Pres Release
Leh: A three-day green film festival and forum is being organized for the first time in Leh. This festival is scheduled from 28 to 30 July 2021.
This unique green festival is being organized by GoI-UNDP-GEF, SECURE HIMALAYA project with support from the Department of Wildlife Protection, Administration of the Union Territory of Ladakh & Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MOEFCC), GOI and CMS VATAVARAN. This is part of a series of ‘9th CMS VATAVARAN Travelling Film Festival and Forum’ in four Himalayan cites of Uttarkashi, Gangtok, Lahaul & Spiti and Leh. All the programs in these festivals are free for all to attend and is open to general public at large.
The idea behind this festival and forum is to encourage conservation through films, festivals and forums. In this mode, the festival will outreach and engage with cross section of stakeholders, including Government of India, Media, Conservation organizations, Experts, Academics, Corporations, Youth and general public and to provide a platform for showcasing the SECURE Himalayas initiatives and programs.
Key Highlights of the Leh festival:
Film screenings at the Sindhu Sanskriti Bhawan Auditorium on 28 and 29 July, 2021 from 10 am to 5 pm of selected awarded/nominated CMS VATAVARAN environmental films (with focus on Ladakh) on various relevant environmental issues like water conservation, wildlife conservation, climate change, forest conservation and livelihood & sustainable technologies.
A media outreach session/ panel discussion on 30 July 2021 on “Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on Climate Change Reporting and Himalayan Ecosystem” at the DC Conference Hall from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm will also be organized. The idea behind this session is to create an engagement with 30 to 35 environment journalists, conservation organizations, experts, academics, corporations, youth and civil society.
A half day capacity-building/orientation workshop on 30 July 2021 on “Role of Storytelling and Social Media in Conservation” conducted by Jalal Ud Din Baba, award-winning guerrilla filmmaker from Kashmir at the DC Conference Hall from 2 to 5 pm.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions the screenings will be divided into two sessions of three hours each per day where only fifty people can be allowed to participate in each session. Strict COVID 19 safety measures, as per the direction of the administration, will be taken into consideration during the screenings and workshops. Participants will be briefed about precautions before the program starts; during the program, and frequent reminders of these precautions will be shared.
Speaking on this occasion, CMS DG Dr Vasanti Rao said, “The Himalayas and specially the Ladakh region is highly sensitive towards climate change and need special conservation efforts by all, including each citizen. Climate change is rapidly altering the farming of the region and hence effecting the livelihood of the locals. According to a study, the annual temperatures in the Indian Himalayas rose by up to 2 degrees Celsius over two decades, while the area of glaciers here have reduced by 13% over five decades. By organizing festival and forums like CMS VATAVARAN, we can connect these local changes to larger global trends and discourse, and also introspect/discuss what we all collectively can-do conserve the same. We invite all residents and nature lovers to attend this festival.”
For any queries, please contact:
Sabyesachi Bharti, Deputy Director, CMS VATAVARAN: 8826689218; [email protected]
The Government of India and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with support from the Global Environment Facility, are implementing a programme in the high altitude Himalayas entitled “SECURE Himalayas – Securing livelihoods, conservation, sustainable use and restoration of high range Himalayan ecosystems”, to ensure conservation of locally and globally significant biodiversity, land and forest resources in the high Himalayan ecosystem, while enhancing the lives and livelihoods of local communities. The project promotes sustainable management of alpine pastures and forests in the high range Himalayan ecosystems to secure conservation of globally significant wildlife, including endangered snow leopard and their habitats to ensure sustainable livelihoods and socio-economic benefits for communities in the selected high altitude landscapes in the Trans- and Greater Himalayan regions.
CMS VATAVARAN is India’s premier environment and wildlife film festival and forum – it is aimed towards enhancing understanding, appreciation and shift in attitudes towards the natural world and to increase space for environmental issues in mass media and evolve a nationwide environment outreach framework. The festival taps into an important motivating factor for audiences everywhere: the emotional draw of connecting with a compelling story or character. The festival reaches out to people from all walks of life including filmmakers, civil society groups, government organizations, environmentalists, researchers, conservationists, policy makers, activists, public and private sector organizations and students of all ages and is recognized as a calendar event amongst filmmakers, environment, wildlife and conservation sector. Its unique twin track approach of organizing competitive and traveling film festivals and environment forum has positioned it as one of the most prestigious film festivals across the globe. Since its inception in 2002, ten competitive and 52 travelling festivals in 41 cities of 25 Indian states have been organized. Website: www.cmsvatavaran.org.
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