Mr Farhad Merchant, an active supporter of environmental sustainability and CEO of Aga Khan Education Service, India elaborated, “Climate Change is the burning issue of our time and we are at a defining moment. It impacts human lives and health in a variety of ways. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale. Without drastic action today, adapting to these impacts in the future will be more difficult and costly.

While many countries have already declared Climate Emergency, we, in India too, need to do the same. A wake up call is needed for each individual to act in response to global warming”. 

To increase awareness about climate change, students, of Aga Khan School, Chitravad in India, took the initiative and organized an exhibition on January 23, 2020 to showcase the projects they had been doing that explored this critical topic. To set the tone and sensitize the people in the community about climate change, street plays were performed prior to the event by the students of Grades VI to XI in Chitravad and the neighbouring towns of Talala and Sasan. 

The student’s projects that made up the exhibition covered a variety of topics, such as greenhouse gases and their effects; pollution - cause, effect and solutions; forest fire and deforestation; water cycle; waste water management; rain water harvesting and acid rain. Through their projects and models, students helped visitors understand the impact of global warming, how to save the environment through 3 R’s: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle and the importance of stopping the usage of plastic, which is such a threat to the environment. Recent trending topics focused on saving the environment, like the Clean India movement, solar city and stopping the usage of tissue paper, were highlighted.

The exhibition was also an opportunity for students to display their creativity with the entrance made to depict Climate Emergency and the urgent need to save Mother Earth.  A Selfie Booth was set up featuring student’s artwork where visitors clicked pictures, publically endorsing the messages presented, and an art corner was created by the students, based on the idea of ‘Best out of waste’. A poster making competition, depicting ‘Day and Night’, had been conducted in the school prior to the event, and the posters from the competition were also displayed in the exhibition and much appreciated by the visitors.

The highlight of the event was the short movie named “I am Raaji” which was written, directed and acted by the students and teachers of the school. The movie portrayed the plight of earth and how we, as humans, are responsible for the Climate Emergency.

The exhibition was witnessed by 1500+ people, including students from neighbouring schools. The chief guest of the exhibition Dr. Mohan Ram, IFS, Deputy Conservator of Forest, congratulated the school for organizing this important initiative and increasing the community’s awareness about the causes of Climate Emergency and what we can do about them.

At the culmination of the event, Mrs. Dolly Vaja, Principal of the school said: “The objective of this exhibition was to sensitize our students and the larger community around us about climate change. If just one learning gets implemented, the purpose of the exhibition will get served.”