The winner of the First World Soil Day Award
The 1st World Soil Day Award has been granted to Practical Action Bangladesh
Considering the importance of soils for food security and sustainable development, the UN World Soil Day (WSD), celebrated every year on 5 December, was established by the UNGA in 2013 thanks to the champion role of the Kingdom of Thailand. Since then, its observance has been widely promoted, with more and more celebrations being organized every year around the world.
Noting the momentum gained since its establishment and recognizing the efforts made by individuals/institutions in organizing WSD celebrations, the government of the Kingdom of Thailand decided to establish and sponsor a World Soil Day Award. For the 2018 edition, the Selection committee assessed 39 candidatures on the basis of previously established criteria and decided the winner of the first ever World Soil Award: Practical Action, Bangladesh.
Practical Action, jointly with the Soil Resource Development Institute of Bangladesh, organized colorful rallies, a ‘Soil Care Award’ 2017 ceremony, seminars, ‘Farmers Dialogue’ fora, and field visits in Dhaka and 22 other districts. More than 5,500 participants were involved, ranging from farmers to scientists, policy makers, practitioners and the general public. Local newspapers, radio and TV channels gave wider visibility to World Soil Day celebrations. This event succeeded in involving a wide range of stakeholders and putting soils high on the agenda of Bangladesh.
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