Climate Champions in East India celebrated the World Environment Day in a unique manner
On World Environment Day, a group of young students, all Climate Champions under the British Council’s Climate Generation project, helped set up a study centre for poor children in remote Sagar Island, one of the last outposts of coastal West Bengal.
The study centre, inaugurated by the students themselves on Sunday 5 June 2011, is being run in partnership with a local NGO called Paribesh Unnnayan Parishad (PUPA). Rishika Dasroy, Bipashyee Ghosh, Purbani Das, Amitava Chakraborty, Abhishek Acharya and Souran Chatterjee were part of this group.
One of the biggest problems of Sagar Island (popularly known as Ganga Sagar) is the lack of electricity. There is no power supply and the main source of power is solar energy. In addition, there are some generators in use, but these are expensive. Of course this impacts children and students in the area who are unable to study after dark. Coastal erosion, which is swallowing up agricultural land and causing migration to cities at an unprecedented rate, is also a problem.
To combat these problems, solar lamps were arranged for the study centre and the manufacturer trained the students on how to clean, maintain and repair these lamps.The local NGO will be responsible for day-to-day operation of the study centre, where any child who wishes to study will be provided with a desk, books, notepaper and light, sourced by the champions. The NGO has also convinced some local teachers to come in for a few hours every day and guide students who need help.
The champions visited a local school and conducted a workshop with students on problems faced by them, how pollution was affecting them and guided them to come up with solutions to address them. The workshop threw up some very practical ideas on how individuals could make small changes to their lifestyle and improve their immediate environment. The local students also came up with a wonderful impromptu skit with help from the champions.
The next day an early morning visit to the beach made evident to the champions the effects of coastal erosion on the lives of the locals and they heard from them the way in which loss of land can destroy entire families.
“The champions came back with a wealth of new knowledge which we hope will now encourage them to take further action on environment issues,” said Radhika Singh, Manager Projects British Council East India, who manages the International Climate Champions programme in East India.
The International Climate Champions programme is run in partnership with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in India.For more information about the programme click here.
Climate Champions at Copenhagen
Being a representative of the British Council and the global youth movement at Copenhagen has been a dynamic growing and learning experience for me. Perhaps the most amazing factor was being part of an atmosphere of passion like one I’ve never felt before.
We are in this fight together and there is no place for ego. As the demographic group with the most to loose and the least power to change anything we needed to work together. It was this atmosphere of passion and cooperation that allowed us to work together and try and achieve as much as we could. The result of the debate will definitely change our future in ways most of us (and most scientists) can’t comprehend yet.
On Saturday the 12th I was lucky enough to use what I had learned and was selected to represent the global youth constituency and intervene (give a speech stating the youth’s ideas) in the main Plenary during a session of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI). By speaking in the main chamber of the conference, to a room filled with representatives of over a hundred countries, I feel my message reached the right people in the appropriate setting. This was personally fulfilling since I managed to contribute effectively to the fight for climate justice.
As an economics student, I felt I would be most useful as part of the finance working group. Our goal was to try and give government representatives and UN bureaucrats our idea’s about how the adaptation and mitigation measures would be financed both within developed countries and in developing countries.
Drafting an official document that explained all our ideas was a daunting task to say the least, but turned out to be both very fulfilling and fascinating. I met with the finance group on my Second day at the COP conference. The group included a range of knowledgeable and committed people including young lawyers and economists from countries around the world.
Agastya Muthanna, is a British council Climate Champion currently studying for his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Cambridge. Agastya was among 3 climate champions selected to attend the COP 15 at Copenhagen in December 2009 to represent the global youth constituency and give a speech stating the youth’s ideas.
Cape Farewell Arctic Exhibition
British Council in association with Cape Farewell and Tata Jagriti Yatra presented the Cape Farewell Arctic exhibition at the Russi Modi Centre for Excellence, Jamshedpur on 5 January 2010. Sanjay Wadvani, British Deputy High Commissioner to East India, Sujata Sen, Director British Council East India and Subathra Subramanian, Cape Farewell Representative from South Bank Centre, UK, addressed the 400 strong audience on the occasion. British Council International Climate Champions Dhruv Sengar and K.N. Shruti, who were part of the Arctic expedition, also spoke about their experiences on the occasion.
