In India, Earth Day commemorations will be held across the country, in all of its diverse geographic regions, by government officials to those at the grass roots. The Honorable Minister for Human Resource Development has sent a special message to mark Earth Day in which he speaks about the need for citizens to join hands with the government to work for a greener Earth. “I always welcome citizen partnership,” he says.
Keeping in mind that ‘Environmental Literacy’ is the theme for Earth Day 2017, initiatives across the country include a competition to see which schools run the most innovative commemorations for Earth Day during their morning assembly. Ten best schools will receive solar energy kits. Among the entries received so far are interesting uses of art forms for carrying environment-related messages.
Roundtables are scheduled to bring together educators, policy makers and other stake holders to identify ways the present environmental education in India can be upscaled so that students grow to be environmentally-conscious citizens who are inspired to take action for a cleaner world. Each roundtable is organized in partnership with local organizations. Some of the partners include the American Centers, the Center for Environment Education, Sanctuary Asia, Agastya International Foundation, Taru Mitra, and several other organizations. 20 roundtables will be held across India – from Srinagar to Ahmedabad, Guwahati and Bengaluru. Earth Day Network, India, will compile the recommendations into a White Paper to be presented to organizations such as the World Bank.
To inspire the citizens of India to take action for the environment, we are running the शहर GREEN करो (make your city green) campaign in 47 cities of India, each with a population of over 1 million. Citizens, NGOs, government departments, educational institutions and others compete by taking the lead to beautify their city, ensure its waste is managed and resources are judiciously used, shift to renewable energies, and more.
Earth Day concerts are scheduled in different parts of India. In Kolkata, on Earth Day, there will be a concert where popular Bengali-music bands will perform in a park.
Karuna Singh, Country Director, Earth Day Network, India says, “The heat wave in India and the statistics of air pollution in major cities have reinforced the need for people to do their bit for Earth. We expect that Earth Day programs this year will touch many more people than the 35 million it did in 2016.”
