Launch Ceremony of Project SEARCH: Phase VII

Project SEARCH (Sensitization, Education and Awareness on Recycling for a Cleaner Habitat) is a school education program on sustainable consumption and active citizenship. Initiated in 2009 by TERI and Tetra Pak India Ltd., it aims to enable school students, teachers, school communities, and the society at large to adopt a life cycle approach to day to day living. The idea is to encourage young students and teachers to practice the 4Rs - refuse, reuse, reduce, and recycle - in their daily lives and make sustainable consumption choices. It is a unique program as it goes beyond awareness and encourages schools to act. Since its inception, a sincere attempt is being made to instill a sense of responsibility in the target group to take ownership of the waste generated by them and makes efforts to increase a product's life cycle by recycling it.

The project is currently running in 213 schools in 7 cities across India - Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Goa.

After the successful implementation of Project SEARCH for six years, TERI and Tetra Pak India Ltd. has now initiated the seventh phase of this programme with a grand Launch Ceremony on 29 April 2015 at Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi. Around 400 students, teachers and parents from across the project member schools from Delhi-NCR participated in the Launch Ceremony.

Mr Mitrasen Bhikajee, Senior Programme Specialist - Natural Sciences, UNESCO, New Delhi; Dr Leena Srivastava, Acting Director General, TERI; Amb. Ajai Malhotra, Distinguished Fellow, TERI; and Mr Jaideep Gokhale, Communications Director, Tetra Pak South Asia Markets graced the occasion as Special Guests.

Selected schools, teachers and students from across the seven project locations as part of Project SEARCH were felicitated during the ceremony for their contribution in Project SEARCH in the year 2014-15.

St. Mary's School, Dwarka, New Delhi was presented with the Gold Award in SEARCH School of Year Award category followed by Holy Spirit Institute, Margao, Goa (Silver Award), and Vidya Valley School, Pune (Bronze Award). This prestigious award is a recognition bestowed on schools that has been instrumental throughout the year in promoting the philosophy of Project SEARCH and has set a new benchmark for school leadership in the field of Education for Sustainable Development.