The Climate Countdown is a project that aims at demystifying some of the most complex concepts around climate change. Within the international and national framework that emphasizes the need for local measures to create sustainable climate action, the following project was conceived and implemented to create awareness among the youth of the country. They were to provide the necessary tools to the young minds to understand, internalize and implement climate change mitigation and adaptation mechanisms.
SMART in partnership with UNICEF proposed to engage with the youth (18-25 years of age) through 10 Community Radios operating in climate-vulnerable zones of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Odisha, Maharashtra and Puducherry (6 states) as a pilot to promote climate literacy and demystify complex concepts in a scientific yet simple and engaging manner. The Objectives of the project were to create awareness among the youth and communities about climate change and to demystify complex concepts by relating them to everyday life. This was meant to promote climate literacy and discuss best practices by encouraging the adoption of environment-friendly behaviours, and to build the resilience of youth/communities by generating awareness through on-air programmes and off-air activities.