Introduction

In 2011, World Around You (WAY) initiated commemorating World Environment Day (WED) in Ahmedabad by doing small activities with Students and General public. From 2013, WAY kick started the biggest community dedicated festival on environment in Ahmedabad called Ahmedabad WED Festival (AWF) to provide a common & dynamic platform for individuals such as school students, youth, women, artists & artisans, entrepreneurs and general community and organizations such as different corporate, government organizations (GOs), non-government organizations (NGOs) to come together & actively contribute in addressing local environmental issues. Every year on 5th June, WAY designs solution driven, innovative and effective activities to boost meaningful celebration of World Environment Day (WED) in Ahmedabad. Through AWF, WAY primarily aims at igniting, developing and promoting solutions to empower community to work towards a better environment.

The WED theme for this year, 2014, i.e. “Raise your voice, not sea level” basically aimed at generating awareness on how climate change is affecting the marine environment. As we talk about climate change leading to rise in a sea level, how do we connect people of non-coastal region like Ahmedabad with these issues? What can be a better way than bringing the Gentle Giant, a 40feet real-like whale shark inflatable model closer to the people of Ahmedabad and then make her talk about the issues through fun-filled shows.

The 2nd Ahmedabad World Environment Day Festival (AWF’14) is shaped up as the longest festival of Gujarat celebrating world environment day. This year, AWF was 8 days long celebration from 1st to 8th June. AWF’14 directly touched more than a lakh people through more than a dozen interesting activities. United Nations Environment Programme officially supported this festival happened in Ahmedabad. UNEP’s website also featured AWF activities on their Official Website.

About WAY


World Around You (WAY) was conceived in 2007 with a simple vision of connecting people and environment with effective communi-actions. Under the umbrella of in-house programmes it has created 5 benchmark initiatives within a time period of just 3 years. WAY closely works with educational institutions, govt. departments & agencies, NGOs, corporate bodies & communities.

WAY’s core expertise lies in the area of Behavioural Change Communication (BCC) Strategy, Environment Education, Communication Research & Documentation, Communication Tool Designing, Innovative Eco-friendly Solutions, Environmental Campaigns, Training and Project Development, Planning & Execution.

WAY also works as communication partner/consultant to government departments for carrying out communication researches to support or enhance strategic planning. WAY has received local and global applauds for most of the projects, the details of which can be found in our website www.wayworld.in. Because of its unique achievements and effective contributions to environment, the co-founders have been selected as Global Shapers by World Economic Forum (WEF).

AWF’14- Executive Summary

Ahmedabad World Environment Day Festival 2014 (AWF’14), was the longest environmental festival of Gujarat. This was the second edition of AWF, starting from 1st June with the Whale Shark Show at Kankaria Lake and culminating on 8th June at Indroda Park, Gandhinagar. A series of indoor events were carried out during the 5th June & 6th June celebrating the WED in partnership with GOs, NGOs, corporate and community.

Whale Shark Shows were performed on all 8 days at public & private places of Ahmedabad & Gandhinagar. The show consisted of a street play on whale shark conservation, a quiz on biodiversity and environmental issues with interesting facts, signature campaign, festival souvenirs having whale shark wire key chains, whale shark soft toys, wildlife greeting cards made out of waste calendars, hand-painted original tiger pugmarks and Whale Shark origami were tagged to the audience making them friends of “Vhali” (Whale Shark).

Series of indoor events at AWF started on 5th June at Anand Niketan School, Satellite Campus. Beginning with “Eco-prenuers Meet “in association with E-chai. Entrepreneurs, who have established businesses that serve environment conservation, shared their journey and experiences. Followed was the “Debate” on the topic of ‘Going Green: Passion or Fashion?’ in association with Ahmedabad Global Shapers Community, where participants consisting of college students & young entrepreneurs shared views and presented their arguments. First time ever, environmental film screening was organised called “Green Screen”, which ran half day on 5th June and also continued on 6th June for the whole day. A “Panel Discussion” on the topic ‘How community can contribute towards conservation?’ took place at the latter half of 5th June with eminent panellists representing, Government: Mr. A.K. Verma, IFS, Member Secretary, Gujarat Ecology Commission (GEC); Corporate: Mr. Pankaj Patel, President, Abellon CleanEnergy; NGO: Mr. Dhiresh Joshi, Anala Outdoors; Academics: Mrs. Nashy Chauhan, Director, Anand Niketan Group of Schools; Youth: Mr. Zanane Rajsingh, Filmmaker, It’s Tomorrow and moderator Ms. Kanan Dhru, Lawyer.

