Impact Heroes United A Brainstorming Lunch with Regenerative Impact-makers from Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and Indonesia

Mission: Mobilizing youth leaders to promote environmental conservation through communication, education, and community organizing.

Hong’s Profile: For almost 20 years, Hong has worked on raising public awareness and engaging communities to tackle climate change, pollution, and the illegal wildlife trade in Vietnam. With 350.org, a global climate change organization, she helped to build the youth-led climate movements in Vietnam, Singapore, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand.

In early 2013, Hong founded CHANGE, an NGO that utilizes new media and creative communication to mobilize, organize, and build the capacity of local youth groups to take action to solve the country’s most urgent environmental issues. In collaboration with CHANGE, young people and other stakeholders, including local celebrities and business-people, work to mitigate climate change, support affected communities, prevent air and plastic pollution, protect endangered wild animals, and promote renewable energy and sustainable living.

Hong was inspired to take on environmental work after she joined a UNESCO expedition team of 35 youth from 25 countries to travel to Antarctica in 1997. She was the first Vietnamese citizen ever to set foot on the continent and became a Special Junior Envoy of UNESCO, and received a Certificate of Merits from the Vietnamese Prime Minister. Hong received her bachelor’s degree in foreign trade economics from Hanoi’s Foreign Trade University and her bachelor’s degree in English from Hanoi University of Foreign Studies.

Maisha Lubaba

Mission: Economically empowering women through developing crafting skills and commercializing their handmade products globally.

Maisha’s Profile: Maisha Lubaba has paved the way for more than 300 rural artisans by ensuring their economic empowerment through the social enterprise named Protibha (which means ‘talent’ in Bengali). Her keen sense of social responsibility led her to work in the development sector. As a woman born and brought up in Bangladesh, the crafting talent of rural Bengali women has always amazed Maisha. But it was also heart-wrenching at the same time, how these talents never get to be nurtured and supported enough. This feeling provoked her to be part of an enterprise that connects rural talents with urban markets.

This enterprise takes a holistic approach by advocating human rights among the community people, then developing zero-skilled rural women to high-skilled artisans through quality product development. Their creation is later commercialized globally to ensure their financial security and also the preservation of the heritage.

Mission: Solving global plastic waste and social problems in coastal communities by manufacturing seaweed-based biodegradable packaging.

Nory’s Profile: Nory was born in Pekalongan in a chemical trading family. She first learned about chemicals, including alginate flour from seaweed, when she was 8 years old. She got her undergraduate and doctoral degrees from Chemistry (Bandung Institute of Technology) and Food Science (IPB University), respectively. She had worked in quality control and R&D in a food color company before she moved to Atma Jaya Catholic University as a lecturer in 2009.

She is thankful that some institutions have recognized and supported her bioplastic innovation: L’Oreal (2010), Toray Foundation (2011), Diplomat Success Challenge (2012), Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2017), Indonesia Ministry for Higher Education (2013-2019), and Indonesia Ministry for Law & Human Rights (2016).

She realizes that she was equipped with all the experiences from her childhood, education, and career and achievement to fulfill her mission to alleviate poverty in seaweed farmers by using their seaweed to solve global plastic waste pollution sustainably.

Mission: Collaborating with women-led weaving communities and offering market access sustainably via 3Cs  Commerce, Community collaboration, and Consultancy – for the alleviation of systemic poverty.

Aparna’s Profile: Aparna Bhatnagar Saxena identifies herself as an unapologetic feminist, a vegan, an environmentalist, and a student for life. An Indian now based in Jakarta, she has lived and worked in 4 countries in Asia.

In addition to leading TORAJAMELO by ensuring that the social, environmental, and cultural sustainability of indigenous communities in Indonesia is preserved and promoted, she is ASEAN lead for She Loves Data which enables women to enter the world of data and pursue careers in the same. She is a core member of Going Green in Jakarta, a community of enthusiasts who aim to make living sustainable and green in Indonesia.

She also promotes and walks her values as the co-founder of Vriksh Impact Partners, a boutique investment and advisory firm in India that is focused on supporting and growing early-stage plant-based businesses in India.

Samir Lakhani