The Swiss it! bus will tour (virtually and physically) through about 28 cities[i] in India (Delhi NCR region, Jaipur, Udaipur, Coimbatore, Uttarakhand, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolhapur, Goa, Sangli, Solapur, Nasik, Pune, Bangalore, Vellore, Chennai, Vijayawada, Vishakhapatnam, Bhubaneshwar, Kharagpur, Kolkata, Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Gaya, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Lucknow), with the aim to encourage young adults in the age group of 13-18 years to engage on the topic of sustainability and as well as to bring low tech and clean-tech solutions countering indoor air and water pollution as well as waste segregation and recycling to everyone’s backyard through workshops, activities, films and more. Simple ideas adaptable to the average Indian household will be presented through interactive, fun workshops such as water footprint calculator, upcycling cardboard boxes & old t-shirts, quizzes, and so on. Simultaneously health consequences from pollution and improper waste disposal will be highlighted. Further, the topic of climate change will be discussed with the young adults so they can be a vector of ecological transition. Climate change is also a theme that is dear to the work of Switzerland in India, with 8 projects of the Swiss cooperation in India addressing climate change and environmental challenges.
The aim is to draw attention of the audience towards Switzerland, a country that is innovative and a leader in science and technology by showcasing select Swiss clean-tech solutions with operations or partners in India such as Lifestraw water filter, Aquabot filter, etc. In addition, the objective is to trigger debates, inspire vocations and generate similar initiatives among schools and other communities through the country.
Three short films introducing three Swiss youngsters’ environmentally conscious behavior will also be screened to inspire discussions as well as to encourage the participants to embrace similar practices.
The bus tour will engage Indian and Swiss partners: The Wise Foundation, Tree Craze Foundation, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Technology & Action for Rural Advancement (TARA), National Institute of Design Andhra Pradesh, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and Zurich University of the Arts. The combination of Swiss and Indian know-how highlights what the two countries can achieve while working together to find solutions for an environmentally friendly future.
The first leg of the tour from Delhi to Mumbai has been conducted virtually. Subsequently, the bus will be flagged off in Delhi by Dr. Ralf Heckner, Ambassador of Switzerland to India and Bhutan at a project launch today before embarking upon its on-road journey. The bus will travel to Mumbai for activities in the offline format and continue the journey ahead with a crew from the Swiss diplomatic missions on board.
