South Asian workshop gets underway in Mysore

Mysore, Oct 12 (UNI) Mysore University Vice-Chancellor Prof J Shashidhar Prasad today asked the developed countries to help the developing countries by taking up coordinated efforts to achieve sustainable development.

Inaugurating the two-day South Asia media workshop on 'Education for Sustainable Development', jointly organised by the university, UNESCO and Panos South Asia here, he said the big countries tried to impose restrictions on the under-developed nations in various issues while carrying on with the programmes in their land. ''The big countries attempted to impose forcibly their ideology on others and resort to cultural slaughter,'' he added.

Referring to invidious distinction being made in the fee structure in some varsities, Prof Prasad said students seeking admission to Universities in Australia had to pay four times more than what the natives pay, while Indian varsities made no such distinction.

Calling for collective efforts to fight serious issues like terrorism, epidemics and AIDS, he said sustainable development would have a meaning only when there was a coordinated effort to tackle the global problems. He stressed the key role that the media could play in creating public awareness in areas like health and science.

UNESCO Coordinator, Education for Sustainable Development unit, Dr Derek Elias explained the objective for holding such a workshop during the decade of education for sustainable development.

The participants would discuss rural issues and rural dynamism, preservation of nature, conservation and promoting sustainable development.

About 100 media professionals, including 30 from Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, were attending the workshop.

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