During her 2011 visit to Chennai, India, Dr. Anand took the opportunity to discuss with Dr. Ajay Parida of the MSSRF the scope of expanding the Center with the common goal of achieving ecological sustainability involving global partners for research and development. The activities of the Center will have three broad components.
- Awareness component - Understanding the purpose of the Center.
- Action component - Goals of the Center.
- Science, Technology and Research as an integrated component - System approach developed by scientists involved with the Center.
The initial scope of the Center is to expand and develop:
- Educational outreach for sustainability programs relating to coastal ecosystems, biodiversity in international waters and other programs of interest to scientists involved with the Center.
- Multicultural and inter-disciplinary programs to understand cultural diversity and ecological sustainability versus human well-being with regard to the utilization of natural resources.
- Exchange programs for research students to understand and develop a practical strategy involving scientific and social goals of ecohappiness, "evergreen" agriculture and global sustainability. Global fellowship programs are planned for this purpose.
- An action guide for ecohappiness for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources.
- Logical analysis of integrated programs to create an awareness within society and encourage community involvement.
The goal of the Center is to focus on job-led sustainable economic growth. The objective is to integrate the program with other areas of sustainability such as education, energy, environment, ecology, economy, engineering, policy studies and women's studies - all related to a holistic approach to sustainable development. Training, outreach and scientific research will be carried out under a systems approach to address global sustainability goals. Special consideration will be given to underprivileged and highly motivated students regardless of gender, race, religion or ethnicity to pursue their leadership skills towards achieving global sustainability. |