The Anil Agarwal Green Centre

Participants at the workshop on Internet for Advocacy

The primary aim of the Anil Agarwal Green Centre (AAGC) is to extend CSE’s knowledge to teach the complexity, science and the politics of environment among diverse constituencies across the country, South Asia and the developing world. In particular, the training initiatives seeks to build a constituency and cadre of committed environmentalists – from students, policy and decision-makers, lawyers, journalists, field-level practitioners, civil society groups, including NGOs. The aim is to use the multi-disciplinary perspective and training initiatives to link our knowledge and to build the capacities of these powerful multipliers in society to bring about change. AAGC seeks to impart to current and future leaders an understanding of emerging environmental threats, their potential impacts and solutions.

CSE has recently published books on sustainable development from a southern point of view, which are a collection of the writings of Anil Agarwal.  CSE hopes to use these books to influence teaching in universities across the country.

As this is a new activity for CSE, the challenge was to start the programme in a way that we could build and learn along the way, without compromising on quality. CSE launched it in stages to better gauge the response to this initiative, as well as to build internal capacity. Therefore, we undertook several short-term training programmes, including training workshops on documentation, using web for advocacy, environment education for teachers, urban rainwater harvesting, and environmental research and reporting. The response to these courses was well beyond our expectations. The courses even attracted international participants from Italy, Ghana, Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico, the Netherlands, Pakistan, and Nepal. In addition, participants’ positive feedback shows their satisfaction regarding course quality, materials and training approach.

Students from oslo university during their month long orientation programme in CSE

The medium- and long-term courses are both designed to enhance research, writing, advocacy and dissemination/outreach skills of participants, and to expose them to a holistic approach to dealing with environmental issues. Since 2005, CSE has been regularly conducting a four-week intensive course for students of Oslo University, Norway. As part of their four-week overseas study tour, CSE designed a multi-faceted one-month course titled, ‘The Challenge of the Balance: Learning the practice of environmental management in India.’ The course was also appreciated by university officials and others – the President of the Oslo University praised the effort and said that it should serve as a model for other courses; and the SUM director, Mr. Herstad presented the CSE course as one of the more important and innovative of SUM’s activities at a review meeting at the University of Oslo; it was also praised by the former Ambassador to Norway who encouraged SUM to continue and broaden the cooperation with CSE