A TERI-Dempo partnership culminates it’s3-year long STARs program.

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The Energy &Resources Institute (TERI) is the country’s premier research organization conducting research on energy, environment and other issues related to sustainable development over the past 40 years. As an institute, TERI has dedicated itself to the task of creating an informed citizenry through children, as they are important stakeholders that hold the key to the future decision-making processes.

TERI and Goan conglomerate Dempo group of companies jointly implemented Project STARS that worked towards encouraging schools to practice the principles of sustainability by focusing on its environmental and social performance – both tied together with a strong cultural thread. Project STARS, (Sustainability Tracking, Action and Reporting in Schools) consolidated the earlier TERI-DEMPO partnership by carrying forward and building upon the work carried under the previous TERI-Dempo initiative, “The Vasudeva V. Dempo Climate Change Awareness Programme for Goan School Children 2010-2012”. This unique partnership between TERI’s Environment Education and Awareness Area at the Goa Centre and V. S. Dempo Holdings Pvt. Ltd (DEMPO) is in the nature of a three year intensive education and action programme (2013-2016) on sustainable schools in Goa.

The project worked with a cross section of 10schools across the state, and those that were a part of the earlier climate education project,namely:

§ Our Lady OfSuccor High School, Nagoa, Verna, South Goa

§ Adarsh V V High School, Margao, South Goa

§ VidyaVikas Academy, Margao, South Goa

§ Sarvodaya High School, Curchorem, South Goa

§ Santo Miguel High School, Taleigao, North Goa

§ ShardaMandir High School, Miramar, North Goa

§ Government High School, Alto Betim, North Goa

§ Lourdes Convent High School, Saligao, North Goa

§ AJD Almeida High School, Ponda, North Goa

§ St. Bartholomew School, Chorao Island, North Goa

All the 10 member schools were felicitatedtoday at the valedictory funtion for their contribution in the success of Project STARs and a special project documentary was also screened to showcase the project activities over the three years.Adarsh V V High School won the award for the best environmental initiative, while Our Lady of Succour High School, Nagoa and SharadaMandir School, Miramar won the awards for the best social and cultural initiatives respectively.

STARs provided four schools with paper recycling plants, four schools with LED (Light Emitting Diodes) fixtures, a composting station and a sanitation facility at two schools under its hardware component.To operationalize these facilities, various sensitization, training workshops and field visits were conducted over the course of the project. Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materialwas also provided to all project schools. In addition, schools have taken the initiative to pro-actively engage their surrounding communities by executing various socio-environmental campaigns in their neighborhoods.The school community (approximately 10,000 persons) across the 10 member schools are the direct beneficiaries of the resources created under the project, as its interventions reached out to a large section of the school, including teachers, support staff, parents and the local community.

Mr. Rajiv Kulkarni, Deputy Manager- CSR & HR, V S Dempo Holdings Pvt. Ltd,in his welcome address, said “With three years down the line we are coming to a close of our project which we all know as STARs- Sustainability, Tracking, Action and Reporting in schools. So there’s a satisfaction of seeing a job well done as we think it is .There is also a slight trace of sadness as there is bound to be when something good comes to pass. But as they say good things come to an end perhaps only to begin again.”

Said Chief Guest Mr. Shrinivas Dempo, Chairman, Dempo Group of Companies“What started as an experimental program along with The Energy and Resources Institute turned out be a worthwhile exercise. What we actually started with in the year 2010 when we were celebrating the life of my late father, we thought that we should do something that he strongly believed in. We set out to learn something from the community at large and we must realise what we do in our own community,in our own schools and families and whatever decisions that our parents or students take actually impacts somebody else. Whether it is water,power or any other resource that we use we are only one in a million or one in a billion here, where as there are rest of your countrymen and rest of the people in the world who are deprived of the these things . One has to remember we may be the lucky few who get our basic resources.”

Sharing an overview of Project STARS, Shabana Kazi, Fellow (Sustainable Development Outreach and Youth Education, TERI), and project STARS coordinator, said“that project STARs was implemented in 10 schools as a pilot exercise to show how schools could actually practice the principles of sustainability adopting the 3C sustainable school approach, focussing on campus improvements, community engagement and curriculum interventions.”

Ms. Saltanat Kazi, Fellow, TERI, Goa, showcased the School Achievements and said “ that in addition to building on environmental sustainability in the school, the project enabled schools to engage with the community on environmental and social issues which became an eye opener for schools and some schools have made this part of their curriculum”.

Dr.SridarBabu M N, Fellow and Area Convenor, TERI provided the closing remarks and presented the Vote of Thanks.