The Cape Farewell exhibition displayed the stunning beauty of the arctic landscape and the effect on it because of climate change, while simultaneously some images also brought to life the experiences of the voyagers from the expedition. This exhibition was a part of the Tata Jagriti Yatra 2009 which is an annual train journey that takes hundreds of India's highly motivated youth across India to encourage an entrepreneurial spirit in them. British Council Climate Champions M Haripriya, Madhavi Nalluri, Barsa and Hita Unnikrishnan are part of the Jagriti Yatra this year and will be travelling across the country.
The days programme included a panel discussion on Green Technologies, Renewable energy: Opportunities for entrepreneurs and a dance performance. The panel discussion was televised by CNBC TV and will be telecast in February 2010. The Panelists included Prasad Menon, Managing Director of Tata Power, Om Narayan Head of Shared Services, Tata Steel and successful entrepreneurs Gyanesh Pandey, Shailendra Nath Sharan and Mandeep Singh. The Yatris led by Subathra Subramaniam also performed a brilliant dance piece which they had to conceptualise and rehearse on the moving train.
OCTOBER NEWSLETTER
Climate Champions from India in conversation with UK Ministers
Climate Change and International Development is closely related and young people are powerful agents of change. These three came together when British Council office in Delhi hosted a discussion with Douglas Alexander, British Secretary of State for International Development and Ed Miliband, British Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with an exclusive interaction with the young people involved in the International Climate Champions Programme.
The ministers’ visit to India was part of their South Asia tour to hear what climate change would mean to people in this part of the world. Douglas Alexander pointed out that ‘’for millions of people around the world, climate change is not some future threat, but a lived reality. We recognise the role that developed countries must play in facing up to our duties to help solve the problem of climate change.’’
Ed Miliband said that, ‘’India has a huge role to play. Its voice and activism in the negotiations are respected by all. Its astonishing millennial history of adapting to climate variability carries urgent lessons for what we need to do now. And its ambitious plans to take action make sense both for development and the climate.’’
The discussion organised in partnership with British High Commission and the UK Department of International Development was attended by 250+ audiences drawn from professional institutions, universities, government departments, civil society and young people. Sharing the limelight with the ministers were ten champions from Delhi and other cities of India who not only asked some pertinent questions during the question and answer session but also kept the ministers engaged in the exclusive discussion that followed.
The ministers took questions from the audience which ranged from ‘’low carbon growth’’ to ‘’ambitions for a fair deal at Copenhagen’’ to ‘‘how do we deal with the problem of the square bracket in climate change negotiations’’. They were also asked what they felt of the role of arts and culture in communicating the message of climate change.
The ministers impressed the champions with their ‘commitment’ and ‘enthusiasm’ and the champions were grateful to the British Council for providing them with this opportunity.
Dinesh Kapur one of the climate champions said ‘’It is extremely heartening to see that the global forum consists of young policy makers, specifically in the field of climate change and international development. The ministers came across as extremely bright and committed individuals and what made our interaction extremely insightful and enjoyable was that their energy and enthusiasm was not tempered by the seriousness of the situation.’’
Another champion Divykriti Chopra said ‘’The manner in which the Ministers made a conscious effort to take a note of our individual projects gives me a new inspiration to work even more in this direction. Also their speeches and answers to our queries infused with optimism reflects their commitment towards this cause and it’s commendable.’’
‘’The opportunity to meet with the distinguished ministers gave me a new perspective on a wide range of issues, especially on the World debate regarding the developed countries versus developing countries. I also got some perspective on how multi-lateral agreements are reached, the mind set of a negotiators and their humane side, so evident in our interaction with Mr. Miliband’’ said another champion, Pulkit Khanna
These champions are part of the large group 77 young people involved in the International Climate Champions programme in India and Sri Lanka. In its second year now, the programme is running successfully in partnership with The Energy Resources Institute (TERI).
The climate champions were definitely charmed by the minister. But did the ministers enjoy the interaction? If anxious colleagues checking their watches to take the ministers to the next meeting, while they were engrossed in animated conversation with the champions is any indication, they surely did.
Watch the video of the interaction
Take Action!
Premiere of UKEFF Climate Change Films on Discovery Channel
Each year, the UK Environment Film Fellowships (UKEFF) awards Rs 8 lakh to 4 young filmmakers to make 12 minute impactful environmental documentaries. Four films were completed under 2009 theme of Climate Change – impacts & actions.
