Fellow honored with Everest Climate Action Award in Nepal

On June 20, fellow Shehnaz Zakia (Pakistan, 2022) was awarded the Everest Climate Action Award 2023 at the South Asian Climate Action Conference held in Nepal. She was recognized for her work on Agahi, a climate change awareness campaign initiated by seed-grant winning Team Pakistan in fall 2022. Shehnaz, the sole award recipient from Pakistan, was presented her award by the Hon. Ram Sahay Yadav, Vice President of Nepal.  Shehnaz has been active with AGAHi’s awareness campaign composed of a cornerstone mobile application, in-person activism and a social media presence. As a horticultural conservationist and Associate Curator at the Pakistan Museum of Natural History, Shehnaz was recognized among more than 20 climate activists and advocates from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Shehnaz attendance of the conference in Kathmandu was made possible by sponsor Sol Ecology, a biological studies firm founded and operated by her professional mentor Dana Riggs. “It was only possible by the encouragement and funding of Techwomen,” she wrote in a recent email to the program. “Thanks a lot for giving me this opportunity to work for the betterment of my country.”​