(Salesian College, Siliguri) – The institution, Salesian College (Autonomous), Siliguri, won top honours at the two-day International Seminar on Climate Change: Literary Ecologies, Environmental Psychology, Policy Deliberation and Media Activism, held on September 2 and 3 at Little Flower Degree College (Autonomous), Hyderabad. Fr. C. M. Paul, Vice Principal (Sciences), won the First Prize for Best Paper Presentation for his research paper, “From Local Environmental Action to Global Youth Climate Engagement: A Qualitative Case Study of the Don Bosco Green Alliance.” He received a certificate and a cash prize.
The study examined the role of the Don Bosco Green Alliance (DBGA) in translating local environmental initiatives into wider youth engagement in climate action. Founded in 2018 by Fr. Savio Silveira and inspired by Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’, the DBGA is headquartered in Mumbai and brings together more than 636 institutions across 89 countries. With four focus areas—eco-spirituality, eco-education, eco-praxis and eco-advocacy—the alliance seeks to empower young people to promote sustainability and integrate faith with ecological responsibility.
Mr Anand Kumar, founder of the college’s Radio Club and an M.Sc. Psychology graduate, received the Special Mention Jury Award for his paper, “Bridging the Environmental Awareness-Action Gap: An Environmental Psychology Framework for Digital Pro-Environmental Behaviour.” His recognition came amid nearly 80 paper presentations, underscoring how highly competitive the field is.
Adding to the college’s achievements, second-year BCA student Ronish Minj won the Best Presenter Award in the Poster Presentation category for his project, “EcoTunes: Demonstrating the Music of the Plants.” His presentation combined scientific exploration, creativity and ecological awareness to engage participants with the relationship between plants and music.
Another second-year BCA student, Christ Minj, presented his research paper, “Climate-Induced Migration: The 21st Century Humanitarian Crisis.” The paper explored the humanitarian, social and ecological challenges associated with population displacement caused by climate change.
The seminar brought together scholars and researchers from India and abroad to discuss climate change. Keynote addresses were delivered by Dr M. N. V. Prasad of the University of Hyderabad, Dr Rajeshwar Jonnalagadda of the Environment Protection Training & Research Institute, Dr Meghanadhan P. R. of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research–National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, and Prof. J. Savithri of Osmania University.
Discussions at the seminar covered sustainable development, climate justice, environmental psychology, policy deliberation, literary ecologies and media activism. Participants included representatives from Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand, as well as several institutions from across India.
The seminar was hosted by the Department of Arts at Little Flower Degree College (Autonomous), Uppal, Hyderabad, an institution run by the Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel since 2008.
Source: Don Bosco South Asia