During 5th & 6th June, ECO-FAIR, an exhibition of eco-friendly products, services and knowledge were brought under an umbrella where a common man can find solutions to make his daily lifestyle needs eco-friendly. Brands like Aura Herbal Wear, She Who Crafts, Satvik, Rangoli – Art Ki Shoppe, Cottonroute, Organic On Call, Assorted Nuts, Ecodea, ASAL & Roopkali’z participated for sale & exhibition of products. While corporate and NGOs like TERI, GEER Foundation, WTI, KHAMIR, OTBL and The Fern Hotel were there to showcase their products and services to the community.

The WED concluded with an evening full of “Eco-tainment”, where theatrical performance by students of Navsarjan Academy and dance performance by JKD Group awed the audience. The night rocked with performance by Meghdhanush, a popular Rock Band of Ahmedabad, sung beautiful environmental & peace ballads along with popular bollywood hits to spread the message of conservation as an “Attitude” among the youth.

WHO'S who @ AWF’14 | Whale Shark Shows

	Dr. R. K. Sahu, Zoo Superintendent, Kamla Nehru Zoological Garden Chief Guest, 1st Whale Shark Show, Kankaria Lake		Ex- Executive Director, ONGC , Ahmedabad Asset Guest of Honour, 1st Whale Shark Show, Kankaria Lake
	Mrs. Meenakshiben Patel, Hon. Mayor, Ahmedabad Chief Guest, 2nd Whale Shark Show, Karnavati Club		Mr. Sunil Parekh, Advisor Zydus Cadila Guest of Honour, 2nd Whale Shark Show, Karnavati Club
	Mr. Viraj Mehta Chairman, Entertainment Committee, Karnavati Club Guest of Honour, 2nd Whale Shark Show, Karnavati Club		Mr. Parag Desai Director, Wagh Bakri Chief Guest, 3rd Whale Shark Show, Parimal Garden
	Mr. Jignesh Patel, Director, Parks & Gardens Chief Guest, 7th Whale Shark Show, Law Garden		Mr. Bharat Pathak, Director, GEER Foundation Chief Guest, 8th Whale Shark Show, Indroda Park
	Dr. C. N. Pandey, PCCF (Wildlife) Guest of Honour, 8th Whale Shark Show, Indroda Park

WHO'S who @ AWF’14 | Panel Discussion

	Mr. A. K. Verma, IFS, Member Secretary, Gujarat Ecology Commission (GEC) Government Representative		Mrs. Nashy Chauhan, Director, Anand Niketan School Academics Representative
	Mr. Dhiresh Joshi, Chief Executive, ANALA Outdoors’ NGO Representative		Mr. Pankaj Patel, President, Abellon Clean Energy Corporate Representative
	Mr. Zanane Rajsingh, Film Director, It’s Tomorrow Youth Representative		Ms. Kanan Dhru, Managing Director Research Foundation for Governance in India Moderator

WHO'S who @ AWF’14 | Ecopreneurs Meet

	Mr. Arpan Johari Principal Architect, AW Design Speaker, Ecopreneurs Meet		Mr. Gaurav Jani, Film Maker, Dirt Track Productions Speaker, Ecopreneurs Meet
	CA Vijay Kothari, Founder, Wealth Out of Waste (WOW) Speaker, Ecopreneurs Meet		Mr. Zanane Rajsingh, Film Director, It’s Tomorrow Speaker, Ecopreneurs Meet
	Mr. Mayank Chouhan Founder, Green Plastics Speaker, Ecopreneurs Meet		Mr. Kumar Gaurav Founder, Sun Bazaar Speaker, Ecopreneurs Meet
	Mr. Jatin Chaudhary, Founder E- Chai Host, Ecopreneurs Meet & Debate

