One Earth, One Human Family

Represntatives from various religions and organizations marking the celebrations for 2nd Anniversary of the Global Day of Action- Sacred Earth, Sacred Trust by GreenFaith

30th May, 2017, New Delhi: Climate Change can be a cause for celebrations. This was the underlying message for a multi faith event was jointly organised by The Bhumi Project, EcoSikh and Islamic Relief-India. The event marked the 2nd Anniversary of the Global Day of Action- Sacred Earth, Sacred Trust by GreenFaith, a leading US based interfaith environmental organisation. The event was hosted by the Indian Research Academy at The Awadh Bhavan, Sheikh Sarai. There were 50 participants from different religions.

 This year’s event was based on the message of “One Earth, One Human Family“. The major attractions for the evening were a Climate Leadership Training (CLT) by Supriya Singh, who was the President of the Indian Youth Climate Network and an inspiring EcoSikh’s short environmental movie “The Little Gardener” directed by SatdeepSingh and Rachna Kaur.

The audience also took the Greenfaith Pledge for taking small steps in their own lives for conserving our mother Earth. The event had two sessions namely Inaugural Session and Sharing Experiences. 

Pinaki Dasgupta, Coordinator, The Bhumi Project, India highlighted the need for bringing a concrete action plan for utilising faith as a communication tool for the masses. “I call upon faith leaders from Buddhist, Christians, Jain and other faiths to take climate change as an important agenda of their faith teachings and bring more participation in such events”. He shared the future plans for The Bhumi Project especially holding a conference on Hinduism and Ecology, the Hindu Environment Week and projects for making temples sustainable. 

Akmal Shareef, Director, Islamic Relief-India, who gave the welcome Speech called on for relying on working together for a common goal. Said Akmal Shareef, “faith is indeed powerful when used positively for conservation of nature, and Islamic Declaration on Climate Change was among the first to be discussed widely and adopted by Muslim Religious Leaders worldwide. He also shared that it is time for collaborative efforts in making our religious places Green”.

Eco-Sikh’s South Asia Project Manager, Ravneet Singh gave the welcome address, “we need to create strong environmental advocacy amongst the youth of India to help mitigate the climate change through strong youth climate leadership trainings. The religious institutions should indulge regularly in clean-up and plantation drives.”

Speaking on industrial perspective, Sajjate Sulthan, Director of SBA Envirosystems Pvt. Ltd., a CTCN member, shared practical solutions on management of wastewater using traditional plants as well as underlined the importance of adaptation and mitigation for industry in combating climate change. The other speakers for the event were Raghunath Dasa from Vrindavan, who spoke about various environmental challenges Vrindavan face today, Prof JunaidHarris, Jamia Millia Islamia, who gave examples from the Quran on Individual Social Responsibility for conservation of nature and Mr Shahab Yaqub, a media critique who spoke on the importance of working towards a stronger and cleaner India through faith based actions. The event was concluded by Screening the movie “The Little Gardener”, based on the story of a small boy, his love and compassion for trees. The movie was appreciated by the audience as it provided a direct connection on why non-verbal form of communication with the message that when there are no one, only nature can provide you with a connection.