Vimlendu Jha

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Vimlendu founded Swechha in 2000 and has turned it into one of India’s most influential organisations on youth matters. In 2004, India’s leading news magazines, India Today and Outlook, acknowledged Vimlendu as one of the top 25 youth leaders of India. In the same year, he was profiled as one of the top 25 youth leaders of the world by the International Youth Foundation through the international publication ‘Our Time is Now’. In 2007, Vimlendu was selected as one of 6 worldwide change makers by CNN International to be part of the Be the Change programme, which followed his work for over a year and was viewed by more than 100 million people worldwide. Vimlendu also anchored the International Year of Volunteers 2001 initiative in India through UNV, heading the Volunteer Promotion Unit in New Delhi. His ability to network with youth organisations across the country, as well as his keen understanding of the issues facing young people, makes him regularly sought after for advice and experience – his international experience spans over a decade and includes associations with Civicus World Assembly, The British Council, IVLP (State Departement of the USA), UNV, UNDP, Inoue Public Relations Inc. (Tokyo), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Japan Bank for International Cooperation, GIZ (Germany), Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO), Sarvodaya Sri Lanka and several Heads of State.

Vimlendu serves on the board of several national and international foundations. In 2011, he was invited to speak at the UN General Assembly on youth issues in the global south. Vimlendu is also a successful green entrepreneur, having set up the Green the Map , Swechha’s fair trade initiative that produces innovative products from waste material. Additionally, he has made award-winning documentaries on environmental and youth issues that have been broadcasted by national and international news channels. His films include Disposable and Wasted, which deal with solid waste management; Jijivisha, which deals with water issues and the plight of the river Yamuna; and Tatva, which deals with climate, water and energy issues. Vimlendu’s innovative and unconventional approaches to contemporary environmental and social issues have touched millions of people worldwide.