WHO'S who @ AWF’14 | Felicitation Ceremony

	Dr. S. K. Nanda, Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Government of Gujarat, Chief Guest		Mr. Piyush Desai, Chairman, Wagh Bakri Guest of Honour
	Mr. Shushil Kumar, Support Manager, ONGC, Ahmedabad Asset Guest of Honour		Mr. Kamal Mangal, Trustee, Anand Niketan Group of Schools Guest of Honour
	Mr. Kaushal Parikh, Director, Aakash Oil Fields Services Pvt. Ltd. Guest of Honour		Mr. Paresh Tank, General Manager (Corporate Affairs), TATA Chemicals, Limited Guest of Honour
	Mr. Himanshu Singh, Founder, Pahiyaa 1st WAY Environment Hero, AWF’14 Felicitation Ceremony

Whale Shark Shows | Page 1
Whale Shark is the largest shark on the earth and is also known as Gentle Giant and it visits Gujarat Coast regularly. Surprisingly many of us in Gujarat are still not aware of this. As a part of AWF’14, a 40-feet long life-size inflatable model of Whale Shark was brought into the Whale Shark Shows through Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) - Conservation Partner for AWF’14. A team consisting of four members from WTI, Mr. Farukh Baloch, Mr. Prakash Doriya, Mr. Prem Jothi and Mr. S. Goutham represented Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) Whale Shark Conservation Project and got the inflatable model for all the shows. 8 Whale Shark Shows at 8 different locations were performed in the evenings.

The show consisted of various engaging activities like:	Date	Location
Know About Me (Street play) Environmental Quiz Click a Pic with whale shark (Photo booth) Tag your bag (Souvenirs Stall) Sign & Save (Signature Campaign)	1st June	Kankaria Lake, Maninagar
	2nd June	Karnavati Club, S.G.Highway
	3rd June	Parimal Garden, Ambawadi
	4th June	Bakeri City, Vejalpur
	5th June	Anand Niketan School, Satellite
	6th June	Anand Niketan School, Satellite
	7th June	Law Garden
	8th June	Indroda Park, Gandhinagar

Whale Shark Shows | Page 2

	Inauguration and unveiling of 1st Whale Shark Show was done by the Chief Guest, Dr. R. K. Sahu, Zoo Superintendent, Kamla Nehru Zoological Garden. While, Mr. Anil Johari, Ex- Executive Director, ONGC was invited as Guest of Honour for the Show.

Whale Shark Shows | Page 3

	Inauguration and unveiling of 2nd Whale Shark Show was done by the Chief Guest, Hon. Mayor of Ahmedabad, Mrs. Meenakshiben Patel. While, Mr. Viraj Mehta, Chairperson of Entertainment Committee, Karnavati Club Limited, Mr. Sunil Shah, Councillor at Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), Mr. Sunil Parekh, Advisor, Zydus Cadila Group and Mr. Anil Johari, Ex- Executive Director, ONGC was invited as Guests of Honour for the Show.

Whale Shark Shows | Page 4

Inauguration and unveiling of both 3rd & 4th Whale Shark Show was done by the youngest and the eldest person from the audience.

Whale Shark Shows | Page 5

	Mr. Piyush Desai, Chairman, Wagh Bakri was invited as Chief Guest for 5th Whale Shark Show at Anand Niketan School, Satellite Campus. Inauguration and unveiling of 7th Whale Shark Show was done by the Chief Guest, Mr. Jignesh Patel, Director, Parks and Gardens, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).
Inauguration and unveiling of 8th Whale Shark Show was done by Mr. B. M. Joshi, Deputy Director (Environment Education), GEER Foundation. Dr. C. N. Pandey, PCCF (Wildlife) and Mr. Bharat Pathak, Director, GEER Foundation had also graced the occasion with their esteemed presence.

Ecopreneurs Meet

Ecopreneurs Meet was held on 5th June, in association with E-chai at Anand Niketan School, Satellite Campus. During this activity, different entrepreneurs working in the areas related to environment interacted with audiences and shared their work experiences. It was amazing to have dynamic entrepreneurs presenting their ideas and sharing their experiences about their success.

