Under the flagship project Climate EduXchange, an initiative of TERI and DELL that aims at harnessing the power of ICT (Information, Communication and Technology) to reach out to students and teachers on key issues related to Climate Change, schools, colleges, academia representatives, NGOs, and Youth organisations from across the globe participated in a day-long seminar that provided a platform to discuss and deliberate on the concerns on ICT and its efficacy in education and sustainable development. The deliberations of the seminar will be documented and made available for larger circulation.
Present at the inaugural session were Mr Ganesh Laxminarayan, Vice- President & MD, DELL, Dr RK Pachauri, Director General, TERI, Mr Shigeru Aoyagi, Director, UNESCO, New Delhi and Ms Ranjana Saikia, Director, Educating Youth for Sustainable Development, TERI.
ICT has proved to be one of the most effective modes of dissemination of knowledge in the formal, non-formal, and informal sectors of education. It provides easy access to learning, and is being used extensively to facilitate universal education. Hence, the focus of the seminar was to communicate to policymakers, educators and students the importance of education for sustainable development not only related to education, environment, economy, and society, but also to look at skills, perspectives, and values that guide and motivate people to look, work and live in a more sustainable world.
Lauding TERI and DELL's efforts in sensitising schools on this very important issue, Dr RK Pachauri, Director General, TERI, said, that the seminar provides a platform for students and teachers to share information and ideas across disciplines. Education for sustainable development is not only related to education, environment, economy, and society, it also looks at skills, perspectives, and values that guide and motivate people to look, work and live in a more sustainable world.
"The only way to move forward is to get the youth together and mobilise them. If the youth is aware and are ready to take the lead, can we work towards the common goal of sustainable development. There's a huge challenge ahead, but every little step counts, hence a major re-structuring of the way human society works is of utmost importance," he added.
Thanking participants and guests at the event, Ms Ranjana Saikia in her address delved on the fact that environment issues and practicing environment education is now becoming an integral part of our school curriculum and academicians and researchers all around the world believe that ICT is a potent tool to enhance the capacity in terms of perception, understanding and communication.
Other dignitaries present on the occasion were Dr Nandita Shukla Singh, Chairperson, Department of Education, Punjab, Mr JR Sharma, Head-Regional Remote Sensing Centre, ISRO, Rajasthan, Mr Prem Yadav, Chief Operation Officer, PRATHAM, Mumbai, Ms Archana Ramachandran, Programme Officer, MYRADA, Bangalore, Ms Kinkini Dasgupta Misra, Scientist E, Vigyan Prasar, DST, Govt, Mr Dhirendra Sharma, In-charge, Networking/Placements and Faculty, IT, University Institute of Information Technology, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla of India among many others.
ICT plays an important role in advancing ESD in two ways:
1) By increasing access to educational material on sustainability (eg., via distance learning, educational networks and databases); and
2) By helping to promote new ways of interacting in order to facilitate the learning called for in ESD that emphasises not just knowledge, but choices, values and actions.
The seminar aimed to:
Facilitate interaction and cooperation between state and national level stakeholders on ESD; Showcase the importance and relevance of ICT in formal and non-formal education; bridging the gap between existing ICT knowledge and its practical efficacy and relevance.
There were various sessions through the seminar that focused on concepts like 'Digital Engagement,' which aimed at empowering citizens, businesses and governments, ICT's role in building best practices and quality of life, ICT's role in securing higher education and programmeswherein ICT has helped in creating awareness, changing mindsets, influencing lives and providing access.
In the past few months, both TERI and DELL conducted several seminars in the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh.
The national-level seminar showcased the best practices and case studies from the states where the state level seminars were conducted. The seminar aimedat seeking representation from various stakeholders and provide platform for a high-level discussion and debate on the overarching theme.
About Project Climate EduXchange
Project Climate EduXchange is an initiative of TERI and DELL Giving that aims at harnessing the power of ICT (Information, Communication and Technology) to reach out to students and teachers on key issues related to Climate Change. The project provides a platform to students and teachers across the country to share information and ideas across disciplines. The project is being conducted in Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mohali-Chandigarh, Pune, Jaipur, Mysore, Medak, Pondicherry, Shimla and Mumbai. It is being implemented in over 400 schools and has impacted over 1,50,000 students and 1,000 teachers. The project focuses on the use of technologies - the computer and internet and facilitates the sharing of knowledge between young people with alternative perspectives, including those with traditional knowledge and from diverse cultures, thus giving them an equal voice.The project website, www.Climateeduxchange.org is a dynamic web repository and an actively used web platform by the teachers and students.
About EEA (Environment Education Awareness)
Environment Education and Awareness area at TERI has dedicated itself to the task of creating an informed group of young citizens who will become the leaders of tomorrow and for whom environmental issues will become a part of their daily lives. It has conducted several projects on issues related to water, air, climate change, energy, etc. It develops and disseminates resource material (both print and electronic) for effective communication, besides networking with like-minded institutes, for wider outreach at the national and global platform. The area targets mainly students and teachers and through them the community. To bring about a spirit of participatory competition for addressing environmental concerns innovative projects and activities are undertaken such as conferences, interactive sessions, and discussions. An annual international environmental examination - GREEN Olympiad for middle and senior school students is conducted in association with the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India, that culminates in the TERRAQUIZ, the first environmental quiz programme for school students on Indian television. School Health and Hygiene programme is being carried out in the government schools of Haryana (Gurgaon, Sonepat, and Panipat) and Delhi under the Yamuna Action Plan - II. Workshops, seminars, training programmes, andeducational field trips on environmental issues are organized for teachers and students at regular intervals. To know further details about the program, contact [email protected].
To view the photograph, please click on the link given below:
Left to Right: Mr Shigeru Aoyagi, Director, UNESCO, Dr R K Pachauri, Director General, TERI & Mr Ganesh Lashminarayanan, Vice President & Managing Director, Dell, India
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CONTACT DETAILS
Debanjana Choudhuri, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), +91 8447084563, [email protected]
Tags: Information Technology
Sustainable Development
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