On March 22nd, a special ‘unplugged’ concert was held on the NIT campus to support the theme of Earth Hour. Hosted by the Green Wind Association, the non-electric concert appealed to students to turn off electric lights for one hour in solidarity with the global Earth Hour event, and to take action to protect the environment of our planet.

The concert, which was held near the living areas of buildings 9 and 10, used almost no electric lighting facilities. Even though the temperature was low and the wind was blowing, many students had gathered in front of the concert stage even before it got underway. To begin, an environmental protection video produced by the Green Wind Association played on a display screen. The words “Green week - let’s protect the environment together!” echoed off the buildings, and even more students were attracted to join in the concert. Later, volunteers formed the shape “60+” using small colored lights, which not only stood for the 60-minute Earth Hour celebration at NIT, but also symbolized everyone’s contributions to protecting the environment. The concert ended with a graceful dance solo.

Xu, a student who attended the concert said, “I was told that volunteers would visit our dormitories to persuade students to turn off the lights, and to come enjoy the concert outside. I was deeply moved by their determination to protect the environment. When I came to the concert, I saw that it was a big success. Maybe one hour of darkness means very little to me personally, but it means a lot to our planet.”

Earth Hour was organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature to strengthen individuals’ awareness of environmental protection, and to call for individual action. NIT’s Earth Hour concert showed that environmental protection is not only a slogan for students - it also calls for their participation.