By Chisomo Phiri
Through his project called ‘ Clean Cities Project, a 24-year-old social entrepreneur Martin Manyozo has been selected to be part of this year’s Big Brainstorm by United Nations Foundation.
The Big Brainstorm is an opportunity for young thinkers and activists to design their future.
The initiative brings together young leaders from around the world to embark on a two week design sprint to explore, prototype, and launch initiatives to tackle some of humanity’s greatest challenges.
Speaking in an interview, Manyozo said he is overjoyed and thrilled to hear that his project has been selected for the Big Brainstorm.
“It is an honor to compete at an international level with fellow young leaders from around the world.
“It is now or never, we are the generation that must bring about transformation and change the course of the planet while safeguarding the needs of the next generation.
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“It is a big win to have our project considered since there were 3000 applications from other young leaders from all over the world,” said Manyozo.
Manyozo further explained about his project Clean Cities saying it is a project which seeks to contribute to Climate and Sustainability in Malawi and abroad.
“Our project aims at contributing to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), and SDG 12 (Improved Consumption and Production).
“This is a significant project that we hope will transform the value chain for waste management in Malawi and around the world,” he explained.
He revealed that his future plan is to expand his project’s operations model into Waste collection in all the cities in Malawi and recycling both inorganic waste and organic waste materials.
“The inorganic waste (plastic waste) will be recycled into eco-building materials such as eco-bricks, tiles, and concrete and the organic waste will be recycled to produce eco-friendly Charcoal briquettes and organic fertilizer (manure) and we hope to contribute to the social economic growth in Malawi and contribute to the climate and Sustainability in Malawi and the sub Saharan Africa,” he said.
Manyozo said he will use the skills he will gain from the Big Brainstorm initiative for
Networking , skills in project management, mentorship and monetary support.
The 2023 Big Brainstorm will take place virtually between February 16-28 under the theme “A Year of Action for the SDGs,”.
It will provide an opportunity to accelerate action to solve the world’s most urgent problems ahead of the second Sustainable Development Goals Summit, with young people at the forefront of change.
