Marathi Vidnyan Parishad

Marathi Vidnyan Parishad

The MarathiVidnyan Parishad

TheMarathi Vidnyan Parishad (MVP) is a science-disseminating Institute establishedin 1966. It has 24 branches in the state of Maharashtra and three outsidethe state (Vadodara, Hyderabad and Goa). MVP has multifarious activities.Sixty percent of the programmes are for school going children. Forty percentof the programming is for adults.

MVPconducts lectures, workshops, short courses, seminars, symposia and conferences.They cater to rural and urban areas.

Students are given the opportunityto perform experiments. They are encouraged to ask questions. There areslide shows on sex education for girls. 2000 such programmes have beenconducted over the past 15 years.A sim-
ilar programme is also availablefor boys.

MVPpublishes a science monthly called Patrika in Marathi and is sent to 7000 schools in the state of Maharashtra. Annual subscription is Rs80/-.

MVP conducts three Children's ScienceCongress at the district level and a science conference for adults at thestate level every year.

	NationalCentre for Science Communicators
	Talking about science
	In a country as vast as India, keepingpeople informed about science is as important as generating articles ordoing research on it. How is this done? The National Centre for ScienceCommunicators is an institution that works at getting together peoplewho write on science using a language that we non-scientists - are familiarwith. The NCSC came into being on 1st January, 1997 at Mumbai. Science Communicators, as these scientistsare also called, write articles on science in newspapers, magazines orbooks. They also deliver speeches on science on radio, TV, or inpublic, and write scripts for street plays on science for the layman.The language they use has no bar. Scientific awareness is requiredin all societies. Several individuals, groups and organizations are activein this area in India and the world over. Sharing their experiences isvital for evolving an appropriate model for technological progress andsustained development. For this purpose local, regional, national and globalnetworks and linkages have to be created.
	NCSC Membershipand Future Activities
	Individuals can become life membersof the NCSC by paying Rs. 1000. For institutions, the charge is Rs. 10,000/-.Drafts are to be drawn in favour of National Centre for Science Communicatorsand to be posted to: Marathi Vidnyan Parishad, V.N. Purav Marg, Sion Chunabhatti,Mumbai 400 022 Phones: (022) 5224714/ 5226268; Fax: (022) 5226268. E-mail: vidnyan@bom7.vsnl.net.in The NCSC also intends to organizesome short courses on how to write for radio and TV in all Indian languages.