Debate

Topic: Going Green: Passion or Fashion

Debate was held on 5th June, in association with Ahmedabad Global Shapers (AGS) Group at Anand Niketan School, Satellite Campus was organised where participants discussed their viewpoints for the topic by presenting their ideas, work and their experiences. The outcome we received was that going green should be fashion by passion since environment conservation should not be just a preaching; instead it should be an attitude of an individual.

Panel Discussion

Topic: How Community can contribute towards Environment Conservation?

Panel Discussion was held on 5th June in association with Gujarat Ecology Commission (GEC) at Anand Niketan School, Satellite Campus. Eminent personalities discussed and disseminated useful information with the audience. The panel discussion concluded on the note that more and more environment-friendly practices should be promoted among general mass and motivated to participate in the current conservation actions.

Green Screen

Green Screen was held on 5th & 6th June in association with Four Clowns at Anand Niketan School, Satellite Campus. Different environmental and wildlife documentary films mentioned above were showcased for the audience during this film festival.

Sr. No. Documentary Filmmaker Organisation 1 Shores of Silence Mr. Mike Pandey Riverbanks Studios 2 The Vanishing Vultures Mr. Mike Pandey Riverbanks Studios 3 Kalpavriksha - legacy of the forests Mr. Mike Pandey Riverbanks Studios 4 Mangroves - Guardians of the Coast Mr. Mike Pandey Riverbanks Studios 5 Riding Solo To The Top of The World Mr. Gaurav Jani Dirt Track Productions 6 One Crazy Ride Mr. Gaurav Jani Dirt Track Productions 7 Beneath The Waves - Wildlife Trust of India 8 Born To Be Wild Saving The Majestic Tiger - Wildlife Trust of India 9 To The Rescue Emergency Relief for Animals - Wildlife Trust of India 10 A Brush With Death - Wildlife Trust of India 11 The Home Coming - Wildlife Trust of India 12 Bhale Padharya - Wildlife Trust of India 13 Under One Sky - Why Animals Matter - Wildlife Trust of India 14 Elephants Never Forget - Wildlife Trust of India 15 On The Right Track - Wildlife Trust of India 16 A Shawk To Die For - Wildlife Trust of India 17 Say No To Wildlife Trade - Wildlife Trust of India 18 Thaiye Savaj Hatu Sabda - Bhag-1 (Part-1) - GEER Foundation 19 Thaiye Savaj Hatu Sabda - Bhag-2 (Part-2) - GEER Foundation

Ecotainment | Page 1

Spirit of environment conservation and world peace, was cherished by invited guests, on 5th evening at Anand Niketan School, Satellite Campus. The idea was to promote environment conservation as matter of attitude and not a cause to support.
	Theatre Performance was done by students of Navsarjan Academy. Navsarjan Academy, an institution recognised by the Cultural Department, Ministry Of Youth & Cultural Activities, Government of Gujarat, has been set up under Bombay Charitable Trust Act mainly with a view to develop the artistic abilities of Children.
Students of Navsarjan Academy performed a play titled ‘Ahmedabad’, through which they portrayed the habits of people of Ahmedabad in context to the environment conservation attitude through three different famous songs on Ahmedabad.
	Dance was performed by Jimmy’s Kingdom of Dance (JKD) Group. JKD Group performed a beautifully choreographed dance by Jimmy Gajjar, Founder of JKD is a dance teacher at Anand Niketan Satellite School who won Ahmedabad Mirror Talent Hunt Season 2. They danced on songs that can convey environment conservation message to the audience.

Ecotainment | Page 2

This was then followed by a Rock Performance by Meghdhanush Band! “Meghdhanush” is an Ahmedabad based rock band that believes in their passion more than anything else; a band that believes in the power of music to overcome all the negative energy and spread flurry of positivity and peace all over the world. With a vision of a happy, peaceful and smiling humanity, Meghdhanush primarily believes in creativity, originality and freshness in their music.

