Hasti Modi
LSE master’s student Hasti Modi has received a Diana Award in recognition of her environmental and social action work.
Established in memory of Princess Diana, the Award is one of the highest honours a young person can receive for their volunteering and humanitarian work.
Hasti, who studies Public Administration, received the Award for her ongoing and passionate commitment to the environment. At age 15, she started an NGO called IGNITE in her hometown of Bhavnagar in India where she mobilised over 100 community volunteers to plant and nurture over 130 tree saplings in the courtyard of a church.
Since then, the 22-year-old has been working with organisation Green City to actively advocate for, fundraise and manage tree planting and nurturing drives in India, France and the UK. This work includes organising over 50 volunteers to plant 500 tree saplings in Harrow, London.
Most recently, Hasti led a team of 20 volunteers at a high-level meeting on carbon negative food systems hosted by the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet at COP26 in Glasgow.
As the President of LSE’s Student Union India Forum (LIF), the UK’s largest student-led India centric conference, Hasti introduced a panel to facilitate discussions on the environment at the event.
Going forwards, she hopes to work with the Diana Award mentoring team on a global tree-planting and nurturing campaign, using the public administration and international development skills developed through her university studies.
Commenting on the Award, Hasti said: “I feel extremely humbled, grateful and enthused to receive the highest honour a young person can get for their humanitarian actions or social work. This is not because of the fame involved, but because it fulfils a dream from a young age to take my environmental initiatives to a global level.”
If you’ve been inspired by Hasti’s story and are interested in any other volunteering opportunities at LSE, check out one of the LSE Volunteer Centre’s 200+ ongoing opportunities or book a one-to-one session with the Volunteer Centre Manager if you have more questions.