If no action is taken to reduce emissions, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could reach double its pre-industrial level as early as 2035. Addressing this issue requires leaders both from more developed and newly industrialized countries to work innovatively together.

Unique carbon cutting measures are happening locally in both India and the UK, but can those actions be accelerated and multiplied to reduce carbon emissions by 50% in the next five years?

This is the challenge that participants on the Dishaa Venture, run by leadership development organisation Common Purpose, will be tackling next week. Dishaa aims to expand, enrich and energise relations between India and the UK by investing in the development of the next generation of leaders from the two countries.

During the Venture, held in London from 29 November to 3 December, participants will meet with carbon experts including:

• Lord Nick Stern, Chair, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics (also a member of the Dishaa Advisory Group and UK-India roundtable)
• Ian Short, Chief Executive, Institute for Sustainability
• Nafees Meah, Head of Science, Climate, Energy, Science and Analysis, Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The diverse group of participants, 20 from the UK and 20 from India, are skilled and respected practitioners in their fields and looking to effect change both in their organizations and wider society. They will undertake research tasks beforehand, develop their thinking and work together to come up with innovative approaches to the challenge.

They will then present their findings and models to a cross sector group of policy experts from the UK and India. The Dishaa Venture is run in partnership with the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office and sponsored by United Business Media (UBM), Tilda, Cisco, Fly Kingfisher and PwC. British Prime Minister David Cameron is patron of Dishaa and launched the Venture in July 2010.

Jennifer Duvalier, Group People & Culture Director, UBM, explains why her organization sponsors the Dishaa Venture: “UBM is a keen supporter of Dishaa, believing that individuals learn most powerfully when they have the opportunity to engage with impactful development experiences and to share their learning journey with a diverse network of fellow learners.

It has given UBM’s participants an experience to engage with talented others from India and the UK, and to contribute to building an innovative approach to accelerating and multiplying carbon cutting methods that will benefit both societies – a rich legacy.”

Founder and Chief Executive of Common Purpose Julia Middleton said: “The links between the UK and India are long standing but more importantly, they are deep, edgy, thoughtful and multi-dimensional. By learning together the participants will be able to enrich the connections between both countries and produce some very exciting ideas.”

An independent international leadership development organization

Over the past 21 years, Common Purpose has designed and delivered courses that help people at all stages of their career become more effective leaders in society.

Common Purpose runs courses that give people from the private, public and not-for-profit sector the inspiration, skills and connections to become better leaders both at work and in society. Common Purpose helps people, organisations, cities and regions to succeed, by broadening the horizons of their leaders and developing their ability to work together and lead complex change.

The article Looking to Create Innovative Ways of Cutting Carbon Emission appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

College students’ fantasies of becoming “famous” are quickly becoming a reality. With the rise of social media in our everyday lives, college students are taking advantage of social networking to get their talent recognized. These days, you no longer need a producer or an agent when you have a business, music, graphic design or  journalism major in your dormitory hallway.

Our society is accustomed to our celebrities having “connections,” knowing someone notable to help them make it big in the industry. However, what defines “connections” nowadays? It used to be knowing someone that could help you on the road to becoming famous, but now with the rise of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc … “having connections” is not as exclusive. Now connections to any music sensation or artist are merely a click away on the World Wide Web.

College students and artists with a passion for their talents are benefiting from this. Aspiring artists are realizing that the power of a college network and friends can create opportunities to make a  name for themselves.  Only the rich becoming famous is a slowly dwindling stereotype due to the possibilities of social media. The ability to download movies, pictures and music for free on the internet is causing controversy with established artists all around, yet everyday musicians, especially college students, are not complaining.

From the dorm room to the studio is an increasingly common story that we hear coming from upcoming artists. These include Asher Roth and Sam Adams, two successful rappers who started from their college dorm room. In 2009, “I love college” was released by Asher Roth; a song about college parties he went to while attending West Chester University in Pennsylvania. After posting his verses and sending a friend request to a producer on Myspace, he quickly became a college sensation. The music video was shot at a fraternity house, put on Youtube and quickly climbed its way to the top of the charts. All Roth needed was his talent and social media to get his voice heard.

Who needs a professional studio, when you have your own microphone and video camera on your laptop for free? Just from one Youtube video, your music can spread like wildfire. MTV studios is noticing this and helping college students take their talent to the next level.  Launched in 2007, MTV studios run a college network called MTVU.  It is now the largest college network site and channel; broadcasting to over 750 campuses in the United states. With over nine million users MTVU has dedicated their site to college music, videos, contests, shows, and news.

Websites such as FratMusic.com and Collegeplaylists.com are websites for students made by college students themselves. College students are increasingly more interested in partying to music from their own peers, since they are one of the largest demographics in the music industry. Who knows better what they want to listen to than themselves? According to Billboard.com, in everything from country to rap, 2011s hottest artists are all under the age of 21, and what is the most appealing about them? They’re just getting started. College artists create a fan base that not only grows but lasts.

The power of a college network and social media gives college students the tools to make it big on their own. Most college artists are already well known on the web or at parties before they even get to perform live, which is slowly becoming a reality for some artists instead of a fantasy. Younger generations are slowly taking over the music industry, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon with each new artist getting younger and younger.  The rise of social media and the effect it has on the music industry makes it easier for artists to be recognized for their talent instead of who they know. Why go hire a manager and producer when all you have to do to start your career is to create a Facebook account?

The article From the Dorm to The Studio, College Students and Their Place in the Music Industry appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.