Contributor

Sangita Iyer

Broadcast journalist, Non-Traditional Environmental Educator & Film Producer (B.Sc., M.A.)

Sangita Iyer is a highly experienced award-winning nature & wildlife journalist, an independent documentary filmmaker, and a biologist. She received the Nari Shakti Puraskar (Woman Power Award) - the highest award for women making a difference in India - from the Honorable President, Sri Pranab Mukherjee on the 2017 International Women's Day, for her courage and dedication to exposing the atrocities against Asian elephants.

She is the Director and Producer of the epic documentary Gods in Shackles that exposes the truth behind glamorous cultural festivals in the southern Indian state of Kerala where temple elephants are exploited for profit under the guise of culture and religion.

Gods in Shackles has won 10 awards, including the Best Feature Documentary Award at the Cayman Island Film Festival, and was nominated at the United Nations General Assembly by the prestigious International Elephant Film Festival (UN, CITES, Jacksonhole Film Festival).

Sangita co-founded the Bermuda Environmental Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public on environmental issues, and providing practical solutions that would foster environmental stewardship. She has worked in the media for over a decade, and until September 2008 she was one of the most familiar faces of television news on Bermuda's ABC/CBS affiliate. Given this experience, she effectively harnesses the power of sounds and images in her environmental documentary films.

Sangita was the host, executive director, and producer of the Bermuda Environmental Alliance’s six-part series, Bermuda – Nature's Jewel, which received the 2012 Bermuda National Trust award for environmental awareness and is currently being used as an educational aid in Bermuda’s schools. A four-part miniseries was featured on Discovery Channel Canada’s Daily Planet, which draws more than four million viewers.

Sangita has received numerous awards including the "Founder's Award for Leadership, Sustainability, and Personal Development" in May 2013, and the "Award of Excellence" for her Masters' thesis documentary, Connecting the Dots: television news media and climate change, at the International Film Festival for Environment, Health, and Culture in Indonesia. In 2008 Sangita was named the "Best Broadcast Journalist" by the popular Bermudian magazine, and she also received the inaugural DeForest Trimingham Award – top environmental awareness award from the Bermuda National Trust for her 13-part documentary series Enviro Shorts. The series, which was commended by the Senate and the House of Assembly, is currently being used as an educational aid in schools.

In September 2012 Sangita was one of the few Canadians selected for The Climate Reality Project training by Al Gore, which further inspired her to write for The Huffington Post. She is a public speaker and has delivered keynote speeches, made presentations in schools, universities, and government departments.

Sangita holds a Masters in Environmental Education and Communication, a B. Sc. in Biology from the University of Bombay, India, and a post-graduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism (Dean’s Honorary Role) from Humber College Toronto (Canada). Sangita has received numerous scholarships and awards. For details on her awards visit www.godsinshackles.com

"We stand at a critical moment in Earth's history, a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise" (The Earth Charter, 2000).

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