Ishan Kapur: Breaking Boundaries at 16!
Hailing from Delhi, the intelligent and well-spoken Ishan Kapur, a student of Wellington College, England, has received US$800 grant from Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programmes (Bow Seat), an international non-profit organization whose mission is to engage youth in ocean conservation and creative advocacy. Ishan was selected as a Fellowship grantee from nearly 70 applicants worldwide. The grant and ongoing mentorship will help support Ishan’s project, Mats that Matter by The Blue Voice, which aims to reduce plastic pollution in local waterways as well as among the marginalized populations in the city.
Ishan has also been recognised with the highest accolade a young person can achieve for social action or humanitarian efforts —The Diana Award 2021.
Ishan Kapur has his own country very much on his mind — regarding marine conservation and supporting the less fortunate. All the credit goes to his parents as Ishan admits that he follows what he has been taught at home from his childhood and is inspired by this.
The 16-year-old student explains to VIRGINIA VACHA how he got this special grant at such a young age.
In which school in England are you currently studying and what subjects are you taking up?
I am studying in grade 11 at Wellington College, Crowthorne, Berkshire, U.K. and aspire to study subjects like economics, international relations, and policy-making in college in the future.
When did the idea of turning plastic waste into mats occur to you?
Growing up in an environmentally-conscious household, I was always taught to reuse, reduce and recycle. When I learned about the ‘Matting Change Project’ started by a teenager in the U.S., I was inspired to apply the same ideals to meet the needs of our own country. So I started an initiative to crochet sleeping mats for the homeless using single-use plastic bags.
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Virginia Vacha is a Mumbai-based journalist.