	Eco Fair | Page 1 During 5th & 6th June, ECO-FAIR, an exhibition of eco-friendly products was held at Anand Niketan School, Satellite Campus. 20 Stalls were exhibited during the Eco-Fair. There was a special live demonstration by an artisan from KHAMIR, weaving waste plastic into bags.
Brands like Aura Herbal Wear, She Who Crafts, Satvik, Rangoli – Art Ki Shoppe, Cottonroute, Sun Bazaar, Organic On Call, Assorted Nuts, Ecodea, ASAL, Roopkaliz, Joules, Lukka Chuppi & Shiv Tantra had their stalls for product selling. Corporate and NGOs like TERI, GEER Foundation, WTI, KHAMIR, OTBL and The Fern – An Ecotel Hotel also showcased their products and services.

Eco Fair | Page 2

WAY Environment HERO Award

WAY aims to utilize the platform of AWF every year to promote and glamorize environmental hero, who at individual capacity contribute to environment conservation, so that they can touch, move and inspire larger number of people around them. This year the 1st WAY Environmental Hero Award was given to Mr. Himanshu Singh. Himanshu Singh a young, energetic, ambitious person from Bihar, found home in Ahmedabad, has a passion to do “cycling tour”. He has taken up the challenge individually since 2010 and has been successful in his endeavour so far. Himanshu Singh’s longest mission has covered nine states which include Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar covering a distance of more than 5850 kms. in 45 days with an expenditure of Rs.900/-. He has termed his mission as “unplanned cycle journey”.

AWF'14 Felicitation Ceremony

On 6th June, WAY felicitated all the Supporters, Partners and Friends of Festival, who contributed for making AWF’14 successful. Dr. S. K. Nanda, Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Government of Gujarat, was invited as Chief Guest for AWF’14 Felicitation Ceremony.
While, invited Guests of Honour were: Mr. Piyush Desai, Chairman , Wagh Bakri Tea Group Mr. Paresh Tank, G.M.(Corporate Affairs),TATA Chemicals Ltd. Mr. Shushil Kumar, Support Manager, ONGC, Ahmedabad Asset Mr. Kaushal Parikh, Director, Aakash Oil Fields Services Pvt. Ltd. Mr. Kamal Mangal, Founder, Anand Niketan Group of Schools

AWF'14 Supporters

	The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is an agency of the United Nations that coordinates its environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its headquarters in the Gigiri neighbourhood of Nairobi, Kenya.
	Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) is an Indian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Dehradun, India. It is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) of the Government of India, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. It is India's largest oil and gas exploration and production company.
	Wagh Bakri Tea Group is a Premium Tea Company, having presence in tea business since 1892. Today it is the 3rd largest packaged tea company in India with a turnover of over Rs. 700 Cr. and over 30 million Kgs of tea distribution. The group is a leading stride in tea exports and retail consumer all over the world.
	Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) is an Indian global company with interests in chemicals, crop nutrition and consumer products headquartered in Mumbai, India. The company is one of the largest chemical companies in India with significant operations in India and Africa.
	Aakash Oil Field Services Pvt. Ltd. Is an ISO Certified Company, engaged in Providing Engineering Services for Maintenance of Equipments & supply of New Equipments including Machineries on Hire to Oil & Gas Sector Industries.

AWF'14 Supporters ,Partners and Friends

Conclusion


(AWF’14) concluded with a positive note that environment conservation is the need of an hour and without community involvement, it is almost impossible to achieve conservation goals by both Government Organizations (GOs) and Non-government Organizations (NGOs). It is also realised that budding entrepreneurs and established businesses and corporate houses should also keep environment as their priority.

Whale Shark Shows conducted during these 8-days had been a major and never-seen-before attraction that added grace to the festival. This not only made Ahmedabad aware about environment conservation, but also made them introduce to the largest shark in the world. Through this, messages of climate change and its effect on marine animals was conveyed to Ahmedabadis as per the UNEP Theme.

While, the other activities conducted on 5th and 6th June apart from Whale Shark Shows also came up with an outcome that environment conservation is not only our moral duty but also should be an individual’s attitude.

WAY is proud to announce that AWF’14 was officially supported by UNEP and shaped up as the longest and largest World Environment Day Festival of Gujarat. AWF’14 has created a benchmark for the WED celebrations. It has also provided a platform to different individuals and organizations to celebrate the spirit of Environment Conservation together in the coming years. It has been proved an infotainment with conscious messages to the present audience and received an overwhelming response from them.

AWF'14 Hoardings and Festival Communication

AWF'14 on Social Media

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