Manav Rachna Hosts First-of-its-kind Youth Led Climate Change Annual Fest 'POP INDIA TALKS' in Collaboration with US Based POP Movement

• The POP movement empowers the youth for addressing issues of climate change faced by our planet

• Manav Rachna brings the global climate change movement to India

• Mr. Erik Solheim virtually addressed the students in the Inaugural Session

Manav Rachna collaborated with the US based POP movement to bring the youth-led climate change movement to India with an aim to achieve net zero emissions through climate action by 2070.

POP INDIA TALKS hosted by Manav Rachna

Climate change activists from all over the world along with students of age group 13-18 from schools across the globe attended the POP INDIA TALKS at Manav Rachna Campus participating in multiple sessions like "Inspiring Success Stories", "Change Makers", "Business Challenge", "Minimalistic Living through Art", "Save Soil", "Home Composting", "Urban Farming" and more.

Dr. Amit Bhalla - Vice President, MREI; Prof. (Dr.) Sanjay Srivastava - MD, MREI and Vice Chancellor, MRIIRS; Ms. Sanyogita Sharma - Director, Manav Rachna International Schools; Dr. N C Wadhwa - Director General, MREI; Dr. Anandajit Goswami - Director, FBSS, MRIIRS attended the one day fest along with Manav Rachna School Principals, Executive Directors, Teachers and Students from the Manav Rachna fraternity.

Dr. Ash Pachauri - Senior Mentor, POP Movement and Erik Solheim - Former Executive Director, UNEP and Patron WSDF complemented by global youth leaders like Ms. Meda Malinga, Master Haaziq Kazi, Samual C. Okorie joined the session virtually during the inaugural session and addressed the students to apprise them of the need to take action for climate change and how our youth around the World are supporting the cause.

Dr. Amit Bhalla addressed the students quoting, "Youth all around the world have started environmental groups, led grassroots initiatives, set up petitions, established solar panels to provide power, invented energy efficient home appliances and more. To do our bit, Manav Rachna has partnered with Paryavaran Gatividhi to strengthen the efforts to make India carbon neutral by initiating activities like making Eco bricks and with Smart Campus Cloud Network to monitor Carbon credits. In April this year, we witnessed students from all around the country deliberate on protecting the environment at National Environment Youth Parliament held at the Parliament of India, New Delhi and today with #POPINDIATALKS, it is yet another example of the commitment shown by the young climate crusaders willing to stand up for change."

Ms. Sanyogita Sharma highlighted in her address, "Taking the dream of our Founder visionary Dr. O P Bhalla forward, working towards building the society and protecting our natural resources is our prime responsibility. I am truly amazed to see how young children are working towards climate change and this campaign led by the youth is a big step forward in achieving the goal of our Prime Minister hon'ble Narendra Modi ji for achieving net zero emissions by 2070. Young students have immense potential to change the world and with POP INDIA TALKS, we are directing their efforts towards this urgent issue which concerns us all."

Dr. Ash Pachauri in his virtual address quoted, "We are truly delighted with this partnership and collaboration which provides a platform to the youth from around the world to amplify their voices for climate change, share experiences, knowledge and inspiration through numerous activities. We have a small window of opportunity which we can use to make an impact and coming together is quintessential to make that happen."

In the words of Mr. Erik Solheim, "India's young and dedicated population is now driving the efforts for climate change and India is now on the forefront for dealing with emerging global environment issues. India is coming up as the second most important solar energy nation in the 21st century and I convey my greetings and wishes to the change crusaders, mentors, teachers and leaders for guiding the students on this path of environmental sustainability."

Dr. Pranab J Patar - Chief Executive, Indo-American Environmental Charity; Mr. Jaidhar Gupta - Ecologist and Founder Nirvana Being, India; Mr. Sankalp and Mr. Parikshit - National Youth Icons for Paryavaran Gatividhi; Mr. Rahul Makin - Renowned and award winning RJ of Pyar ka Panchnama' at 104 FM; Mr. Vivek Rana - Head, IFR & Mass Engagement, WATER AID; Dr. Livleen K Khalon - Senior Researcher & Associate Director, TERI; Dr. Sabine Kapasi - Gynecologist and Global Health Care and Policy Governance Professional, UN-WHO; Ms. Neha Gupta - Senior Fellow - Environment Education and Awareness, TERI; Mr. Tarun Gupta - Founder of SiCureMi, Entrepreneurship Expert; Mr. Ben Banerjee - Co-founder and President of SIIA; Ms. Sveta Banerjee - Board Member of SIIA; Ms. Midori Imamura - Honorary POP Mindfulness Mentor; Dr. Pushp Bajaj - Head of the Blue Economy and Climate Change (BECC) Cluster at the National Maritime Foundation; Student environment enthusiasts like Krishaang Kohli, Shaurya Bhalla, Gautam Chandra, Ananya and Yashika were a part of this event.

The Protect Our Planet (POP) Movement is an initiative designed to address the urgent need to share information and knowledge with the youth on solutions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN, mitigate climate change, and adapt to its growing impacts. Intended to ultimately reach the size, scale, and momentum to become a global movement, POP mobilizes the youth worldwide to take collective action needed to mitigate climate change and protect threatened ecosystems.

Manav Rachna International Schools are the leading CBSE schools in North India, committed to inspiring the youth and giving them a platform for voicing their opinions on climate change and taking actions for environment sustainability. POP INDIA TALKS provides an open opportunity to the young change makers of the World to express their ideas and stories for saving the environment through their art, dialogue and actions through the youth.