Rally for climate

Children are the green ambassadors of tomorrow and they should be more aware about climate change and actions required to mitigate its impacts, said speakers at an awards ceremony yesterday.

"We are pushing the nature away from us. If this continues, then our civilisation, history and our existence will be at stake," said Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor at the HSBC-The Daily Star Junior Climate Champions 2014 award-giving ceremony at the capital's Bangla Academy.

Over 7,200 students from schools of Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet took part in the second phase of the competition in four categories --- climate quiz, speeches, poster and painting, and environment-related projects.

Of them, 223 made it to the finals and 33 students received awards in two age groups -- junior (Class VI-VIII) and senior (Class IX-X).

Stressing the importance of acquiring knowledge against memorising information and reproducing those in examinations to get good grades, Noor said: "Don't limit yourself to this competition; rather spread your knowledge to those who could not take part [in this contest]."

Francois de Maricourt, chief executive officer of HSBC Bangladesh, said the Junior Champions project was designed to help students express their concerns about the environment and to test their knowledge on keeping the planet clean and reducing carbon footprint.

"You need to understand that saving the environment is saving yourself," said Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, adding that the only way to deal with the climate change fallouts is to educate oneself through science-based knowledge.

He urged participants to hold on to their spirits of saving the environment and never let it get away.

"Raising awareness is given the highest priority in facing the climate change risks," said Manoj Kumar Biswas, general manager, Green Banking and CSR department of Bangladesh Bank.

Among the participants, students of Anandaniketan from Sylhet division received the highest number of prizes.

Sakib Ahmed, a class-IX student of the school, received the first prize in quiz and speech categories in the senior age group.

"I want to be an engineer when I grow up," said Sakib, who also got the third prize in the project category with his Green Irrigation by Wind Power scheme.

The first prize in this category was grabbed by Aaimam Haque, Md Rezaun Rahman and Md Ismail Hossain, all ninth graders of Heed International School in Dhaka, for their joint project that showcased air purifier, eco-friendly home and organic fertiliser.