Building on the success of Rivers of Life in 2022, the second edition of our public climate festival Forests of Life, was held in 2023 – 24. This tri-lingual public event used the metaphor of the Indian festival to celebrate the joy of nature and communicate issues of sustainability and climate change through a multi-sensorial and participatory format. It brought together information collected by student interns from forests across the length and breadth of India, along with a range of other educational material.

Through diverse perspectives from the point of view of urban dwellers, indigenous communities, and wildlife, the festival explored the idea of the forest, engaging with youth — school and college students — across different parts of the country. Like all journeys, Forests of Life was a quest, a search, a yatra—where stories were collected and new tales created. 

In addition to photo exhibitions, the event comprised activity-based learning, film screenings followed by discussions, inspiring stories of successful conservation efforts, interactions with indigenous communities, folk art, music, expert-led workshops, intern talks, and teacher education workshops — all aimed at fostering a collaborative, interactive and enriching atmosphere of nature-based learning.

Each story revealed different shades of the forest. Some narratives spoke of sustaining forest-dependent livelihoods, while others described the challenges of human-animal conflicts. Stories also delved deep into the association of indigenous communities with nature, and discussed value chains that could positively contribute to improved livelihoods.

Through these narratives, we looked at successful wildlife relocations and learnt about inspirational stories of individuals and communities who conserve our last remaining wildlands.

Glimpses from the Forests of Life event at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru and Bhopal

Rewind to Rivers of Life