7th CMS VATAVARAN Environment and Wildlife Film Festival and Forum 2014

The 6th travelling edition of CMS VATAVARAN is proposed at five locations i.e. Agra, Amritsar, Gangtok, Puducherry and Raipur from August till November 2014. The 2014 theme is mainstreaming biodiversity conservation at different levels to promote living in harmony with nature.

The XI Conference of the Parties to the CBD was hosted by India from 1-19 October, 2012 at Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Hosting of CoP-11 in India was a culmination of the biodiversity agenda being pursued by several countries during its last ten meetings. One of the outcomes of the CoP-11 about the future protection of biodiversity has been recognition of a new and interesting approach to raise awareness and involvement of the public. In consonance with these global efforts, CMS Environment is committed to aligns its efforts in this direction and thus proposes to organise Biodiversity Film Festivals and Forums in four cities of India along with Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt of India in 2014 and.

In each city, the festival will be held in different locations to facilitate the participation of audience of different kind in large numbers i.e. students, professionals, defence and paramilitary forces, underprivileged children, jail inmates, corporate, PSU etc to facilitate participation of diverse group.

The festival in each travelling city will involve:

• Special screening for under-privileged children, paramilitary forces, schools, colleges/universities, rural groups, jail inmates, etc.
• Open Forums with filmmakers and experts.
• Quizzes followed by film screenings
• Panel Discussion on Biodiversity
• Filmmaking Workshop

Participation in the travelling festival will provide unique opportunity to the people in the city to enhance their knowledge and understanding about a range of biodiversity and environment related issues.