1. Background

Art is a hypernym for “ कर्ता कर्म क्रिया ” implying thereby that Art is a gamut of human actions, the resultant creation of human actions and also the creator itself which refines the human character and acumen. The presence of paintings in ancient caves dating back to 40,000 years of Upper Palaeolithic Age, attest art as an earliest form of communication, which transcends all the barriers of language making complex concepts accessible to humans in a simplest way.

The positive impact of art on children is thoroughly researched and well documented and thus it is safe to say that Art plays a significant role in development of child’s cognitive, emotive, communication, creative thinking, problem solving and social skills. Studies suggest that when a child is indulged in the process of Art, she is introduced to a completely new world, which provides for an outlet of self-expression of most complex and hybrid identities.

Since the advent of human civilization, Art has been used to immortalise the inventions, the memories or the loved ones and similarly in contemporary times the art can be an efficacious medium to immortalise the perplexing theoretical concepts among children.

It warrants no testimony that Climate Change has created a horrifying havoc for the humankind around the world especially the children. In recent years, the UN Human Rights Council and the Committee on the Convention on the Rights of the Child have reiterated that inaction on climate change violates children’s right to inhabit a safe and sustainable planet.

Many eminent experts have even more warned that the impacts of climate change are certain to get worse in the future. Unfortunately, the common men who is going to be affected by this phenomenon the most seems indifferent and unbothered about its potential perils.

It is worthy to make mention of what Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, one of the foremost experts on the irrational nature of human beings, once said, “Sustainability requires people to accept certain short-term costs and reductions in their living standards in order to mitigate against higher but uncertain loses that are far in the future. This is exceptionally hard for people to accept."

So, speaking in all honesty, isn’t the concept of climate change and Sustainable living complicated to understand? Considering the non-negotiable role of children in battling the climate change by adopting the Sustainable livelihood, this interactive session is designed to allow discussion on the following agendas:

1. Importance of teaching complex concept(s) of climate change, its impact and sustainable livelihood to children.

2. How art can improve the understanding of climate change among children?

3. How art can inspire children to embrace and conform to sustainable way of livelihood for environment?

4. Role of different stakeholders in shaping children’s learning process and learning outcome to make them environmentally responsible citizens.

5. Contemplating the age appropriate Art forms/activities for children, which calls for integration in school education.

6. Best practices around the world on the subject.

This panel discussion thus calls for experts as panellists who espouses experience in the field of Child rights vis-à-vis climate change, Environment and Sustainable Lifestyle, Child Psychology, Art and Non-verbal communication mediums, Education, etc. which will provide an opportunity to the audience to gain valuable insights on the subject.

The two-hour dialogue is open to children, their parents, Educationists, Environmentalist, Art enthusiast, child right organisations, civil society, etc. The dialogue will facilitate a platform to share opinions, experiences and practical solutions on integration of Art with Education and lifestyle of children to make them responsible for greener future.

2. Objective

The main objective of the interactive dialogue with the experts of diverse fields is to study and address the impact of climate change on children, to identify impediments in understanding the complex concepts of sustainable living and climate change among populace, to discuss role of Art/Non-verbal communication mediums for better understanding among children, to address pertinent challenges and to put in place a workable solution on the subject.

The interactive dialogue also aims to keep abreast of current trends, best practices, innovative approaches/solutions, experiences of people, and to promote workable integration of Art and Climate Change in the education system. The outcome document of the discussion will be termed as “Pink City Declaration for a Greener Future” and will be submitted to the major stakeholders working for the best of interest of child.

3. Structure and Format of the panel discussion

The chair will open the panel with brief remarks and introduce the moderator. The moderator will introduce the topic of discussion and the panellists and invite them to make 7-8 minutes presentations. Following their presentations, the moderator will invite questions directly related to the presentation on the floor and open the floor for interactive dialogue.

Panellists are expected to structure their presentations around their experiences on the stated subject, their suggestions to address the challenges and present key recommendations based on their research and experience of work.

Our experienced rapporteurs will record the whole discussion and the outcome will be devised in a format of Declaration duly signed by the panellists.

The time allocation for the panel discussion is as follows: