To create a better society via responsible education, Green Mentors established the Indo-American Green University Network at the City University of New York in April 2022. Universities are becoming the green engine for the green economy thanks to the Indo-American Green University Network. It brings together American and Indian colleges that take ownership of the future of the world and their students. IAGUN members discuss and analyse effective strategies that demonstrate advancements toward environmentally friendly practises in policy, curriculum, teacher preparation, evaluation, learning settings, pedagogy, etc. IAGUN also evaluates national, regional, and international green projects. It establishes potential metrics and measures of the nation's advancement in terms of sustainable education. Being green has the capacity to inspire innovation in the university's methods for teaching and learning.
The Network will promote sustainability practises among its member universities in order to address climate action in higher education institutions. Meghan Fay Zahniser, the executive director of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, delivered the keynote address at the event's opening (AASHE). Dr. Michal Mlynár, the ambassador of Slovakia's permanent mission to the UN in New York, served as the chief guest. Nalanda University in Bihar State, India, and the City University of New York, BCC, inked an MoU during the IAGUN inaugural event. The career diplomats of more than 25 countries based in New York and Washington, DC, were met by a delegation of Indian higher education leaders led by Virendra Rawat. They were informed of the power of responsible education in India and how it can aid their great countries in achieving sustainable development goals before 2030.
In the modern world, education is expected to give students the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes they need to thrive in societies that are becoming more diverse and dynamic. It should also give students a moral compass, a sense of purpose, and meaning so that they can contribute to both individual and societal well-being. Education should provide students with the knowledge, awareness, and action skills they need to become change agents and contribute to making the world a better place in light of contemporary issues like climate change, violent and hateful ideologies, conflicts, and the possibility of global pandemics.
Nature has an impact on how teachers and students learn. This makes the school less of an environmental threat. Additionally, green practises intellectually, socially, and civically stimulate students' minds. A "green university" is a college or university that meets its own demands for materials, energy, and water without compromising the ability of current or future generations to do the same. By making investments in clean air, clean water, green energy, green transportation, green uniforms, safe waste management and recycling, and locally produced food, it puts environmental ideals to work on campus.
Together with Gopal Goswami, Ambrish Parajiya, and Bhavesh Shah, Virendra Rawat established the Gujarat, India-based Green Mentors, an international organisation for sustainable education. They have invested effectively in a number of businesses and believe that the shift to a carbon-neutral global economy would greatly increase the profitability of green technologies. They discover that the transition to a greener way of life begins with responsible education and involves crucial "transversal" skills like critical thinking, creativity, empathy, cooperative problem-solving, and system thinking. Learners should become accountable for the people and the world through modern education and become responsible members of the global community.
Additionally, it enables students to relate to their heritage, maintain an open mind to other ways of being, and be eager to study throughout their lives while also learning about the world's knowledge and shaping who they are and what they want to be. On September 24, 2022, in New York City, IAGUN will have its following roundtable discussion with a few Indian-American universities as part of the 6th NYC Green School Conference. According to Mr. Rawat, the green universities will become the "green engine" of the new "green economy" and support global sustainability.
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