DME Media School hosted a groundbreaking one-day research conference on 'Environment Learning, Training, and Teaching Activities Worldwide’ on October 31, 2023, at Studio 62. The one-day international conference was organized by RELTTAW (Research on Learning: Training and Teaching Activities Worldwide) in partnership with VEIU (Vision for Excellence), International University, TMP Group, Fides, Denmark, ADI Africa, Eco, and GMEC Global Media Education Council, India.The inaugural session was graced by Dr. Ravikant Swami, Director, DME; Mr. Ujjwal Chaudhary, Vice President, GMEC; Organising Committee Member, ReLTTAW India; Dr. Ambrish Saxena, Dean, DME Media School; Dr. Susmita Bala, Head of the Department, DME Media School; and Ms. Corina Sujdea, Founder and Romanian European Project Coordinator ReLTTAW.
The participants of the conference included a delegation of educators, researchers, and trainers, including more than 30 scholars from Europe, Asia, and Africa. The scholars belong to Italy, Denmark, Romania, Russia, Kazakhstan, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Jordan, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Congo, Yemen, and Somalia.The opening remarks of the session were given by Dr. Manasvi Maheshwari, Associate professor at DME Media School. In her opening remarks, Dr. Manasvi provided an overview of DME and the significance of the conference for bringing about change. The welcome note for the session was provided by Dr Susmita Bala, who welcomed all the esteemed guests and participants from different countries on behalf of DME. To stress the seriousness of the issue, Dr. Ravikant Swami revealed his concern about how natural renewable resources like water and air are getting scarce in turn. To measure the severity of climate change on the economies of developing countries, he said, "issues of climate change like dumping of waste and pollution are more evident in developing countries than in poorer countries”.Dr. Ambrish Saxena informed the participants about the various initiatives taken by GMEC and DME Media School to raise awareness about climate change. During the session Ms Corina stressed that changes can only be brought with the collaboration of academics, the private sector, and local people. In his remarks, Ujjwal Chaudhary expressed his concern about climate change, not only for human life but also for the most popular tourist attractions in India, like the Taj Mahal, our water resources, like Yamuna, and even the quality of the air we are breathing.The concluding remarks of the inaugural session were provided by Dr. Manasvi Maheshwari, who thanked all the dignitaries and participants for making the conference a success with their presence.The inaugural session was followed by a paper presentation session by the delegates. The paper presentation session was presided over by Dr. Susmita Bala HOD DME Media School and Dr. Pramod Kumar Pandey, Academic Coordinator, DME School. The Topic of the paper presentation was ‘Our Planet Earth and its Desertification- Causes & Effects’.
In total, there were 14 presentations from participants from nine different countries.The various topics of the paper presentation included diverse topics such as the increasing desertification in various parts of the world, including India, Nepal, and other parts of the world, the importance of technology and digitalization on teaching and learning in Jordan, the landscape of countries like Kazakhstan, historical tourism and urbanization in Japan, initiatives to bring positive climate change and preserving biodiversity in Yemen, the negative effect of climate change on Sri Lanka, etc.The paper presentation session was followed by a panel discussion session. The panellists for the session were Dr. Ambrish Saxena, Mr. Ujjwal Chaudhary, Ms. Corina Sujdea, and Dr. Ryo Takahashi, Professor, American University of Sovereign Nations. The topic of the panel discussion was ‘Media and Climate Change in Different Countries’.
During the panel discussion, the panellists put forth the importance of media not only in bringing awareness about the various climate issues but also in changing the behaviour of people who are exposed to different types of media content like news, entertainment, and even films. However, Prof. Ujjwal Chaudhary rued the fact that not many films are made on climate change. “Apart from documentaries, there is hardly any film that is being made on the issues related to climate change" Stressing the need for hourly and meagre contributions by Indian journalism, she said, "Indian journalism has no place for environmental coverage and is dominated by political issues" He also stressed the need to implement policies effectively in collaboration with the media, educators, local population, and even the private sector.Carrying forward the session, the panel discussion proceeded with an open discussion with the other delegates. During the discussion, the delegates put forward many suggestions, like rainwater harvesting, the need for small steps for behaviour change, the need for conservation, and sharing them with the needy.
At the end of the discussion, Prof Ujjwal Chaudhary Thanked all the delegates for their remarks and suggestions.
The discussion session was soon followed by Valedictory session. Dr. Pramod Kumar Pandey summed up the emerging points of the session and applauded all the delegates for their contributions. Dr. Ambrish Saxena, in his closing remarks, thanked all the delegations for making the session successful and Ms. Corina for bringing all the delegations to one platform. Extending his support for RELTTAW, Prof. Saxena assured in his closing remarks that he will always support RELTTAW in their noble cause of protecting, preserving, conserving, and bringing awareness about the environment in the future. The session was concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Dr. Manasvi Maheshwari, who thanked all the delegates for their presence and making the conference a success. She also extended her vote of thanks to Dr. Ambrish Saxena, Dean of DME Media School, Dr. Susmita Bala, HOD of DME Media School, Dr. Pramod Kumar Pandey, Dr. Iram Rizvi, Dr. Yamini Khullar, Ms. Ritika Bora, Mr. Visha Sahai, Mr. Madhav Sharma, staff members from Studio 62, and all the students volunteers who worked tirelessly to make the event a success. At the end, certificates were given to all the delegates, faculty members, staff members of Studio 62, and student volunteers.
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