ISKCON and GEV have come together for a UN Environment Programme Support to Teach Eco-Friendly Values Using Bhagavad-gita.
This year, the popular Olympiad, started by ISKCON in India, will be held online and will focus on environmental themes due to the current urgency around climate change. Using a series of study guides, seminars and workshops from August 1st to September 26th, followed by an exam on October 17th, the Olympiad will teach students age 10 to 18 to imbibe values that make them sensitive to caring for the environment, using teachings from the Bhagavad-gita
In India, temples who are already involved include ISKCON of Punjabi Bagh, Delhi, which is organizing the Olympiad, as well as Pune, Bangalore, Sri Rangam, Meerut, and Nagpur. Internationally, temples involved include ISKCON of Vancouver in Canada; Sydney and Brisbane in Australia; and temples in South Africa and Malaysia.
After registering at www.veolympiad.com, students are able to download the study booklet in Hindi or English. Entitled “Futurethics: Values That Will Drive the Future of the Planet,” the booklet comes in an 80-page version for the junior group of 10 to 13, and a 120-page version for the senior group of 14 to 18.
The booklet covers six values in detail, reportedly taken from a UN study citing values that make an individual more sensitive to caring for the environment: 1) Altruism, 2) Trustworthiness, 3) Equity, 4) Justice, 5) Integrity, and 6) Honesty.
As well as studying this booklet, students are attending a series of seven online seminars and two workshops by influential environmentalists, educators, and preachers, given on successive Sundays from August 1st until September 26th. The first, given on August 1st by HG Gauranga Das, Director of Govardhana Eco Village, was on the topic of how “inner climate change leads to outer climate change.” The second, by Dr. Livleen Kaur Kahlon, Associate Director of Environment Education and Awareness at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi, spoke on August 8th about the value of honesty. And on August 15th, ISKCON Communications Director Anuttama Das spoke on the value of integrity, with the next one being taken by the famous wellness speaker Subah Jain Saraf and her husband
Other speakers will include Rukmini Devi Dasi, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada and founder of Urban Devi, who will speak on altruism; The seminars will be followed by a workshop by SOWGOOD on growing microgreens on September 19th, and one on making bio-enzyme household cleaners from fruit and vegetable peels on September 26th
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