• The Young Visionary Festival- 2007

    November 14, 2017

    Focussing on stakeholders in Sustainable Development, The Young Visionary 2007 was an initiative to help students understand the relationship between man and nature, reconciling economic development with the integrity of the environment

    The three-day festival laid stress on Water Management, Deforestation and Recycling. Held at Bal Bhawan, the Festival was inaugurated by Smt. D. Purandeswari (then Minister of State, Education) and attended by other dignitaries from all walks of life.

    Over 2500 students from 10 Private and 14 Government Schools in Delhi, along with rural and tribal students from across the country participated in this event, to understand the values inherent in sustainable development. During the course of the festival, scientists, academicians and grassroots’ activists addressed local as well as global issues, encouraging students to take affirmative action as stakeholders, to endorse models of development that are most sustainable for our planet.

    Key speakers like Ms. Medha Patkar (Narmada Bachao Andolan), Mr. Ravi Agarwal (Toxics Link) and other “Green Warriors” from organisations like TERI, UNICEF, Goonj etc. encouraged the young participants to engage in creative thinking, problem solving and self learning. The festival timeline was spread across 3 days to give the students a participative exposure. Each morning the students had an opportunity to meet the activists who have battled these issues in various forums and have a wealth of experience to share. The afternoons offered workshops in creative expression like theatre, music, dance, painting, mural making, puppetry and others, through which the students would express their vision of environmental integrity. Film screenings, street plays, workshops, lectures enabled the children learn new skills which they used to generate an inspired Action Plan for themselves and their peer group.

    Our vision of social integration and direct participation is possible only through an active public-private partnership. This festival was a celebration of that ideal and a further commitment to the Foundation’s cause of empowering the young people.

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