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"Towards a Better Tomorrow" is an initiative led by Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata, and is part of the larger ‘Moving Kolkata – Kolkata Moving’ project, whose overall objective is to create spaces for inclusive dialogue around sustainable urban development, involving people experiencing and exploring relevant concerns that need attention for making Kolkata more sustainable: recycling and repair‚ climate change, sustainable mobility and air pollution

The objective of the "Towards a Better Tomorrow" Project has been to make citizens aware of some alarming effects of climate change, pollution and consumption on the city. The project aims to motivate people to take steps towards leading a more sustainable lifestyle and to acknowledge their responsibility to stride along together and make the city a living one.

The initiative was brought together in collaborations with esteemed institutions of Kolkata; talented artists, artists’ collectives and community-led non-governmental organisations joining to support the project in terms of providing the space, organising interventions and planning the activities and content on the theme of the day. The formed partnership included spaces in Kolkata like Victoria Memorial Hall, Science City and the East Kolkata Wetlands. The initiative is within the framework of the project ‘European Spaces of Culture’ executed by EUNIC New-Delhi and Kolkata and is funded by EUNIC (European National Institutes for Culture) Global, Brussels.

Content copyright: EUNIC Global, EUNIC New Delhi and Kolkata Cluster; Visual design credit: Saurabh Jitranjan; Logo design credit: Hobson and Jobson

Three days in October 2022 witnessed the creation of a mobile pop-up-space which travelled to three different locations in the city. The space was created using local sustainable material by an artist collective. At each location, the pop-up-event focused on different topics which include recycling and sustainable fashion‚ climate change with a focus on Sundarbans, the wetlands of Kolkata, sustainable mobility and air pollution. The displays not only offered a number of activities planned for citizens of Kolkata to participate but also included showcasing of videos and other visual material leading to leaving sustainable outcomes in situ and on digital platforms.

The pop-up and activities conducted at each location brought together esteemed institutions of Kolkata, talented artists, artists’ collectives and community-led nongovernmental organisations joining hands to curate the space, contents and interventions on the theme of the day. The itinerary included iconic spaces in Kolkata like the Victoria Memorial Hall, Science City and the eye opening East Kolkata Wetlands.

Sunderbans and Climate Change

The Sundarbans, a field for anthropogenic climate change and rising sea level, faces challenges. Humanity and ecology constantly battle in an environment of frequent cyclones and unpredictable monsoon rainfall patterns. Flood is almost an annual affair in the deltaic region of Sundarbans. These devastating floods have an enormous impact on the national economy, in addition to causing hardships for people, and disrupting the livelihood in urban and rural areas.

In 2020, Kolkata suffered from flooding and storms of historic proportions. The city suddenly crumbled down leading to the question - Will Kolkata have to cope with the challenges of severe flooding again in the futur ...

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Recycling and Repairing

As one of the largest global polluters, the clothing industry has yet to rehabilitate the way it operates courtesy super-fast and fast fashion. Among various conversations surrounding conscious consumption and production, sustainable practices, and lifestyles, there is a dearth of dialogue on cultural sustainability. Before fast and super-fast fashion set roots, India had a native practice of repairing, reworking and reconstructing clothes so that they lasted beyond its intended shelf life.

The pop-up installation on the ground of Victoria Memorial grounds saw people participating in exercises of recycling and repair and learning about sustainable fashion. Activities includ ...

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Wetlands Stories

The focus of the installation was to raise awareness of the citizens of Kolkata through an immersive experience of the importance of the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW). This experience used the history and the unique features of the EKW to foreground the co-dependence of the EKW to the City of Kolkata. The setup was done at the ground of the Kheyada High School, which is an important social and institutional landmark of the surrounding context.

The installation had informative visual material, engagement kits and various activities designed for the visitors to impart a holistic understanding on the manifold roles that the EKW plays in sustainability and propagation of everyday ...

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Sustainable Mobility and Air Pollution

Urban mobility is rapidly becoming one of the greatest challenges facing developed and developing countries alike. Transport is estimated to be responsible for nearly a quarter of global energy-related CO2. There are also rising concerns about its impact on the quality of urban life, including social inequities, and about the effects of its pollution on health and buildings. Kolkata ranks second in the State of Global Air (SOGA) Report in 2022 among the ten most polluted cities in the world. The city has seen a sharp increase in personal vehicles as private buses have slowly disappeared from streets. Experts are of the opinion that the city's focus has transformed from mass transit to ...

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