Understanding Prospects of Sustainable Urbanization at the Asia Meet 2015

On day one, the oikos Asia Meet 2015 was envisaged as a platform for young change-makers to contemplate deliberate and express individual views on the rather multi-faceted topic of “Urbanization and Sustainability”. After inaugural addresses by Raisa Adhikari and Malvika Garg, the President and Vice- President, respectively of oikos New Delhi, oikos International President, Anita Negri shared her personal experiences and offered examples of successful initiatives on sustainable urbanization undertaken in Europe. She also took the opportunity to appreciate the efforts by Indian PM, Mr. Narendra Modi to create 100 smart cities in India, within 2022. The activities kicked off with an exciting ice breaking session coordinated by Ankit Agarwal which gave all the participants a forum to interact and get to know one another.

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The first session of the meet was by Mr. Harpal Singh, Founder and Chairman of the Nanhi Chann Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organization that amalgamates two of the most alarming concerns in India, forest conservation and gender inequality. Mr. Singh emphasized the fundamental principle of growth through sustainability, which governs the initiatives of Nanhi Chaann, literally meaning “gentle shade”. The abysmally low gender ratio in India causes a disturbance of natural order which in-turn can lead to a cascading effect on society including the family structure, culture and socio-economic scenario. A rather remarkable fact that he brought out was that gender ratio is the only social indicator that has an adverse co-relation with development and socio-economic factors, i.e. some of the most sophisticated and educated families have among the lowest gender ratio. He urged the urban youth to show deep concern about the status and well-being of young women. He highlighted the concept of planting a sapling when a new girl comes into the household either by birth or by marriage since both girls and trees exemplify the essence of motherhood- essentially givers and not takers. Sustainability is harmonizing competing interests in the optimal manner. Harmony between society, economics and technology is the need of the hour.  The role of youth is not only to excite themselves but to inspire others, likewise.

The second session was a panel discussion moderated by Mr. Kedarnath Ghorpade, Mr. Shelley Viswajeet and Ms. Anita Negri. The open floor for the participants brought out some interesting and thought provoking discussions on how they perceived Delhi vis-à-vis other cities they have been to.  Many a times lying behind the glossy exterior is dilapidated core infrastructure in many modern day cities. Delhi is certainly a city of opposites, a city where the billionaires live side by side with the impoverished. Though India’s problems are multi-fold because of the burgeoning population issue, Anita rightly points out that the anomaly of the great divide is not just in India, it is happening in countries across the globe.

11159511_843680019034899_2543312262033595956_nPost a sumptuous lunch, Mr. Kedarnath Ghorpade, a prominent urban planner, took a very insightful session on the future of eco-cities. From the wealth of experience he had accumulated over the years, he cited that urban planners have the challenge of accommodating all the mutually conflicting requirements of the inhabitants. He went on to discuss the various perspectives of standard urban challenges including water supply, sewage and sanitation, solid waste management and urban transport services. He delineated the criteria and guidelines to assess eco-cities through eco-measurability and discussed the advantages of a compact smart city over a spread out city in terms of optimizing infrastructure usage.

The first session of the second day was taken by Mr. Shelly Viswajeet, Founder of the Earthcare Foundation. The session mainly delved into what ‘smart cities’ actually means, the various features and the issues they strive to address and what it will take to make environmentally sustainable smart cities the future. The discussion then took a turn to overwhelm the audience by presenting a rather scary, apocalyptic scenario that mankind stares at in the face of urbanization. The speaker then drew analogies between the extinction of the passenger pigeon and the Indian panthers. The very pertinent issue of co-existence and co-habitation was discussed much fervently. The speaker then touched upon the fabulous opportunities that urbanization provides including the concentrated attack on poverty, more efficient utilization of resources, greater avenues for learning, education and creativity. The state’s power in policy implementation influences the entire spectrum of urbanization and the growth of the urban society.

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The second session of the day, focusing on policy advocacy and campaigning for change, was steered by Mr. Avi Mukesh, a Greenpeace activist who has worked with Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), one of the most respected not-for-profit societies working in the field of environmental sustainability. He elucidated the theory of change as a tool for developing solutions to complex social problems. He propounded the idea of identifying a long term goal and pre-conditions for achievement of those goals through backward mapping. He subtly pointed to the fact that advocacy and lobbying are dependent on the ability of activists to create a narrative to create awareness and generate a positive response from all the relevant stakeholders. He went on to provide a practical perspective through examples of Greenpeace campaigns on air pollution and the feasibility of roof-top solar power panels in Delhi. The success of campaigns depends not only on education but more so on the motivation and personal conviction of the activists. Some probing questions were asked about whether certain issues like climate change are too broad and can’t be campaigned against. The strategies may differ but campaigning is not limited in its scope.

The third and final session of the day was piloted by Dr. Amit Sengupta, an anthropologist and Associate Professor with the Department of English Journalism at Indian Institute of Mass Communication. He discussed the dynamics of land acquisition and the resistance by local community especially tribals, drawing an analogy with James Cameron’s Avatar. He put forth the view that modernity deprived of the principles of participative democracy and equality is never sustainable. He brought out a very pertinent view that searching for solutions gives us a catharsis. Hence, we tend to be way more interested in looking for solutions without properly analyzing the problems holistically.

