Environmental Activism in a Globalised World

An international conference in New Delhi (India) on 9 and 10 December 2010 will be addressing the issues posed by the increasing activities undertaken all over the world for the protection of the environment and their repercussions on the political agenda.

The meeting has been organised by Heidelberg University’s Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context” in cooperation with the Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi. Under the heading “Between Mainstream and the Fringe: Environmental Activism in a Globalised World” scientists and scholars from various disciplines will be exchanging views with environmentalists on the evolution and significance of environmental activism over the last 30 years.

“In the 1980s, environmental activists in industrial nations and to a lesser degree in developing countries had to face resistance from the state, commercial enterprises, the media and the judiciary,” says media specialist and social scientist Dr. Somnath Batabyal from the Heidelberg Cluster. “But in the subsequent 20 years, many of these former opponents have appropriated the language of the activists and shifted the environmental agenda.” The aim of the conference is to delineate the changes that have taken place in environmental activism and the impact of transnational non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in southern countries. Also on the agenda for the meeting is a screening of the documentary “Don’t Cut My Head Off” made by Somnath Batabyal during the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. In it, environmental activist Seno Tsuhah explains why she has travelled to Denmark from the north-east Indian village of Chizami in the state of Nagaland. The Film shows her attempts to espouse the problems her people face in the wake of changing climate patterns.

The conference in New Delhi takes place in the framework of the research project “Environmental Activism” headed by Prof. Dr. Madeleine Herren-Oesch at the Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context”. For more information on the conference, go to http://www.asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de/en/conference-environmental-activism.

Contact:
Dr. Alexander Häntzschel
Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context”
phone: +49 6221 544008
haentzschel@asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de
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