Vidyagiri: ‘Media Buzz 2020’ – a two-day international conference on media and climate action organised by Alvas College – was inaugurated on Friday, February 28.
After inaugurating the programme, Director General of Income Tax (Investigation), Uttarkhand and Uttar Pradesh, Narottham Mishra highlighted the impact of media on society and the tremendous role it has in creating awareness of environmental issues for future generations. He added that visual media should imbibe specific rules to keep up media ethics.
Mishra also said that nature is available for everybody and that there should be a limit to the exploitation taking place in the name of development. “If the exploitation is left unchecked, incidents such as floods in Kerala and Uttarakhand in the past year can become frequent. There should be optimal balance between the exploitation and use of nature for sustainable development”, he added.
ISRO Scientist Dr. P.G Diwakar addressed the gathering on the contribution of space programmes to the study and regulation of climate change.
He highlighted the various aspects of space exploration, space observation, and technology as well as its influence on studying climate change. He said that everyone should understand the changes occurring in the system synergy between the Earth’s systems. He also spoke on the various environmental problems and projects in the country.
Diwakar further urged the youth and professionals to use data in finding solutions to deal with the global crisis of climate change
Chief Guest, Mr. Kishore Alva, President and Executive Director, Udupi Power Corporation Limited spoke about the degrading conditions of the lakes in and around Bengaluru.
Mr. Vivek Alva, Managing Trustee, AEF presided over the function said that we should make use of what we have learned to help the environment and society.
Principal, Alva’s College Dr. Kurian, Administrative Officer Balakrishna Shetty, PG Dept Coordinator Srinivasa Pejathaya, Humanities Dean Sandhya KS, UG dept Head Reshma, were present among others.
Various publications and media projects spawned by the students of UG and PG Journalism were also released in the inaugural event. Danti, a documentary produced by Alva’s Multimedia; a song by rendered by Manjunath, a Journal Vrukshaswara dedicated to Padmashree awardee Tulsi Gowda, Alva’s Vision, Alva’s Madhyama and a video promo ‘’Alva’s Siri Abhimanada Gari’’ was released. Niranjan Kadlaru, alumni of Journalism Dept, who successfully cleared the NET examination, was also felicitated.
Technical sessions on different topics were held in six venues as a part of the Media Buzz 2020. Other events like Photography, Creative Writing, Quiz (prelims), Comic Strip, Mad Ad, Street Play and Surprise Event were held. A total of 20 colleges from various parts of the nation participated in the media fest.
Panel discussion on ‘Community Challenges in Climate Actions’
“India must move from production to productivity,” said Dr. Shivkumar Magada, Professor, College of Fisheries, Mangaluru showing the statistics about ‘Key Facts about Hunger in India’ during the panel discussion held in Kuvempu Auditorium during the Media Buzz-20220. He also said that urgent actions need to be taken to combat climate change. For this, our words must turn into actions. He also gave the message to the audience to minimize the usage of plastic in all possible ways.
Ashwath Hegde, Founder, EnviGreen Biotech India Private Ltd., Bengaluru said that “Go Green, Save Earth, Say no to Plastic”, have become trendy quotes these days. But, the difference must start within the individuals. When we truly care about our mother earth, we will contribute to its betterment, he stated. Nearly 60% of the deaths of the bovines and other animals occur due to erroneous disposal of plastic. In order to prevent it, we have to reuse plastic, he added.
Mohith Rao, Independent Journalist told about how well the media is able to communicate with the mass. He said, when environment-related news is reported, people become sympathetic and don’t realize how their negligent actions have affected it. If we are talking about global warming, we must also talk about monsoons, untimely rain. He added and said, Journalists must make people understand what will happen to them, their town and country due to the changes in the climate. Journalists must not avert themselves from scientific topics rather they develop an interest in it, he said.
He added and told; once they understand science, they can ask questions so that they can effectively create awareness about the climate change, its causes and consequences.
