Kartikeya Vikram Sarabhai (born 27 November 1947) is one of the world's leading environmental educators and a dedicated community builder. He was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

, India's fourth-highest civilian award, in 2012.

Biography

Kartikeya Sarabhai was born in

Sarabhai family The Sarabhai family is a prominent Indian family active in several fields. The patriarch, Ambalal Sarabhai, was a leading industrialist. While he created significant wealth, his children interested themselves in a wide variety of other endeavou ...

of Ahmedabad, is the grandson of industrialist

Ambalal Sarabhai Ambalal Sarabhai (23 February 1890 – 13 July 1967) was an Indian industrialist, philanthropist, institution builder, and supporter of Mahatma Gandhi. He was the chairman and promoter of Calico Mills and the founder of The Sarabhai Group of Com ...

. His father, Dr.

Vikram Sarabhai Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (12 August 1919 – 30 December 1971) was an Indian physicist and astronomer who initiated space research and helped develop nuclear power in India. He was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 1966 and the Padma Vibhushan ...

, is widely regarded as the father of India's space programme. Both his mother,

Mrinalini Sarabhai Mrinalini Vikram Sarabhai (11 May 1918 – 21 January 2016) was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. She was the founder and director of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, an institute for imparting training in dance, ...

, and his sister,

Mallika Sarabhai Mallika Sarabhai (born 9 May 1954) is an activist and Indian classical dancer and actress from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Daughter of a classical dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai and space scientist Vikram Sarabhai, Mallika is an accomplished Kuchip ...

, are

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

dancers and social activists. Sarabhai was educated at

Cambridge, UK Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, where he acquired a Tripos in Natural Sciences. He then went on to do post-graduate work in development communication at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(MIT) in the USA. He took over as Chairman of Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises Ltd in 1995, a pharmaceutical company set up by his grandfather

. At the time the Company was financially stressed with a large workforce and major Court issues. Kartikeya Sarabhai developed a plan to restructure the Company and put it back on a growth path. Through monetizing intellectual property and selling some of its land he managed to clear outstanding dues, reduced the large workforce, got one of its company out of BIFR and also cleared the Company's name with the Banks. He got in new technologies in the pharmaceutical and electronics divisions. With patience and perseverance he not only got ASE out of debts but also got independent units working efficiently taking the business ahead. His main concern was to clear all issues and strengthen ASE. Today the Company is on a growth path and the formation of two new joint ventures namely Vovantis and Cosara have brought in exciting new technologies for the future. Sarabhai is the founder and director of the

Centre for Environment Education The Centre for Environment Education (CEE) in India was established in August 1984 as a Centre of Excellence supported by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The organisation works towards developing programmes and materials to increase aware ...

headquartered in Ahmedabad, with offices across India. He is closely involved in the activities of the Nehru Foundation for Development, of VIKSAT and of Ahmedabad's

Vikram Sarabhai Community Science Centre Vikram A. Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VASCSC) or simply known as CSC, was established in the 1960s by the eminent space scientist, Vikram Sarabhai in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The centre works towards popularising science and mathematic ...

. He is also a trustee of the

Sabarmati Ashram Sabarmati Ashram (also known as Gandhi Ashram) is located in the Sabarmati suburb of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, adjoining the Ashram Road, on the banks of the River Sabarmati, from the town hall. This was one of the many residences of Mahatma Ga ...

Preservation and Memorial Trust, and of the

Physical Research Laboratory The Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) is a National Research Institute for space and allied sciences, supported mainly by Department of Space, Government of India. This research laboratory has ongoing research programmes in astronomy and astrop ...

(PRL). He has served on many committees set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Ministry of Human Resource Development of the Government of India, primarily focusing on the greening of India's formal education system, and initiatives for biodiversity education. He is a member of the

Earth Charter The Earth Charter is an international declaration of fundamental values and principles considered useful by its supporters for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. Created by a global consultation process, ...

International Council and was part of the delegations which represented India at the

Earth Summit (1992) The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to June 14, 1992. Earth S ...

in Rio and the

Earth Summit 2002 The World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002, took place in South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September 2002. It was convened to discuss ustainable developmentorganizations, 10 years after the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. (It was the ...

in Johannesburg. He was instrumental in initiating the South and Southeast Asia Network for Environmental Education (SASEANEE). He is currently vice-chairman of the Indian National Commission for the International Union Conservation of Nature ( IUCN). He also led the first international conference on th
UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
in Ahmedabad in 2005, and he is a member of the UNESCO Reference Group for DESD and the International Steering Committee for the end of the Decade Conference. He is a member of the advisory committee of the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) and the Chair of the Earth Charter International (ECI) Council. Sarabhai was the co-chair of the Global Citizenship Working Group of the Learning Metrics Task Force 2.0 convened by the Centre for Universal Education at Brookings Institution to examine how global citizenship education is measured and make recommendations for new ways of assessing learning. He was the chair-holder of the UNESCO Chair on Education for Sustainable Development and the Human Habitat. He is the editor of the '' Journal of Education for Sustainable Development'', published by SAGE, and has written and spoken extensively on environment, education, and sustainable development-related subjects in national and international fora.

Awards

Kartikeya Sarabhai received the ''Tree of Learning Award'' (1998) from the IUCN in appreciation of his contributions to the field of environmental education and communication. The Indian Institute of Human Rights has presented him with the ''World Human Rights Promotion Award'' (2005). In 2012 he was conferred the

award for his work in Environmental Education by the President of India. In 2013, he was given the Olive Green Crusader award by IAA (International Advertising Association) for his contribution in the field of environmental education and education for sustainable development. The Science Aur Kainat Society of India honored Sarabhai with the Sir C.V. Raman Memorial Award in the field of science and technology popularization and innovation in May 2014. Recipient of 2016 International Brandwein Medal by Brandwein Institute and the IUCN-CEC in recognition of his lifetime work for inspiring new generations, to experience, embrace and love nature first hand. Appointed as the International Wetskill Ambassador by Wetskills Foundation, Netherlands during the Finals of Wetskills-India 2017 at Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017.

Author and Editor

Sarabhai is the editor-in-chief of the Journal on Education for Sustainable Development (JESD) He has recently written a book 'Observing Nature in an Urban Forest' https://www.amazon.in/Observing-Nature-Urban-Forest-Environment/dp/9384233811 , date=16 March 2022 , accessdate=16 March 2022 A visually engaging publication in which Kartikeya V. Sarabhai shared his observations and photographs of nature and the rich birdlife in the verdant urban estate created by his grandfather

more than a hundred years ago.

External links

Website of the Centre for Environment EducationInternational Conference on Environment Education 2007Journal of Education for Sustainable DevelopmentThe Earth Charter InitiativeMinistry of Environment and Forests, Government of India

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarabhai, Kartikeya 1947 births Living people Indian environmentalists Recipients of the Padma Shri in other fields Sarabhai family Scholars from Ahmedabad 20th-century Indian educational theorists Educators from Gujarat 20th-century Indian Jains