By Carol Peters
During the April 13 online event, a panel of Rutgers undergraduate students from different academic backgrounds will discuss their visions for solutions to issues surrounding global water and sanitation.
“What can we do to help solve the global water crisis in both our personal and professional lives?” This is the pivotal question a panel of Rutgers University-New Brunswick undergraduates aim to explore during the upcoming event “Water and Industry: Screening and Discussion of Brave Blue World.”
The April 13 screening, followed by the student panel, will be held online from 6:30-8:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. It is being organized and will be moderated by Sienna Scian, a senior studying supply chain at the Rutgers Business School.
Scian said she was inspired to organize the panel discussion after she saw “Brave Blue World.” “Narrated by Liam Neeson, this documentary challenges some of the commonly held myths and assumptions about water and introduces the pioneers and innovators at the front-line addressing global water and sanitation challenges in new and creative ways,” Scian said. “During the event, after we watch “Brave Blue World” together, our panel will then answer questions from attendees and discuss our vision for the future of water in our soon-to-be professional lives and beyond. We want to help other students answer the question: ‘What can I do in my professional life to help find solutions for the water crisis?’”
Rutgers students on the panel, in addition to Scian, will be Stephen from the Rutgers Business School, Jodi from Rutgers School of Public Health, Kelvin who is majoring in Environmental Sciences at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, and Holly Berman, majoring in public policy and planning at the Bloustein School of Public Policy. The panelists will be introduced by Lynne Trabachino, Ph.D., associate director of the Rutgers Institute of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences.
By hosting the screening and panel discussion afterward, Scian said the student’s hope is to encourage campus-wide dialogue about the global water crisis; discuss industry specific solutions that can build a sustainable water future; explore ways to encourage their generation to be more engaged in water issues; and share advice to their fellow students who are also currently searching for jobs where they might be able to influence decisions pertaining to water.
Scian said the panelists will also discuss ways their differing professional perspectives and priorities can both complicate and complement solutions, and ways they can leverage their various skills and career pathways to create realistic, interdisciplinary solutions for Rutgers students to implement around water conservation.
The panelists will also each address accountability in their respective industries and ways the global water crisis has also impacted their local communities.
Watch the recording of the Panel Discussion below: