WSC-SD Newsletter August 2008

1

World Student Community for Sustainable Development

Ready to Act? Realising Sustainability through Collaboration

June - August 2008

Volume 3, Issue 1

Dear WSC-SD members,

This is the first newsletter of WSC-SD for

Volume 3 (2008-2009) after our Annual Meeting,

Student Summit for Sustainability 08 in Regina,

Canada- and also my first newsletter as the new

Director of Internal Relations.

The new executive board is quite excited about

our new website and wiki sites, which will unite

us and our efforts. In light of this, instead of

the previously monthly newsletter we will be

switching to a quarterly format.

I really appreciate all the contributions and

enjoy hearing about your work. Our members

are up to some amazing and inspiring stuff!

As always, we welcome your comments and

suggestions ([email protected]).

Now on with the show!

Cheers-

-Kat

[email protected]

Director of Internal Relations, Executive Board

World Student Community for Sustainable

Development

Sustainability@MIT, USA

NEWSLETTER CONTENTS

SNIPPETS from the WSC-SD 2

UPDATES: 3

from TOKYO: Alliance for Global Sustainability

University of Tokyo Students Community,

Japan

from NAIROBI: Students for Global

Sustainability, University of Nairobi, Kenya

from SCOTLAND: University of St Andrews

Sustainable Development Society (SDsoc),

Scotland, UK

from MEXICO: Individual member Jimena

Ortega

from CAIRO: Quark

from BOSTON: Sustainability@MIT (formerly

SfGS), MIT, USA

from GÖTEBORG: Chalmers Students for

Sustainability (CSS), Sweden

from NEPAL: Individual member Tulsi Giri

OPPORTUNITIES 12

2

SNIPPETS: small pieces from the WSC-SD

_____________________________________

WSC-SD Website & Wiki

www.wscsd.org

wscsd.wik.is

Our new website and wiki platforms are up and

running. The only thing left is for us to now

use them! Please login to your wiki account

and edit your personal info, add projects and

resources. If you have not yet been notified

with your account details, please contact your

SC board for SC members or Kat

([email protected]) for IMs.

Ryu, our webmaster, is doing an excellent job of

updating our website with great news,

opportunities and interviews. Consider

subscribing to the RSS feed for the website to

stay posted with news and feel free to add your

comments to the posts. Also, please contact

Ryu if you would like to contribute to the

website, share your ideas and be interviewed

([email protected]).

We are still looking for more images for the

website, so please send Jess photos of yourself

or your SC taking action for sustainability.

([email protected])

Sincere thanks for everyone who has

contributed their part to the wiki thus far!!

_____________________________________

2008 Student Summit for Sustainability

The 2008 Student Summit for Sustainability held

in Regina, Canada was a huge success. Thank

you to the University of Regina Student

Community of the WSC-SD!!

Sharing pictures:

Our good friend, Christopher Hedvall, from

Sweden, has kindly created an account at

www.flickr.com, the picture hosting site, where

we can upload and share our conference photos

with high resolution.

• Go to www.flickr.com/photos/s3regina/

• Login with: Yahoo ID: "*s3regina*" and

Password: "*reginasummit*"

• Upload photos in a folder which you label with

your own name.

Facebook group:

The group is “Student Summit for Sustainability

2008”. PLEASE JOIN if you have not yet done so!

The conference doesn’t have to end in

Regina…the fun can go on!

Student presentations:

These are now accessible to all at the WSC-SD

website - www.wscsd.org

Let us thank Jess Schulschenk for her

outstanding efforts in helping us post the

student presentations in the Reports section of

our website. Please click on the highlighted links

to view the pages. The presentations have been

placed under their appropriate conference focus

themes:

- Urban Infrastructure

- Energy and Environment

- Economic and Social Development

The final conference report is now completed!

Look for it on the WSCSD website.

_______________________________________

Remember: Every SC and IM is *required* to

register their profile on the wiki. Please do

so!

And take advantage of the ‘Projects’ space and

‘Calls for Assistance’ to initiate collaborations

and overlaps with your international friends!

3

UPDATES

_______________________________________

from TOKYO

sus+

(AGS University of Tokyo Student Community)

One of the biggest highlights during this

period of time is that we decided the nickname

of our student community as “sus+ (sus plus)”.

There are several intentions of this name, first,

“sus+ (sus plus)” = Sustainability Plus which

means that we have positive power that brings

something more, better and greater to global

sustainability. Second, “sus+” = sustainability

planet, that we hope to live in. Third, “sus+” =

sustainability platform, that we are aiming to

form to achieve those goals.

Please call us “sus+” !!

(AGS University of Tokyo Student Community

remains as our official name.)

(Ayumi Arakawa)

Student Summit for Sustainability 2009

Orientation and 2008 Debriefing Session

To share what we learned, felt and thought in

Student Summit for Sustainability 2008 in

Regina, we held debriefing session on June 20th.

We also had orientation for next summit in

Switzerland.

More than 20 students include many

international students participated the session.

After the session, we had UT version of “Zero

Waste Party” learned from MIT. It was not as

perfectly zero waste as the one in MIT, but it

was a great opportunity for us to try! Thanks to

MIT!

We will open call for participants from our

community to SSS2009 in September.

