Green Mentors founded the Indo-American Green University Network at the City University of New York in April 2022 in an effort to improve the world via education.
The Indo-American Green University Network is transforming universities into the green economy's driving force. It brings together colleges in India and the United States that embrace responsibility for the future of their students and the globe. Members of IAGUN exchange and analyse best practises that demonstrate progress toward green policies, curricula, teacher development, evaluation, learning environments, pedagogy, etc. IAGUN also evaluates global, regional, and national green projects. It establishes potential benchmarks and indicators for the nation's progress toward sustainable schooling. University teaching-learning practises are inspired by the power of being environmentally conscious. Sharing sustainability practises with the member universities, the Network will address climate action in higher education institutions.
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The keynote speaker during the inaugural ceremony was the Executive Director of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, Meghan Fay Zahniser (AASHE). Dr. Michal Mlynár, Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of Slovakia to the United Nations in New York, was the Chief Guest. During the IAGUN inaugural event, Nalanda University in the Indian state of Bihar signed a memorandum of understanding with the City University of New York, BCC. A delegation of Indian higher education leaders led by Virendra Rawat met with career diplomats from over twenty-five countries based in New York and Washington, D.C., and informed them of the power of responsible education in India, which can assist their great nations in achieving sustainable development goals by 2030.
In our contemporary world, education is expected to instil learners with the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes they need to thrive in societies that are becoming increasingly diverse and rapidly changing; to provide them with a moral compass, purpose, and meaning; and to contribute to their individual and collective well-being. In light of contemporary issues such as climate change, violent and hateful ideologies, conflicts, and the risk of global pandemics, education should equip students with the knowledge, awareness, and action skills they need to become agents of change and contribute to making the world a better place. Nature influences how pupils learn and how teachers instruct. This helps the school reduce its environmental impact. Green practises help enhance the intellectual, social, and civic development of the student. A "green university" is a school that satisfies its own demands for natural resources, such as electricity, water, and materials, without making it more difficult for people and future generations to meet their own needs. It implements environmental ideals on campus by investing in clean air, clean water, green energy, green transportation, green uniforms, safe waste management and recycling, and local food sources.
Together with Gopal Goswami, Ambrish Parajiya, and Bhavesh Shah, Virendra Rawat co-founded Green Mentors, a global sustainable education organisation based in Gujarat, India. They have been successful in various businesses and believe that the transition to a carbon-neutral global economy would make green technologies extremely lucrative. They conclude that the transition to a greener lifestyle begins with responsible education and involves "transversal" skills such as critical thinking, creativity, empathy, collaborative problem-solving, and system thinking. Modern education should instil in students a sense of global citizenship and responsibility for people and the environment. It also enables students to learn about the world's knowledge and mould who they are and what they wish to become, to relate to their ancestry, be open to alternative ways of being, and be willing to continue learning throughout their lives.
On September 24, 2022, in New York City, IAGUN will have its next roundtable meeting with a few Indian-American institutions at the 6th NYC Green School Conference 2022. Mr. Rawat observes that the Green Universities will become the green engine of the new paradigm of the "green economy" and contribute to the global sustainability.
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