World Heritage Day Celebration 2016


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Unesco

World Heritage Day (WHD) is celebrated globally on 18th April every year in order to commemorate the beauty, splendour and biological richness of World Heritage Sites, and reiterate the collective commitment of mankind towards conserving these areas for posterity.

The UNESCO Category 2 Centre at Wildlife Institute of India (WII) celebrated World Heritage Day on 18th April, 2016 by organising a series of events. Participants included school students residing near two UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS) of India namely, Nanda Devi National Park, Uttarakhand and Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP), Himachal Pradesh as well as from Model School, National Institute of Visually Handicapped (NIVH), Dehradun. The celebration of the day was focused on raising awareness and exposure of school students through lectures, field visit, fun activities and cultural performances. A total of 36 students from the three schools participated in the WHD celebration at WII

The day started with a Nature Walk for the students at WII campus which harbours a great variety of flora and fauna. Representatives from UNESCO C2C led the nature walk and interacted with the students on different aspects of forest and wildlife. This was followed by a short presentation on activities of WII and UNESCO C2C by staff members of the Centre. Subsequently, an exposure trip was undertaken to Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun which is a National Heritage of India. Staff members from FRI gave an overview of the institute’s work on forests and allied sectors to the students. Students had occasion to visit the museum of FRI main building where they learned about entomology, NWFP products and forest pathology in brief.

After the friendly interaction with fellow students and UNESCO C2C staff, a film based on Indian wildlife named ‘Delhi Safari’ was screened for the students. The main aim of screening the movie was to make the young participants aware about the importance of forest and wildlife and how they can co-exist with humans on earth.
This was followed by a Drawing and Painting Competition for the students. Participants were categorised in four groups ranging from pre-school to High School with appropriate themes related to nature, wildlife, cultural and natural World Heritage Sites. Prizes were subsequently distributed to the winners of each group later in the evening.

The highlight of the celebrations was a Cultural Programme in the evening which had a combination of song, dance and drama performed by students, researchers, faculty, staff and family of WII. The finale was a Heritage Ramp Walk where WII faculty graced the stage representing their respective associations with Indian World Heritage Sites. The curtains were drawn with a rendition of India’s national anthem.

Students at WII Nature Trail
C2C staff members giving presentation on WII and UNESCO World Heritage Sites
School Students participating in Drawing Competition
M.Sc Students performing at WHD celebration
WII Researchers performing dance on Sunderbans Landscape
WII researchers participating in WHD celebration
Dean, FWS participating in World Heritage Day Celebration
Director WII performing on World Heritage Day 2016 celebration
Performance by National Institute of Visually Handicapped (NIVH) students
Students from Nanda Devi National Park performing cultural dance of Uttarakhand
Kids performing in animal costumes
Drawing Competition Prize Distribution Ceremony
WII faculty representing WHS of India

Results of Drawing Competition   (65 kb)