|
The 9th annual
CLEAN-India Meet was organized on 2nd December, 2005 in New
Delhi. The CLEAN-India Meet was a forum for CLEAN-India members
across the country to interact and voice their concerns about
the state of environment in their respective towns/cities. It
was an opportunity for them to showcase their activities and the
remedial actions taken by them to improve the environment
quality. The purpose of the meet was to provide students with a
platform to spread their message to the communities about
scientific solutions to environmental problems. New friends were
made, new ideas were generated and exchanged, new resolutions
were formulated and new challenges were taken up.
 |
 |
|
Ms
Maneka Gandhi looking at CLEAN-India Stall |
Ms.
Anne Marchal addressing students |
Over 300 students,
teachers and NGO coordinators from Delhi, Jhansi, Bangalore,
Ratlam, Dehradun, Varanasi, Muzaffarnagar, Mysore, Pondicherry,
Kodaikanal, Thiruvananthapuram, Kurnool, Amreli, Pune and
Nagercoil participated in the meet this year. Mrs. Maneka
Gandhi, M.P. was the Chief Guest for the day and Ms. Anne
Marchal First Secretary, Development Corporation, Delegation of
the European Commission in India was the Guest of Honour.
The theme of this year’s
CLEAN meet was Community Action. Fifteen of the
CLEAN-India centres including Delhi presented and shared their
initiatives and successes in community action for environment
conservation. The day previous to the meet (1st Dec,
2005) was devoted to exposure visits to environmental action
initiatives taken up under the CLEAN-India programme in various
communities and schools in Delhi.
Students from the various
CLEAN-India centres set up exhibits of the various environment
actions performed by them at the community level. These included
paper recycling, tree plantation, vermi-composting, city
farming, medicinal plants and their use, water harvesting and
purification etc.
A Placard making competition
on the theme of Mascot for CLEAN-India was organised. This was
followed by a formation of the Human chain. A Poster Making
competition was also held on the theme of waste management.
Once all the schools and
guests including Chief Guest had visited the stalls, the focus
shifted to the stage. Dr. Ashok Khosla, President Development
Alternative, gave the welcome address and requested Mrs. Maneka
Gandhi to say few words. Mrs. Maneka Gandhi started with the
words of encouragement for students to become environment
friendly and also told them to think out of the box for the
remedial actions of the harm already done to the environment.
Being an active environmentalist she knew the entire pit falls
of all the alternatives already applied in the field of
environment therefore she told them all.
 |
 |
|
Ms Maneka Gandhi listening
to CLEAN-India Students |
Ms.
Maneka Gandhi Enjoying various stalls from all over India |
After that there were two
presentations one was on trees and medicinal herbs and other was
on informative and innovative stories on the eco-friendly
alternatives available in nature. There was also an
inauguration of a tree booklet ‘Tree kaleidoscope-know your
trees’ and brochure of ‘Earth Charter for Children’. Prizes were
given out to the best CLEAN –India centres, the best CLEAN-
Delhi school, the best stall exhibit and the winners of the
other events.
The Meet was attended by
some eminent personalities like Dr. B.C.Sabata, DoE, Dr. Anil
Kumar, DoE; Ms. Giulia Buscosi, Programme Manager, Development
Corporation, European Commission and many others.
At
the end of the event every student was convinced that it is only
action that can bring about a change in people’s attitudes. The
students left for their homes with the determination that they
will conduct similar drives around their schools & communities
and thereby involve more and more people in keeping our
neighbourhood and our city clean.
Back
To Milestones
|
