Community ambassador alumna Farah Kazi now runs foundation and works for renowned institute
Farah Kazi, a member of the first cohort of the OpenAQ Community Ambassador Program, is an air quality advocate focused on reducing air inequality. Since participating in the OpenAQ leadership training program in 2021, Farah has founded her own foundation and now works as Project Manager for the Air Quality Fund at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC).
Farah’s interest in air quality first piqued in 2016 after joining IndiaSpend, India’s First & Most Extensive Data Journalism Initiative, where she spent significant time analyzing and visualizing air quality data. Farah was also inspired by her own battle with air pollution. After falling ill, she was told by her doctor that her sickness was caused by pollutants in the air around her. She no longer felt safe going on her morning walks. She was determined to do something about it. A decade later, she is advocating for strategies to ensure cleaner air for communities across the world, including open data.
Farah didn’t know what to expect when she joined the OpenAQ Community Ambassador Program in 2021, but she was excited. “The OpenAQ Ambassador program played an instrumental role in refining my strategies. In addition to providing an opportunity to connect with individuals worldwide, it allowed me to take a step back, broaden my perspective, and reassess my approach.” By the time she finished the program in December of that year, she was already halfway through the Waatavaran Mitr Fellowship Programme, which she developed to raise awareness within communities in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Not only did participating in the Community Ambassador program provide Farah with a chance to shift perspectives from her local work to analyze her progress on a global scale, but connections with other ambassadors enabled collaborative learning and the opportunity to join a collective fight against air pollution.
In October 2022, Farah founded the Kamaal Foundation (an Indian NGO) with the mission of encouraging youth to adopt sustainability lifestyle practices. The foundation was established on the belief that everyone deserves equitable access to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, and that we all share the responsibility of protecting and maintaining it.
In January 2023, the Kamaal Foundation’s ‘Future Focus’ program was launched at B.K. Birla Public School Kalyan, with education about and advocacy for environmental sustainability at the forefront. ‘Future Focus’ aims to foster a sense of social responsibility within students through a series of awareness sessions.
Through ‘Future Focus’ and other initiatives, Farah is inspiring a new generation of advocates dedicated to achieving cleaner air and a healthier environment. “Whether they grow up to be doctors, lawyers, or engineers, they will be the problem solvers of tomorrow. For that, it’s essential that they become well-acquainted with the challenges we face today.” She envisions an education system that has the environment at its core — one that has the potential to integrate numerous subjects–such as mathematics, biology, and writing from a single activity. For example, planting a seed or sapling and nurturing it into maturity can integrate mathematics, science, English and even arts. Activities such as these give students an opportunity to learn in a way that is engaging and interactive, fostering a sense of genuine curiosity and passion within.
Students truly resonate with the lessons Farah teaches through these programs. They often stay after class to ask Farah questions on how they can contribute towards making this world a little bit better. These programs are implemented in a variety of schools, from co-ed, to all-girls and all-boys schools, to schools for those with learning disabilities. “We cannot leave anyone behind,” Farah says, emphasizing that this belief is rooted in the idea of “education for all.”
When asked whether she has any advice for students wanting to make an impact, Farah stated that it is not advice students require, but guidance. She feels that younger generations are full of bright ideas, equipped with increasing amounts of knowledge surrounding their environment. They already have the enthusiasm and energy; they just need some direction and someone to guide them along the way.
Farah’s current work with EPIC began with an analysis of opportunity gaps in low- to middle-income countries. This project focuses on the fact that PM2.5 pollution is a very important, yet neglected issue, and one where tangible solutions are possible. Farah and her colleagues found that countries with the highest amounts of PM2.5 pollution often lack the proper infrastructure to monitor their air and have few resources to target air pollution, leading to a perpetual cycle of air inequality.
This research demonstrating such gaps received significant attention and ultimately led to the establishment of the EPIC Air Quality Fund under the EPIC Clean Air Program. This program aims to deliver actionable information about air quality and its impact on health to every corner of the globe, inspiring action and guiding the development of effective air pollution policies. This new $1.5 million fund that aims to expand access to air quality data to 1 billion people by 2030 has been launched and is now accepting applications: Apply here by 10 September 2024! The fund will support groups and organizations in countries that bear the greatest health burden due to air pollution but have the fewest resources to monitor air quality.
Farah’s work at EPIC aligns with her solution-oriented approach. “Instead of simply identifying or stating a problem, we chose to look for an opportunity that would benefit communities worldwide by improving conditions from the ground up,” said Farah. By framing the situation as an opportunity, the intention is to inspire long-term commitment and proactive efforts to close air quality data gaps. Closing air quality data gaps will help to shape policies that will lead to cleaner air globally, allowing communities to live longer and healthier lives.
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Learn more about the Kamaal Foundation and follow them on Instagram, X, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Learn more about EPIC’s air quality work and the EPIC Air Quality Fund.
Learn more about the OpenAQ Community Ambassador Program and follow us to find out when the application period for the 2025 cohort opens.
