GUWAHATI, April 20 - WWF-India, which is celebrating its 50 years of conservation in the country, has roped in chess icon Viswanathan Anand to lend his support to conservation and protection of the environment.
A five-time world champion and known popularly as the �Lightning Kid�, Anand will be the torchbearer for WWF India�s young environment champions, inspiring them to become champions of conservation.
�In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, governments, development organisations, corporate and individuals around the world are doing their part to prevent the spread of the disease. Our children are the future and imparting the importance of conservation at a young age will ensure a healthy and vibrant world for them. It is necessary that young people develop a firm ecological mindset and use it to overcome today�s environmental challenges with a proactive attitude and a strong commitment,� Archita Baruah Bhattacharyya, coordinator, WWF India, Assam-Arunachal Pradesh State Office, said here today.
She added that as the Assam-Arunachal State Office implements all environment education programmes of WWF India, the chess maestro joining the WWF family as ambassador would be a great motivating factor for the region�s students.
Quoting Anand, Bhattacharyya said that children deserve a better, greener and more sustainable world than the one we are living in today and it is our responsibility as parents and elders to show them the way.
�I am very excited and happy to join WWF India and work together with them to enthuse more and more children and youth about the need to protect our natural world. I look forward to an enriching and progressive association with WWF India,� Anand was quoted as saying.
The WWF India�s Environment Education programme is as old as the organisation itself, starting in 1976 with the Nature Clubs of India (NCI) initiative.
The NCI is one of India�s most popular and oldest environmental education programmes. Currently, the Environment Education initiative undertakes five large programmes that reach out to schoolchildren, youth and citizens across the country and aim to create a generation of critical thinkers, problem solvers and environmentally conscious individuals. It currently reaches out to over 5,00,000 children across 2,000 schools in the country.
