ENCOUNTERS 8: The time for change, is now

With the theme “Continents: Existence to obliteration”, this year, Earth Club of North South University launched 'Encounters 8' on February 20, 2015 at the NSU campus. 

'Encounters' is a 3D exhibition hosted annually with the portrayal of a different environmental theme. While the previous Encounters displayed themes such as biodiversity, Sundarbans and impacts of tourism in Bangladesh, Encounters 8 brought together a bigger picture of environmental impacts across the seven continents into one frame. It highlighted climate change due to increasing temperatures by global warming as the reason behind all the environmental disasters across the world. 

The exhibition was divided into 7 segments, each representing one continent along with its characteristic natural calamities. A walkthrough experience across the perils and beauties of the continents, the exhibition started with Africa portraying severe drought, loss of crops and carcasses of animals. Following Africa was North America with typhoons and insect population outbreaks and South America depicting coral bleaching and deforestation of the biodiversity hub of the Amazon rainforest. Asia followed next, showing the dangerously high CO2 emissions from a coal mine provoking global warming which in turn is causing the melting of Himalayan glaciers, invoking floods.  

The next continent, Europe, showed the consequences of highly erratic snowfall in some areas while heat waves in others due to climate change. Antarctica captured the enigmatic beauty of an ice laden landmass and its inhabiting wildlife losing their home due to the ice caps melting. Australia displayed wildfires generated from extreme dryness as well as the rising sea level diminishing the surface area of the continent. To finish the exhibition, a documentary was premiered which summarised all the global catastrophes but also ended on a hopeful note emphasising that “the time for change, is now” to prevent the loss of our homes.

Throughout the 3 days of the exhibition, Encounters 8 was graced by the presence of many renowned guests. The event was inaugurated by Dr. Kamal Uddin Ahmed, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forest; Benajir Ahmed, Chairman of BOT of NSU; Prof. Amin U. Sarkar, Vice Chancellor; and Prof. Dr. G.U. Ahsan, Dean of School of Health and Life Sciences. When the chief guest, Dr. Kamal Uddin Ahmed, was requested to say a few words on his impression of the event, he explained “Bangladesh itself has a minimal carbon footprint compared to the rest of the world, yet it is one of the nations at greatest risk of destruction from climatic change. Therefore, I invite everyone, including the youth to contribute to research for innovative approaches at tackling this brutal phenomenon.” On the second day of the event, the club welcomed the Information Minister, Hasanul Haque Inu, as guest of honour at the event. He congratulated Earth Club of NSU on the accomplishment of the event stating, “We need more initiatives like this to raise awareness for the sustainability of our environment and the mitigation of climate change. Progress will then come easily to the society.”