European Union #MyClimateMyfuture essay & photo contest winners 'Voice Out' the CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS for CLIMATE CHANGE IN INDIA
-- Essay competition winners win a weeks' study trip to Europe--
--Photo contest winners receive Canon EOS 700D camera--
New Delhi, 24 November 2015: Seven winners of the #MyClimateMyFuture essay and photo competition were felicitated in a ceremony held today at New Delhi. The winners 'voiced out' their impressions about the dramatic effects of climate change in India, need for clean development agenda and measures that are being or could be taken to tackle the impact in words as well as photographs.
The awards were given away by H.E. Mr. Tomasz Kozlowski, Ambassador of the European Union, Mr. Daniel Calleja Crespo, Director-General, Environment Directorate-General, European Commission and Mr. N. Ravi, former Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu and member of the board of management of The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy.
Providing a platform for people to 'Voice Out' not only their concerns but also the solutions that they think should be adopted to tackle the Climate Change Challenge , the European Union had organised two initiatives under #MyClimateMyFuture:
1) An essay competition in collaboration with The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy , and
2) A photo contest, organised by the EU.
Essay Competition Winners
Essay competition targeted at undergraduates and graduates received an overwhelming response with 566 entries from all over India. The three winners - Manalika Borgohain from Jawaharlal Nehru University Delhi, Jerry George Thomas from the SSN College of Engineering Chennai and Jayasurya from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences Hyderabad – have won themselves a study tour to Europe for a week . Besides visiting exciting projects related to climate change they will also get an opportunity to meet with organizations and individuals involved in combating climate change.
Full of passion, the young winners had thought-provoking take on why they are interested in Climate Change: " mitigating global warming and protecting the environment is the responsibility of the youth, my generation onward " (Manalika); " Though I was a skeptic at first, I was eventually convinced that climate change was a serious issue. The consequences of inaction are very terrifying, especially for a person like me living near the coast" (Jerry George Thomas); " Climate change is a part of each of our lives. Some of us can afford to adapt to it, but many of us cannot " (K. Jayasurya). This also came through the essays that were not only submitted by them but also other participants.
Speaking at the felicitation ceremony, H.E. Mr. Tomasz Kozlowski said, “We were impressed by the logic and passion of the arguments expressed by the participating students. If their participation in this competition is any indication of the commitment and purpose with which the next generation is going to tackle the issues of environment and climate change in India, it augurs well not only for this country but for the world.”
Describing the response to the essay contest as highly satisfying and encouraging, N Ravi , said, "the contest had achieved its two purposes of creating awareness of the global challenges posed by climate change and sustainable development, and also getting a sense of how deeply the younger generation felt about the issue. It is extremely gratifying to find that the students were aware of the various facets of the issues and were passionate in their advocacy of efforts to deal with them. The European Union needed to be commended for taking the initiative on this critical issue and the Hindu Centre was delighted to be a partner in what has turned out to be a very successful and worthwhile effort."
Photo Contest Winners
Five images capturing the dramatic effects of climate change in India and measures that are being taken to tackle the impact won prizes in the European Union's #MyClimateMyFuture photo contest.
Winners received a Canon EOS 700D camera, to continue their picture journey. The prize were received by Supriya Biswas and Deepak Kumar for the 'Climate Photo Jury Prize' and Kirti Sarbalia and Wagish Sharma for the 'Climate Photo Voter's Choice' prize. Supriya Biswas also won the 'Jury Choice-Honorary Mention' award.
The contest was met with enthusiastic participation from all across India. Capturing the climate change story as it unfolds from all corners of India, the participants shared stunning photographs highlighting the ravages of climate change on the environment, and on day-to-day life. The contest was run through Facebook and the winning images can be found on the European Union's website page: http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/india/press_corner/all_news/news/2015/20151027_en.htm .
About the European Union (EU):
The EU, which consists of 28 countries, has the world's largest economy and its third largest population, after China and India. Though richly diverse, the countries that make up the EU (its 'Member States') are all committed to the same basic values: peace, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights. They have set up common institutions so that decisions on matters of joint interest can be made democratically at European level. By creating a frontier-free single market and a single currency (the euro) which has been adopted by 19 Member States, the EU has given a significant boost to trade and employment. It is also at the forefront of policies on sustainability.
EU-India relations
Over 50 years the EU and India have worked together to reduce poverty, prevent disasters, expand trade, and promote joint research in energy, health, agriculture and many other fields of mutual interest. More information at: http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/india
About The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy
The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy is a public policy resource centre, a division of Kasturi & Sons Ltd., publishers of The Hindu and group newspapers. It was inaugurated by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on January 31, 2013. The aim of The Hindu Centre is to promote research, dialogue and discussion to enable the creation of informed public opinion on key issues facing India. The Hindu Centre has so far supported 20 short term public policy scholars, who have prepared Policy Reports on areas such as parliamentary democracy, freedom of expression and financial inclusion. The Centre has also organised consultations on key issues of national importance, including the creation of the Telangana State, violence against women, and pre-election opinion polls.
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