With A Vision To Empower Youth To Be Change-Agents For A Sustainable Future, TERI SAS And Dalmia Cement Host A Three-Day Climate Jamboree

New Delhi, 3rd November 2018: Driving the message of sustainable development, TERI School of Advanced Studies (TERI SAS) and Dalmia Cement today concluded ‘Climate Jamboree’ – a major youth mobilization campaign at the Thyagaraj Stadium, New Delhi. The three-day grand finale witnessed the presence of around 6,000 students, 100 plus experts and 50 plus partners and other relevant stakeholders from India and across the world. Climate Jamboree has been crafted with a mission to unveil the power of youth to make a difference towards achieving a climate neutral lifestyle and showcase sustainability in all its facets. Through focused deliberations, “Youth Ambassador’s” at Climate Jamboree aim to prepare a holistic declaration document feeding into COP 24 discussions be held in Poland in December 2018.

The event developed an empathy with the issue of climate change, further encouraging youth to take ownership of the solutions by providing social entrepreneurship ideas by the industry leaders. Some of the sessions that struck a chord with the audience were Solar water pumps workshop by GIZ and ‘Sustainability Doesn’t Stand a Chance’ session conducted by an NGO, Swaraj. The event was fueled with a number of interesting activities such as sustainability through art, street plays, dance, screening of documentaries, games and quizzes to make the subject relatable and interesting.

“The participation of the younger generation in climate protection is vital. Their power of ideation, enthusiasm and courage is unmatched and this voice needs to be carried to all decision makers and opinion leaders so as to bring about the desired change. This association of Dalmia Cement with Climate Jamboree is a conscious effort to empower the youth to reflect upon and act towards climate change and sustainability. We would like to call upon the decision makers in all segments of the society to help shape these ideas into reality and move a few steps closer to our goal of sustainability. It was great to see an exceptional participation from the youngsters and we look forward to a greater participation in the years to come,” said Mr. Mahendra Singhi, MD and CEO, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd.

“The Climate Jamboree was a huge success! Not only did we reach the message of climate and sustainability – in all its facets – to a few thousand students but we also touched the lives of everyone associated with the event – panelists, speakers, sponsors, partners, media, vendors, service providers, support staff, families and friends! This has been a huge journey of discovery for all of us and we hope we can have a much bigger event the next year with many more partners.” said Dr. Leena Srivastava, Vice Chancellor, TERI School of Advanced Studies.

“Urging students to incorporate sustainable development in their daily lives, Ms. Swati Maliwal, Chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women said “we all should feel the pain of mother earth and take the first step towards achieving sustainable development. Our injust actions on mother earth are today equal to the atrocities that women face in the country. We must realise that sustainable development is incomplete without realising the pain of women, and we should form effective systems in which timely justice is given, be it inflicted on women or the earth”

Highlights of Climate Jamboree 2018

• Lead-up events to ensure continued engagement of students with climate and sustainability
  Inaugural Session
  – Keynote address on ‘World Without Waste’ by Mr. Ishteyaque Amjad, Vice President, Public Affairs and Communication, Coca-Cola, with specific focus on plastic waste. He expressed that the global beverage giant is committed to be part of the solution in terms of recycling every bottle they have produced by 2030.
  – Emphasized upon the need for events like Climate Jamboree to engage youth in the discourse on sustainability.

• Technical Session
  – Speaking about the harnessing the potential of disruptive technologies and lifestyles to achieve sustainable future for all, Mr. Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Deputy Director, IIASA, focused on the need of using breakthrough technologies towards achievement of sustainable development goals, particularly goal number 7 on energy.
  – Outlining the complexities of sustainability issues in the Indian context, Mr. Ashok Khosla, Chairman, Centre for Development Alternatives, spoke about the need for political, economic and environmental dimensions to outline development policies.

