SERVIR Profile of Shristi Rajbhandari

Name: Shristi Rajbhandari
Affiliation: SERVIR-HKH
Role/Title: Communication Officer
Year you joined SERVIR: 2017

Please introduce yourself. What are you passionate about?
Science, in my mind, has always been about two things, discovery and communication. In today's digitized world, visuals, stories, infographics help the audience understand better how science works so I am passionate about multimedia storytelling.

What initially attracted you to this field of work?
Despite coming from a nonscientific background, I have been fascinated with the advancement of science and technology and how it impacts our daily lives. I feel it is imperative to effectively disseminate scientific information clearly and concisely to broader non-scientist audiences to raise awareness and engage the public towards sustainable mountain development. Working in SERVIR-HKH I have come to learn firsthand about Earth observation and geospatial data and how critical these tools are for monitoring food security and vulnerabilities associated with climate change, and in achieving the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals.

What SERVIR activity are you currently working on?
I am currently working as a communication officer for SERVIR-HKH to promote SERVIR initiative activities in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region and beyond by producing value-added knowledge products targeting audiences across different demographics.

How does your work generate positive change?
My work gives me an opportunity to communicate science to non-scientists by producing informative knowledge products to promote better understanding about SERVIR tools, products, and services.
My communication work will increase open accessibility to information / sharing knowledge. Through timely dissemination on various platforms it will improve awareness about upstream / downstream issues and how mountain people are benefitting from our innovative scientific solutions to make HKH a more resilient and sustainable region.