National, 3rd September 2025: “Education is not only a fundamental right of every human being but also the power to build a better future,” said Dr. Tim Curtis, Director of the UNESCO Delhi Office and Representative for India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. He was addressing the International Conference on Sustainable and Resilient Futures (ICSRSF) at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, which marked Asia’s first fully carbon-neutral international sustainability conference.
The inaugural session featured senior leaders from bureaucracy including Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta IAS, Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner of Karnataka, and K. V. Shaji, Chairman of NABARD. Swami Poornamritananda Puri, General Secretary of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math, delivered the benedictory address.
Senior leaders from Amrita University, including Dr. P. Ajith Kumar (Registrar), Dr. Maneesha V. Ramesh (Provost), Dr. Bipin G. Nair (Dean, School of Biotechnology), and Dr. M. Ravishankar (Principal, School for Sustainable Futures), were also present.
The conference was jointly organized by the Amrita School for Sustainable Futures, the UNESCO Chair on Experiential Learning for Sustainable Innovation and Development, and the International Network for Sustainable Innovation and Resilient Futures. The four-day event drew nearly 1,000 participants from over 20 countries, and more than 80 expert lectures, hackathons, symposiums, workshops, and paper presentations.
Reflecting on the importance of education for enacting sustainability, Dr. Curtis added, “Through the Partnership for Greening Education, over 1,300 NGOs, private sector actors, and educational institutions are embedding green curricula, teaching, and communities in a whole-of-system approach. Sustainability is not just a goal but a principle that secures the needs of people today without compromising future generations. UNESCO’s long-standing Man and the Biosphere Programme reflects this vision, conserving nature while reconciling humanity with the ecosystems on which it depends.”
As part of the conference, three digital platforms were launched, including the SREE (Sustainability and Resilience by Community Engagement and Empowerment) platform, which leverages geo-enabled indicators to strengthen community resilience. This aligns with global adaptation priorities: the UN notes that climate-related disasters displaced over 32 million people worldwide in 2022 alone, underscoring the need for community-based resilience frameworks.
By organizing the entire conference in a carbon-neutral manner, ICSRSF has set a benchmark for climate-conscious convenings in Asia. This mirrors emerging calls at the global level for sustainable event practices, with discourse around the COP28 in Dubai and the upcoming COP30 highlighting the carbon footprint of global gatherings themselves.
