While declaring open the 18th annual National Children’s Science Congress on Monday, Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi stressed on the importance of inculcating creative and scientific thinking among children from a young age.
“Children should be encouraged to cultivate creative and scientific thinking from a young age as they are future citizens of the country. Scientific and creative thinking are of great importance in a knowledge economy,” Mr. Karunanidhi remarked.
Mr. Karunanidhi inaugurated the five-day annual event at Vel’s University in Pallavaram. Delivering his address in English, the Chief Minister said that the National Children’s Science Congress’s aim was to provide a forum for children in the age group between 10 and 17 to “exhibit their creativity, more particularly their ability to solve societal problems through science.
“Children’s Science Congress encouraged a sense of discovery in the children,” he said. Referring to the theme of the Congress: Land Resources – Use for Prosperity and Save for Posterity, Mr. Karunanidhi said land and water were the most essential resources of a nation.
“They are under tremendous stress due to natural calamities and man-made causes. We have to learn to control in reducing the pace of degradation, while accelerating the process of development,” he said. The Chief Minister said modern methods of agriculture had helped in increasing the produce but the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides had affected land use.
Further, water pollution through various means was also degrading land. Rising temperatures and green house gases has caused a shift in land use pattern he said and outlined the efforts of the State and Central governments in preserving and conserving natural resources in Tamil Nadu.
He said that while he would prefer speaking in Tamil, he was addressing in English considering that a large number of students and teachers were from the rest of India. Mr. Karunanidhi released a souvenir on the occasion of the silver jubilee of Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology.
Kamal Kant Dwivedi, Head, NCSTC, New Delhi, in his address, lauded the efforts of TN Science Forum and TNSCST for organising the evening. Through the annual Science Congresses so far, they had reached 1 crore children directly. They had received requests from other member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and Association of South East Asian Nations for taking past in the event and hopefully next year, the Children’s Science Congress would be a global event.
R.N.Ray, Chairman, NCSTC – Network, said India was the only country to host such an event for children on such a large scale for so long. The network of science councils was the biggest in the world with groups active in 620 districts in the country.
While National Council for Science and Technology Communication is the national organiser, Tamil Nadu Science Forum is the host and TN State Council for Science and Technology and Vel’s University are the co-hosts.
State Ministers K.Ponmudy, Thangam Thennarasu and T.M.Anbarasan also spoke. S.Vincent, Member Secretary, TNSCST, welcomed the gathering. Ishari K.Ganesh, Chancellor, Vel’s University, presided.
நன்றி: The Hindu
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