IGCS postdoc Christoph Woiwode conducted two more workshops in the Sustainability Workshop Series for the Katchipattu Nook near Chennai on 15th and 25th May. Dr. Woiwode says:

“These sessions are tailor-designed for the learners of our self-learning space and build on each other, using explorative and experiential learning approaches to nudge the ingenuity and creativity of the kids aged between 6 to 16.

The second workshop was designed by IGCS intern Maria-Sofia Caputo, a psychologist graduate from University of Saarland. Besides generating a wonderful learning spirit and ambitions among the learners, potentials and opportunities for contributing to community development in the village are also explored. Thus, we had a fantastic arts exhibition of posters depicting favourite and likeable places as well as disliked and ugly spots, we calculated our ecological footprint and discussed how it is related to resources and carbon emissions. A field visit to the village pond helped to understand its relevance and why it is being littered. The second day concluded with crafting flower pots from plastic bottles to plant seeds and plants to beautify the Nook learning space.

We are grateful to the entire Nook team in Katchipattu for their support and the wonderful work they do every day. We shall keep you posted on the workshops to follow!”

5th Indo-German Dialogue on Green Practices:

“Genus loci – Locality matters”: Embedding sustainable transformation in local contexts

Dates:  13th – 15th October 2023

Place: Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, South India

Convenors: Dr. Christoph Woiwode, IGCS at IIT Madras, in collaboration with F5Green Foundation, Tiruvannamalai

After a break of three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are planning to launch the 5th iteration of the Indo-German Dialogue on Green (Urban) Practices (IGD).

This year’s focus is on place specificity and how locality matters for sustainable development. embedding sustainable transformation in local contexts in terms of their cultural, social, ecological, economic and other dimensions. We acknowledge that there exist different worldviews in India and across India and Germany. Can we identify those to explore how sustainability is brought to live in place specific contexts? This can be an endeavour to make more explicit, by becoming more aware, the underlying worldviews and values of our actions. In doing so, how can we connect locality to the worldviews and values to also probe critically what kind of transitions may be needed? And how dies the regeneration of urban places or more generally how does ‘place-making’ happen?

If you want to register please click here (https://forms.gle/jBWenCBDdjiMv5B2A)

There is no registration fee!

IGCS Area Coordinator for the focus area Land Use / Rural and Urban Development Development at IIT Madras, Dr. Ashwin Mahalingam, and former IIT Madras student Pokhraj Nayak, affiliated with the Building Technology & Construction Management (BTCM) Group, Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Madras have published their policy brief titled “How Green will Chennai be? Understanding and Reducing the Carbon Footprint due to Residential and Commercial Construction over the next two decades.” As India urbanizes rapidly, buildings account for significant energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The construction industry, particularly in cities like Chennai, contributes a quarter of CO2 emissions. Without mitigation efforts, these emissions will escalate, but recycling materials, choosing energy-efficient alternatives, and employing available technologies can help reduce carbon emissions and address the environmental impact of urbanization.

You can read more in the published policy brief, which you can also download below:

Are you interested in research on sustainability issues? The Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS) awards scholarships to students and researchers whose projects on sustainability issues benefit from a research exchange to India or Germany. Our research fellows receive a one-time travel fund in addition to a monthly scholarship. The scholarship provides travel and living expenses according to DAAD funding rates, as a rule. The Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS) offers scholarships to help you achieve your academic and professional goals.

Learn more about scholarship opportunities.