ICIMOD Opens its Door
More than 3000 people thronged the Headquarters complex of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development at Khumaltar on Saturday 6 March. The Open House was the second part of the two-day ‘ICIMOD Nepal Day 2010’ event in which ICIMOD opened its doors to welcome its partners, the development community, and the public at large to a showcase of its work in Nepal and followed a workshop on ICIMOD’s activities on Friday. The day started with a media briefing at which some thirty journalists challenged ICIMOD’s professionals with questions on glaciers, climate change, ‘REDD’ and other burning topics, followed by an award ceremony for the ICIMOD Competition for journalists ‘Media Reports on Climate Change in the Himalayas’ held last year.
Then the Open House. From eight months to eighty years — women, men, students, children – all found something to enjoy. Those who came early joined guided tours of the ICIMOD facilities and talked to programme staff. Visitors were fascinated to learn about different ways mountain people can make a living, about climate change and the effects on water, glaciers, and glacial lakes, about the importance of biodiversity, mountain landscapes, and rangelands, and knowledge management with an Internet quiz, remote sensing and GIS images, and slide shows, and many others.
Outside among the flowers and the trees, ICIMOD’s partners and associates had stalls with information ranging from biodiversity to alternative energy. Enthusiastic students from Tribhuvan University’s Zoology Department fascinated visitors with a display of preserved animals, birds, and others, the highlight a human embryo, to underline their message ‘Save Our Biodiversity’. Next door, visitors packed the stall from the Botany Department, before studying the Biodiversity corner with its theme ‘Biodiversity is Life, Biodiversity is Our Life’. Stalls from groups as diverse as Himawanti, Department of Plant Resources, Nepal Chepang Association, and HIMAWANTI, to name but a few, offered honey, books and other products. People queued to buy small solar lamps and were fascinated by briquettes, dryers and solar cookers, the choice was endless. ICIMOD’s electric car drew a crowd of viewers. Fun with learning was a big note, and queues formed at the ‘Know Your Mountain quiz stall. Drama was not forgotten with a street drama on Water and Biodiversity performed by the youth group Children for Green New Nepal, which attracted big audiences at its three showings. Two photo exhibitions and a packed documentary film show corner rounded off the offers, and when it was time to relax, food and drinks were available from several stalls.
The knowledge-rich and fun-packed event was voted a huge success with a big thanks to all the visitors, who showed such interest and enthusiasm.
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