Events

Upcoming Events

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Past Events

A National Review of Environmental Education and its Contribution to Sustainability in Australia: Engaging the Key Players.

The following events have taken place to communicate the results of the recently completed study entitled 'A National Review of Environmental Education and its Contribution to Sustainability in Australia' report series.

Event Presentations and Final Reports

PDF versions of the presentations given at all events to date are available for download below. PDF versions of the final report from these events are also available for download.

Please acknowledge authorship and the event if you use these materials

School Education Open Session and Expert Working Group Forum

General Sector Open Session and Stakeholder Forum

Further & Higher Education Stakeholder Forum

Business and Industry Stakeholder Forum

Community Education Open Session Presentation

Advancing the UN Decade in Education for Sustainable Development: International Experiences in the Greening of Higher Education

Senior academics and sustainability leaders from four leading universities visited Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia in December to share their experiences in the greening of higher education.

Professor Javier Benayas (University of Autonoma, Spain), Professor Arturo Curiel (University of Guadalajara, Mexico), Professor Jose Gutierrez (University of Granada, Spain) and Professor Merce Junyent (University of Girona, Spain) presented their research findings during a public seminar held on 13 December 2006. The seminar was organized as a contribution to the United Nations Decade in Education for Sustainable Development.

"Universities can no longer refuse to be involved in sustainable development" Professor Benayas said. "Studies indicate that it is the teachers and not just the students that need education in sustainability."

"Universities have played a critical role in destabilizing the environment by teaching traditional models of natural resource exploitation" Professor Curiel said. "It is important for universities to acknowledge their role in the consumption process and provide new visions for sustainable development."

"Environmental Education has forgotten how to deal with realities" Professor Gutierrez said. "We now live in a world of higher risk and it is the role of educators to understand how to manage that risk and not just teach about the world as Walt Disney often portrays it!"

"Universities need to initiate dialogue between different fields of research" Professor Junyent said. "This dialogue should offer a space for reflection and democratic participation that leads to actions for change in greening higher education."

The professors were invited to Australia as part of the International Inter-university Environmental Education Research Project, an Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability (ARIES) initiative, with the support of Macquarie International.

Jeremy Mah

Education for Sustainability: The changing role of Business

Professor Richard Welford, an internationally renowned expert in corporate social responsibility was invited to Australia as part of the ARIES 'Education for and About Sustainability in Australian Business Schools' Project to provide leadership and international knowledge in the field of sustainability.

His visit was funded by the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts and Macquarie University International Office.

Professor Welford, Director of the Corporate Environmental Governance Program at the University of Hong Kong and Founding Director of the Hong Kong based think tank CSR Asia has considerable expertise in international business, environmental management and corporate social responsibility.

He has worked with a number of organisations on developing curricula for education and capacity building in the field of sustainable development. Professor Welford has been working for businesses in these areas for 20 years, including the Samsung Corporation in Korea and carried out research for the UN in South East Asia. He currently advises the Swire Group and Cathay Pacific and has worked as a consultant to the MTR Corporation in Hong Kong.

Professor Weldford spoke on: 'Education for Sustainability: The changing role of Business' (PDF) at Macquarie University on the 15th May to begin his visit. During the week, he met with various key stakeholders to increase the awareness of the action research project being conducted by the participants of the 'Education for and about Sustainability in Australian Business Schools' project.

Richard Welford Brochure (PDF)

Richard Welford Lecture ppt. [15th May presentation] (PDF)

'Business Schools are out of touch' by Brendan O'Keefe, News Limited 'The Australian', 24/05/06 (PDF)

Korea Institute of Curriculum & Evaluation (KICE)

In April 2006, President Chung Kang-Chung and Jungho Choi, of the Korea Institute of Curriculum & Evaluation (KICE) met with Associate Professor Daniella Tilbury, ARIES Director, Kristen Hebert, ARIES Coordinator and Mr Syd Smith (formerly from DET NSW) to discuss school education for sustainable development and how Australian research initiatives could inform the reforming process of environmental education activities in Korea.

KICE is a government-funded leading research institute for curriculum and evaluation for elementary and secondary schools in Korea. Since its establishment in 1998, KICE, has completed more than 210 research projects contributing to the development of the national curriculum and the improvement of the quality of education.

Current Australian initiatives were discussed, including the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) and the recently released 'Educating for a Sustainable Future' document, both of which are funded by the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.

KICE and ARIES agreed to seek new opportunities and international activities of mutual interest to establish a partnership.

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