‘Historic moment for University to organise this event under India’s G20 Presidency’
Srinagar, May 8: Ahead of the Y20 Consultation at Kashmir University (KU), Vice-Chancellor of the Varsity, Prof Nilofer Khan, on Monday said that the upcoming event on climate change on May 11 is a historical occasion of global significance.
Addressing a pre-event press conference in the University, she said it is a great opportunity to showcase youth as active contributors in the fight against climate change.
The Youth20 (Y20) Consultation is being held on the theme “Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction: Making Sustainability A Way of Life.”
“It is a historical occasion for the University of Kashmir to be organizing this event under India’s G20 Presidency. The University considers it as an event of national and global importance and has put in place all necessary logistical and other arrangements well in advance. Our faculty members, officers, research scholars, and students have been actively involved in making this event a great success,” she said.
During the press conference, the VC thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur, and Chancellor of the University Manoj Sinha for choosing the University of Kashmir for the mega event.
She said that the event is expected to be attended by dignitaries from the Central Government, J&K UT Administration, 17 international delegates, 4 international speakers, 12 national speakers, and 26 national delegates.
“To make the event more inclusive and result-oriented, we have invited participants from universities across the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh. We also have the participation of students from the school education department and higher education department,” the VC said, adding that four-panel discussions on important aspects of climate change will be held during the technical deliberations.
Highlighting the importance of the theme, the VC said, “We have chosen this theme deliberately in view of its high importance for the country in general and our youth in particular. Because this engagement and involvement of youth in the conversation and dialogue on climate change is one big intervention that India’s G20 Presidency has made, it is, therefore, an occasion for our youth to come forward and share their ideas on how they can contribute to addressing and mitigating the impacts of climate change.” she added.
She said that these ideas would eventually be taken to the G20 platform and shall contribute to policy/making in its critical areas.
“We have also opted for this theme in view of the enormous research work which our University has been conducting in the area of climate change. The research work done in this University on climate change has been published and acknowledged globally”, she added.
She said that another important reason for choosing this theme is the fact that “we live in the Himalayan region, which is prone to various natural disasters like landslides, flooding, and avalanches. The J&K UT also falls in Seismic Zone-V and is, therefore, vulnerable to earthquakes. The Youth20 Consultation, therefore, offers us an opportunity to deliberate upon these important aspects and see how best our youth can contribute to mitigating the climate change impacts in the region using ‘youth power as a means to achieve this goal,”