many more. Over the 3 day workshops the participants had a chance to share their experiences and ideas on practical ways of protecting the environment. American guests were invited to shed light on how eco-activism functions in the US and tap on the development of the eco-friendly fields such as a filmmaking industry.
Each workshop ended with a hypothetical design charrette, in which students were challenged to develop creative solutions to the environmental issues impacting their communities using information learned in the sessions. On the final day of the first cycle of the project all organisers along with the participants took part in the tree planting process in Bukhara State University and school 15. The project will continue stimulating conservation and protection of natural resources, rational usage of natural resources and raising awareness of environmental problems not only in Bukhara, but throughout Uzbekistan .
EcoChange participants presenting on project goals
I am so grateful that I have been given an opportunity to learn about project management while I was doing my exchange month with FIUTS in Seattle as a part of UYLP. The sessions that we attended gave me a better understanding of how to start building a community project from a very scratch and inspire my dedicated volunteers to be great leaders. On the first day of our workshops I shared all the takeaways from my experience, particularly from our visit to IslandWood, E-car Rally and in-person/ virtual meetings with eco-experts. My EcoChange project exceeded my expectations and brought together so many people from all walks of life. I want to express my gratitude to the FIUTS team for their approaches and tips that have been helping me on my journey as a social activist in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
To learn more about Shakhzoda’s project, EcoChange:
Instagram: EcoChange.Uz
Telegram: EcoChange.Uz
Guest posts on the FIUTS blog represent the experiences and views of individual writers. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FIUTS or any organizations or institutions affiliated with our programs.