The Hindu : New Delhi News : Sensitising students to climate change

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Sensitising students to climate change

Madhur Tankha

Films on environment to be screened in government schools

The aim of the project is to help teachers in the schools’ eco-clubs
To impart a more holistic approach towards environmental education

NEW DELHI: As part of its “Low Carbon Future” initiative, British Council in collaboration with non-government organisations Earth Matters Foundation and Television for Environment is launching 15 films on environment and climate change at its premises here on Friday.

According to LCF head, Dr. Sudhanshu Sinha, these films have been produced by British Council in association with the two NGOs.

“These films will be shown in government schools where children normally don’t have access to quality films. We will also organise discussions in schools. In fact, the DVDs of these films will be distributed free of charge to 5,000 government schools in Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Chennai and other cities in Tamil Nadu as a contribution to environmental education in schools. The respective State governments in Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh are important stakeholders in this project.” he said.

The aim of the project is to help teachers in the school’s eco-clubs. Often because of funding constraints, the teachers, while delivering the curriculum on environment, are restricted only to the textbooks. Because climate change and environment are dynamic subjects, it is essential to discuss the recent and relevant topics in the classroom. By incorporating these films in the school curriculum the eco-club teachers will be able to inspire students and impart a more holistic approach towards environmental education.

Pointing out that visual media such as films act as powerful influencers in initiating students to commit and act for the cause, Dr. Sinha said: “By using these films as teachings aids, teachers in government schools across three States will be reaching over a million students and sensitising them on various aspects and impacts of climate change.”

For sometime now, British Council has been using films as a tool to sensitise audiences at large on various aspects of climate change. The Wildscreen Film Festival recently held in February is one such endeavour, the other being the UK Environment Film Fellowships (UKEFF). While the former targets audiences at large by screening award winning documentaries, UKEFF aims to encourage and grow the environmental filmmaker community across the country.

Students and teachers from over 30 of Delhi’s best government and private schools will be participating in the launch of the films for schools project at British Council.

The launch will host a panel discussion on “Role of visual media in environment curriculum” which will be followed by a film screening.

The films are all in English, however, most of the films have also been dubbed in Hindi. To ensure the success of the project, the teachers will be asked for a feedback by submitting a report stating the response of the students and the follow up activities done after viewing the films.

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