• Breakout Sessions
  – Becoming a Social Entrepreneur – led by SELCO Entrepreneurs Zone: An interactive session which spoke about the way in which foundations of social entrepreneurial ventures must be characterised by social inclusiveness as well as technical and financial feasibility.
  – Sustainability at my Home – led by GBCI: The session discussed four fundamental attention areas, that is, water, energy, food and waste, where we need to work to adopt sustainability in our daily lives.
  – Circular Economy – led by TERI: The session highlighted the need to move from linear to circular economy, using examples of waste recycling and landfill management.
  – Disaster Preparedness – led by NIDM: The session established a relationship between natural disasters and climate change, and the need to have disaster-resilient systems in place.
  – Safe and Secure Societies – led by Safe City: The session focused on addressing the vulnerability to assault, and how creative means can be used to create bystander awareness, a key preventive means.
  – Stress Management – led by Talk Happy Therapy: The session spoke about common sources of stress among youth, and how the same can be tackled through personal and institutional tools such as open communication channels and mediation services.
  – Healthy Societies – led by PHFI: This was an interactive session which compelled people to introspect on environment, lifestyle behaviour and access to healthcare.

• Special & Side Events
  – Pravaah, the annual tech-fest of the Department of Business Sustainability, showcased an array of sessions, including CSO roundtable on responsible business, sustainability quiz and masterclass on business sustainability. Green Shift finals were also held which witnessed presentations of innovative sustainable business ideas.
  – The Research Forum witnessed an engaging panel discussion on combating corruption to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Research Proposal Presentations and a counselling session on careers in Environment and Sustainability Research.
  – The main essence of the workshop conducted at the Sustainability Entrepreneurship Lab was to make students understand about entrepreneurship and help them imbibe necessary entrepreneurial skills.
  – GIZ conducted an interesting workshop on solar water pumps to show how renewable energy can be incorporated by the agricultural sector.
  – A special session ‘Sustainability Doesn’t Stand a Chance’ was conducted by an NGO, Swaraj, which focused on introducing youth to the Indian heritage which has sustainability intrinsic to it while focusing on 5 Ds (dialect, diet, dressing, dwelling, and dances).
  – The session on Gender Equality emphasized on the need of awareness about the third gender, reducing violence against transgender and need to have gender neutral toilets.

The three-day forum is aimed at helping youth engaged in different streams of study, and aspiring for diverse careers, to recognize both the common as well as unique opportunities to influence more desirable outcomes towards environment sustainabaility, aiming to engage and empower youth from India and across the world to build a sustainable future. At the event, individuals from senior secondary school students, to under graduates, post graduates, researchers, young entrepreneurs and professionals between the age group 15 – 25 years will be able to learn, ideate, innovate and collaborate so as to become actors themselves in climate solutions.

About TERI SAS
The TERI School of Advanced Studies is a research university focused on sustainability studies. With 14 Masters programmes based on sustainability themes ranging from renewable energy, water, environment, climate change, sustainable development and more, in an inter-disciplinary manner, it is uniquely placed in the country and beyond. The university, which falls under the Category II autonomy status for Deemed-to-be universities, also has a robust research programme comprising nearly 200 PhD
students and strong faculty research too. For more details visit www.terisas.ac.in

About DALMIA CEMENT
Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited (DCBL), a subsidiary of Dalmia Bharat Limited (BSE Code: 533309|NSE Symbol: DALMIABHA and listed in MSE), is a leading player in cement manufacturing since 1939. It has been globally ranked no. 1 by CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project). It is one of the largest and most diverse cement companies in India and is the world’s greenest cement company. With a growing capacity, currently at 26 MnT, it is also the fourth largest manufacturing capacity in the country. Spread across nine states and 12 manufacturing units, the company is also the category leader in super-specialty cements used for oil wells, railway sleepers and air strips and is the country’s largest producer of slag cement. It has lowest carbon footprint in the global cement industry. Visit us at https://www.dalmiacement.com