The winners of the 2021 International Green Gown Awards were announced on 7th July. “One University One Village” Rural Sustainability Assistance Programme(1U1V) supported by our fund was awarded as a winner in the “Benefitting Society” category.
The International Green Gown Awards celebrate the exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities and colleges across the world and are endorsed by United Nations Environment and supported by The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), L’Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), The Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI) and International Association of Universities (IAU).
Established as the most prestigious recognition of sustainability best practice within the education sector globally, the International Green Gown Awards provide benchmarks for excellence and are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
1U1V initiative aims to bring together the expertise, knowledge and human resources of “a university” to improve the livelihood of “a village” and its needy villagers in a strategic, systematic and sustainable manner.
Our fund has been supporting the programme since 2014. Over the years, the programme has nurtured several PhD graduates and conducted research projects on village development, earthquake-resistance rammed-earth construction and bamboo-based structure in rural China.
The judges felt this project provided much needed sustainable reconstruction in rural areas and empowers local citizens to continue this valuable work.
They were particulary impressed by the upskilling elements. Judges felt the holistic approach taken made this a winning entry to illustrate how ethical development can lead to empowerment, especially women, and the inclusion of climate adaptation and skills transfer.
Top 3 learnings
1. Research based “high-science, low-technology” construction and knowledge transfer strategies.
2. Low embodied energy “local materials”, “villagers friendly”, “local technology”, economical capacity building “local labour”.
3. People focused, gender balanced, knowledge rich.