10686607_843689775700590_1922282064835645013_nThe curtains on the sessions were drawn with a short carbon foot-printing activity that gave all participants an opportunity to introspect and calculate their carbon footprints. Hands on activities were then initiated such as the planting of saplings and picture takings. Participants then were taken to visit the Rashtrapati Bhawav, the residence of the Indian President and the landmark India Gate. The conference closed with a private party and a thanksgiving ceremony in which participants were given organic teas and soaps by the organizing team. The meet was a resounding success and set a new benchmark for future meets.

Article written by Saurav Kumar Das.

Pictures by Vikas Bhardwaj. More photos here.

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oikos International

posted April 23, 2015

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oikos FutureLab 2015

The oikos FutureLab is the biggest event in the annual oikos calendar which gathers representatives from the entire oikos community. It provides a 2-day platform for 120 participants to inspire, discover and develop joint perspectives on the future of sustainability in management and economics. It leverages our global network of student members, alumni, advisors, faculty and partners for action. It offers a “laboratory” to design initiatives, engage the oikos community in pursuing them and fuel our journey towards higher impact.

The 2015 oikos FutureLab will take place on 27 – 28 October (Tuesday and Wednesday) in St. Gallen.

More information: www.oikos-international.org/futurelab

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oikos International

posted April 14, 2015

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Annual Report 2014

AR 2014

Check out here the oikos Annual Report 2014

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oikos International

posted April 11, 2015

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oikos Presidents’ Meeting 2015

The Presidents’ Meeting is one of the most enriching meetings for oikos members that enables them to learn more about oikos, listen to inspiring experts and improve their journey towards becoming more responsible leaders and inspire others.

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oikos International

posted April 9, 2015

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The Spring Meeting 2015 as it happened

There we are – London. The place of  the Beatles, Big Ben, a gherking shaped building and driving on the other side of the road. Mission: The oikos Spring Meeting 2015.

The Meeting kicked-off with a warm welcome where all the participants were given lovely handwritten name tags and motivating words were expressed by the organizing team. First off, oikos Chapter Presidents attended president meetings to brainstorm and exchange their knowledge and experiences.

The president meetings were followed by a trip to the Siemens Crystal. oikees from all over the world experienced London’s Docklands under a magnificent sun and walked into the Crystal full of curiosity. Upon entering the shiny crystal-shaped building, participants were inspired by an exhibition on sustainable development focusing on water, public transport, emission, bio-diversity, waste, health and more. The Crystal was filled with questions and quotes that encouraged participants to reflect and discover interesting facts.

On day 2 the conference officially started at the London School of Economics (LSE) with a talk by Maria Sharmina from the world renown Tyndall Centre. Inspiring and enlightening lectures followed on climate change, our unsustainable lifestyles, the functioning of the financial system (presented by the New Economics Foundation), our monetary systems and further environmental issues in finance.

Amongst all the different explanations, approaches and case studies that were presented, oikees learnt that the initial aim of money is just a common ground (currency) for exchanging goods and services. One of the keynote speakers of the day, Bernard Lietaer, explained that there have been a lot of crises (banking, monetary, sovereign debt) since our current financial system was established. Yet, until today we have not been able to learn from our mistakes, there is a risk of it becoming an unlimited disease.

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On the third day, and second day of the conference, oikees walked Towards a Sustainable Finance System, as the day was named. Lectures were initiated by Simon Zadek who depicted how we can finance a sustainable future. In his role as Co-Director of the UNEP Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System he gave participants an interesting insight into what is already happening in markets and how things should be changed. Mr. Zadek’s session opened many participants’ eyes by presenting results of UNEP surveys. Amongst others, the statistic that no influential OECD country appears to be able to soon lead the change in their financial systems that is needed for a sustainable future. Instead, the leaders of  “green finance” will be emerging markets!

The day proceeded with talks, amongst others, from Sean Kidney (CEO and co-founder of the Climate Bonds Initiative) and Marloes Nicholls from Move your Money and Meteos who introduced her “personal approach” concept to make the difference in the financial system. Bernard Lietaer concluded the conference days with a striking talk on our monetary systems and the important parallels of finance with other disciplines.

With incredible lunches by FoodCycle, Food4All and The People’s Supermarket and equally tasty and sustainable dinners, the Spring Meeting in London can be considered to have been an all rounded sustainable and responsible event.

“The Spring Meeting has been a transformative event for me” – Habiba Dyani, oikos Brussels

Article written by Nimisha Ghorpade, oikos Vienna members and edited by Anita Negri 

Pictures by the oikos Spring Meeting Team 2015. More photos here

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oikos International

posted April 8, 2015

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oikos Social Entrepreneurship Conference

For more information click here.

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oikos International

posted April 7, 2015

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Sustainable Finance Day – Vienna

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oikos International

posted April 7, 2015

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oikos Newsletter April 2015

During the month of March, while it was discovered that agricultural waste can be turned into biofuel and toilets can generate electricity, oikees from 25 countries were also enlightened by discussions on finance and sustainability at the Spring Meeting. During the conference, the oikos community elected new Executive Board Members and shortly after the gathering in London, COMMIT met GRLI and launched a new video exposing their commitments. Likewise, the FutureLab 2014 video was published on our Youtube channel.
Read on to know more  what our outgoing Executive Board Member, Hubert, has to say about his experience in oikos. On a final note, do not forget: the Asia Meet is just days away! Happy reading!

Read more here.

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oikos International

posted April 5, 2015

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