National Children’s Science Congress NCSC 2023
Focal Theme and Sub-themes
National
Children’s Science Congress (NCSC), a flagship programme of National Council for Science and Technology
Communication (NCSTC), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government
of India, was launched nationwide in 1993, for children of 10-17 years age
which includes both regular school-goers, dropouts, children of slum or street
dwellers.
The
programme also provides platform for specially-abled children (Divyangjan).
It acts as a platform for the children to be rational and apply scientific
methods to understand, research and seek solutions for solving local problems
in their neighbourhoods.
This inquiry-based
learning programme is held every year on a specific focal theme which is
continued consecutively for two years, and is decided upon the basic principle
of ‘Local for Global’. Under the ‘new normal’ situation following Covid
pandemic the UNO has declared 2021- 2030 as the UN Decade on ‘Ecosystem
Restoration’ within existing structures and available resources
considering its commitment to human well-being, biodiversity conservation and
achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Keeping this declaration as well as
consequences in view, the focal theme of NCSC 2023 is-
UNDERSTANDING ECOSYSTEM FOR
HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
Ecosystems are the planet's
life-support systems not only for humans but also for all other life-forms.
Human survival has fundamental needs for food, water, clean air, shelter and
regulated climatic condition. Other benefits derived from an ecosystem include
full complement of species, intact watersheds, climate regulation and genetic
diversity. Stress of any form on ecological balance, biodiversity, freshwater
sources, food-producing systems and climate regulation cause major adverse
impacts on health and well-being. Therefore, understanding ecosystem as
life-support-system in terms of its components, interrelationships among the
components, role and functions of abiotic and biotic factors, significance of
food chain, energy dynamics, ecological services, biodiversity (genetic and
species varieties) are very important to develop ecological literacy. Moreover,
understanding human impacts on ecosystems affecting health and well-being are
also quite important. It is essential to know how our activities disturb the
ecosystem functions leading to various negative impacts on health and overall
well-being. Hence, our daily activities at all levels need rectification and
re-designing to reduce the negative impacts on ecosystem and thereby achieving
ecosystem sustainability, health safety and security as well as well-being for
all.
The
focal theme will focus on the major following aspects by engaging children for
inquiry-based learning applying methods of science in their own local contexts:
● Exploring and understanding ecosystem(s) in their neighborhoods and taking
initiatives for ecosystem conservation and restoration;
● Making inquiry into the interlinkages of ecosystem with health, nutrition
and well- being along with their implications;
● Taking initiatives for experimentation, based on ecosystem approach, for
local level natural resource management, farm and non-farm-based production,
and finding out ways for food, nutrition and livelihood security, health
safety, and developing resilience and adaptation towards climate change and
disaster risk reduction.
● Looking
into innovative S&T solutions for ecosystem conservation and restoration,
nutrition and health safety.
Keeping these major
focuses in view, the focal theme has been divided into the following five
sub-themes:
Sub-theme I: Know your ecosystem
Broadly,
this sub-theme will encourage the children to explore, identify and carry out
studies on the ecosystem(s) in their neighbourhoods to know about its different
components (abiotic and biotic), their inter-relationship, functions, role of
certain species in the ecosystems, association of biodiversity with the
ecosystems, ecological services, human dependency on the ecosystem(s) and
impact of human activities on the ecosystem(s).
Sub-theme II: Fostering health, nutrition and well-being
This
sub-theme will inspire the children to make scientific inquiry, in their own
localities, about situation of health (both human and animal), nutrition and
well-being and will also encourage them to make efforts to identify ways and
means to fortify and foster the situation ensuring health safety and security,
nutritional security and well-being at individual, family and community levels.
Sub-theme III: Social and cultural practices for ecosystem and health
Under this sub-theme
children will be inspired to identify, document and validate local
socio-cultural practices in their local contexts evolved over a period of time
for the protection of ecosystems and their associated services, sustainability,
conservative nature way and means such knowledge systems got transferred from
one generation to another.
Sub-theme IV: Ecosystem based approach (EBA) for self-reliance
Children,
under this sub-theme, will get scope to identify the prospects and study /
explore how integrated management of land, water and living resources promotes
conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way. Children can also study
the wide range of ecosystem management activities that increase the resilience
and reduce the vulnerability of people and the environment to climate change.
Various approaches based on different ecosystems can be studied and explored by
children under this sub-theme.
Sub-theme V: Technological innovation for ecosystem and health
This
sub-theme will encourage children to find local-level problems and take
initiatives for developing local technological solutions from the perspectives
of green technology, appropriate technology, information and communication
technology or improvising traditional technology based on the principles of
frugal innovation.
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FOR MORE DETAILS PLS CONTACT TNSF SALEM DT COORDINATORS : 98865 32022 / 9445483451
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