Wilson College to hold festival on spreading awareness on environment

Wilson College will host the inaugural edition of a festival aimed at spreading awareness on environmental issues

At the Rio Summit in 1992, Canadian environmentalist Severn Cullis Suzuki came to be known as the girl who silenced the world for five minutes. She was 12 years old when she delivered a speech highlighting environmental devastation.

Since then, although technology has changed drastically, we are still not equipped to deal with environmental challenges. It is with this intention that the senior faculty members at Wilson College decided that it was time to bring students to the forefront with Green Fest, an event aimed at spreading awareness about climate change.

A climate pong game being organised as a publicity stunt

"There is greater global awareness now and the technology available to transition into a low-carbon economy, but that transition is still not happening. The recent climate agreement is very ambitious, but the world is still not close to achieving it," asserts Sudhir Shetty, professor of mass media at the college, who is also the convenor of the festival. The teachers then decided to draw the attention of their students through competitions. "Unlike issues such as corruption, the youth doesn't think of climate change as a cool topic. So we decided to use competitions as a medium, and they came on board when we pitched it," he adds.

Sudhir Shetty

Over the past month, they organised a competition where students across the country were asked to send in posters, photographs, or short films to spread awareness. They received entries from places like Delhi and Rajasthan, and the winners will be announced tomorrow. The event will also feature talks and panel discussions with industry professionals including Rishi Agarwal, founder of Safai Bank, and Stalin D, head of conservation projects at Vanashakti. And the curtains for the festival will be brought down with a model United Nations event.

ON: February 15, 9 am
AT: Wilson College, Chowpatty.
LOG ON TO: www.instagram.com/wilson.greenfest2019

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