The four films produced under UKEFF 2009 premiered on television last week with a broadcast on Discovery Channel last Sunday as an hour long episode. The channel reaches out to a whooping 46 million viewers in the Asia Pacific region. The films were officially launched earlier in the year on June 5, World Environment Day at a special screening in British Council Delhi. This launch was followed by individual screenings around BC offices in Chennai, Bangalore, Guwahati and at Corporate offices like Infosys.
The films were well received by viewers as they not only highlighted the impacts of climate change but also gave way to hope by narrating positive solutions to mitigate climate change. Shekhar Kapur’s star presence as a narrator is also a powerful influencer in motivating people.
The 2010 UK Environment Film Fellowships have now been launched and for more information on the themes and procedure click here.
And those who missed the broadcast on television need not lose heart; a small preview of the films by Shekhar Kapur can be viewed here and here
To get a DVD copy of the films, please contact Shruti Sharma
CLIMATE CHAMPIONS CORNER
Kia Ora!
(‘Greetings’ in the Maori language)
Energy Sustainability – The Bayer Eco-Minds Experience
Sruthi Chandrasekhar is a 4th Year Economics student from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and one of British Council and The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) International Climate Champions was one of the two applicants from India selected to be part of the Bayers Eco- Minds Forum 2009. Her project as a Climate Champion is to promote the use of paper bags as a viable alternative to plastic bags in bookstores, retail outlets and departmental stores.
She talks about her experience at the Eco Minds Forum:
Beautiful landscapes, amazing ecology, committed students and a melting pot of cultures – this was what the Eco-Minds Forum 2009 was about. The Bayer Eco-Minds Forum (May 25 – 29, 2009), in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the University of Auckland delved into the theme of ‘Sustainable Energy Systems: Challenges and Opportunities’. Bringing together students from 9 Asia- Pacific countries, the forum was the start of a fresh set of perspectives on harnessing available resources in the most efficient manner through international collaboration.
New Zealand, vested with a host of renewable resources like wind, hydro and geothermal is putting them to the best use possible, in terms of building related infrastructure, skill sets and public participation features. Apart from lectures from eminent speakers on sustainable energy, the Forum was supplemented with field visits to power plants, geothermal stations, hydro plants and lectures on energy sustainability. Student representatives explained the extent to which their respective countries relied upon renewable and non-renewable resources. By studying the nature of electricity production in New Zealand, we discussed possible methods of resource-sharing and at the same time, protecting the environment.
As a student of economics, with a minor in management, this forum helped me feel the reality that economists gropes with everyday – distributing scarce resources in a manner that is both efficient and equitable. Interacting with students from different countries who were involved in various sustainability initiatives, I was able to understand the obstacles they were facing in implementing their projects, thereby sharpening my problem-solving tools. I am confident that this would be useful while working on the implementation of my British Council and TERI Climate Champions Project.
A unique aspect that would be of special interest to India is the public participation that New Zealand boasts of. Citizens form a part of the political process, planning, implementation and regulation of community projects. It is with the wholesome consent of the public that the state can further any of its projects. Such a community involvement in India would go a long way in creating clarity to problems of bribe, corruption, relocation and compensation. Glimpses of the Maori culture we witnessed, proved to be fascinating and at the same time, proved to be an ominous warning that with vanishing ecosystems, disappeared intrinsic cultures, thereby challenging our understanding of sustainable development.
In the end, student teams made presentations on the energy challenges that their countries faced, proposed innovative solutions about economic instruments and legislative and educational reforms required, to put countries on the track to sustainability and addressed ideas on multi-lateral cooperation that would result in prosperity. The Forum was thus a wonderful opportunity for students to gain an understanding of the environment, its needs, and methods to sustain resources for posterity.
The Bayer Eco-Minds Forum 2009 thus brought students from various backgrounds together to commit towards creating innovative solutions to the global concern on energy sustainability, securing them through the thread of friendship and binding them with an international cause.
The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland)
Our privacy and copyright statements.
Our commitment to freedom of information. Double-click for pop-up dictionary.
Open the original version of this page.
Usablenet Assistive is a UsableNet product. Usablenet Assistive Main Page.