Curtain Raiser for the International Conference
Curtain Raiser for the International Conference on
“Sustainability development” at St. Philomena’s College
An International Interdisciplinary Conference on “ Knowledge Partnerships to Advance UN sustainable Development Goals” was organized in St. Philomena’s College recently. The curtain raiser was held on the evening of November 16 in the college indoor stadium.
Dr. P.J Dilipkumar, Chairperson, Environmental Economist and Former DG of Forest, Government of India said he was very happy to be the part of this conference. What really important for the students is to imbibe the qualities, attitudes of the teachers rather than the teaching.
Dr. Ravikant Joshi, Team Leader – T S GN U L M, Government of India, spoke about future of cities. “By 2030 70% of the world population will be in cities, are we going to be beneficiary or sufferer of the cities. Solution for this problem lies not only with Government but with the people. Sustainability should start from each one of us engaging in city, city is the manifestation of dreams” he said.
Dr. Bala Pisupati, Chairman – Conservation Governance, TDV, Bangalore, discussing the topic ‘climate change and Bio diversity’ asked the students to start conservation at the family level and have a road map ahead. At present international conference on climate change is going in Bonn, Germany, around 196 countries are discussing about ‘save planet’. Fundamental principle of sustainable development called Inter generational distributed justice challenge how not to raise the temperature beyond 20 C.
Bishop of Mysore Rt. Rev. Fr. K.A. William delivering the presidential address said “A very important conference is being conducted in our college. ‘Listen, share and discuss’ are the goals to transform our world. These issues are not new. We are aware of this but why we are not practicing. Role of each one of us is to protect the environment. The concern for this burning issue has been taken up by Pope Francis quite long ago. Basically we all are selfish. We are not worried about the loss happening. When we have mind and heart together we can save our planet for the next generation. Let every one of us be the real ambassadors of sustainable development.
Dr. Pornchai Mongkhonvanit, Chairman ACD University Network , President, SIAM University Thailand and Vice President International Association of Universities had all praise for his king Bhumibol who has done a marvelous work in changing the Thailand from a 67 Million Poor country to put it on the World Map. His contribution for 50 years where he met people in rural areas and worked for the development of society. He added Sufficiency in economy of philosophy is close to his heart. “Try to have corporation over competition, togetherness over division, common goal over many scattered thoughts, which leads our next generation to a sustainable developed world”.
The audience numbering around thousand consisted of national and international resource persons , faculty members, invitees and students.