(Ayumi Arakawa)

Exchange Session with “Tama-eco”, a student

group in Hosei University, Tokyo

On July 27th, we invited members from

“Tama-eco”, a student group active in Hosei

University to exchange ideas about each other’s

activities toward sustainability. “Tama-eco” has

been working on many activities, introducing

recycling system of oil used in school cafeteria

(recycled as bio-diesel), holding “Eco-Summit”

inviting many stakeholders in and out of

university, making the mini-farm close to the

campus and so on.

(Ayumi Arakawa)

Study Session with International Students has

launched!

To exchange the fruitful knowledge and

strengthen the relationship between

international and Japanese students, we began

to do study session in English.

In the session, both international and Japanese

students present their research (of course,

including the basic information of the

background of the research) and then, discuss it

frankly.

In the first Study Session (2008/07/25), Tuhin,

one of the delegates of AGS Annual Meeting

2008, present "Study on the fisheries biology of

mud crab (Scylla spp.) in Pak Phanang mangrove

swamps, Thailand, with emphasis on age

estimation". He is Ph.D. Student in the

laboratory of Global Fisheries Sciences,

Department of Global Agricultural Sciences.

Further reports are uploaded on our weblog!

Please take a look!

http://agsutsc.blog21.fc2.com/blog-category-7.

html .

(Takanori Tomozawa)

Presentation at May Festival By Climate

Change Working Group

For the traditional May Festival of the University

of Tokyo, the Climate Change Working Group

(CCWG) introduced topics discussed and

activities held by the organization to the curious

visitors. For this year the group made a

timeline, which listed major events along with

the scientific discoveries and international

approach taken regarding the climate change,

helping them to view how this phenomenon fits

in the history. In addition to the timeline, a

poster session and mind mapping was held.

The posters presented how CCWG members

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view climate change from their expertise, and

the mind mapping provided opportunities for

visitors to connect their interests to climate

change.

(Yu Nagai)

_______________________________________

from NAIROBI

SFGS –UoN

STUDENTS FOR GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI, KENYA.

SFGS-UON is an action oriented student group

developed to network with local and

international community of young activists to

initiate positive change at all levels. The

Mission of SFGS-UoN is to share in aims of the

WSCSD in seeking to actively promote the

incorporation of Sustainability and sustainable

development at every stage of education,

research, business and public policy bearing in

mind the desire to achieve.

SFGS-UoN’s activities comprise the following:

discursive forums for members, Public forums,

Research, MDG oriented programs and

Publications and Newsletters/Magazines.

SFGS-UON’S MAY-JULY 2008 ACTIVITIES:

During this period, we had just settled down to

run our activities after the interferences of

campus programs due to the effects of post

election violence.

Conference participations:

This month marked the climax of SfGS-Uon’s

preparations to participate in the WSC-SD

organized Students Summit on Sustainability

hosted in University of Regina Canada. Though

six of our invited members couldn’t participate

due to visa denials, we were honored to be

represented by the founding coordinator, Mr.

Willis Alala who was elected to serve in the

WSC-SD’s executive board as the Regional

director for Africa.

During the same month, our members

participated in the 18th annual Eastern Africa

Environmental Network Conference held at the

AMREF headquarters in Nairobi. The theme of

the conference was ‘ENVIROMENTAL CORCERNS

OF CLIMATE CHANGE WITH RESPECT TO

SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS IN EASTERN

AFRICA’. Our president, Otieno Nickson,

presented a paper entitled: ‘RE-ORIENTING

EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

IN EASTERN AFRICA.’.

We were also honored to have our

president, Mr. Nickson Otieno seleted to be part

of the Organising committee of the WSC-SD’s

participation at the Imaginearth Collection that

was scheduled to hold in Japan in September,

2008. We share our disappointment in its

cancellation.

Images of our members taking part in the

conference:

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Projects:

1. TREE PLANTING:

To mark the World Environment Day, our

members participated in a tree planting activity

held at the YMCA Nairobi South branch. The

event was graced by …MR. MBAYA-A FORMER

NAIROBI PROVINCIAL FORESTRY OFFICER AND

AN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT. This event

saw the formation of ‘The Green Earth Club’.

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2. CAMPUS ENERGY AND RESOURCE AUDIT

As Campus students and members of SfGS –

UoN, we are obligated to playing a major role in

developing a sustainable campus life and

consequently, contributing to a larger

“environmental footprint”. Our broad objective

(a restatement of 2008 Office target) was to

measure and assess the current conditions and

consumption patterns at the University of

Nairobi and introduce specific

recommendations that will lead to the

development of a sustainable Campus

environment.

May 2008: Members finalized the discussion

on Literature review and discussed the

methodology of the study, the sample and the

data required. Members were allocated roles to

perform during the data collection stage under

the main three areas of study (water, electricity

and waste).

June 2008: Due to logistic complications, we

had to limit the study to waste management for

the beginning. Various members of the group

undertook data collection and processing.

July 2008: This month marked the

preparations and the actual end of semester

exams. Consequently, presentations and

discussions on the results obtained and

preparation of the draft report could not be

undertaken as planned before.

Unrealized activities/project proposals:

As a group, we planned various activities

that were intended to be realized within the

academic year that ended on 25/07/2008.

However, due to the recurrent limitation of

finance, we could not be able to meet all our

targets within the scheduled period.

We hope to realize these projects when we

resume campus from long vacation ending in

October. In the meantime, members of the

executive committee who are on-campus for

this period will undertake the group’s

administrative tasks.

Our appeal:

As we do our best within the prevalent limits,

we welcome partnerships and any kind of

support from individuals and organizations both

locally and internationally for the realization of

our agenda: sustainable leadership and action

for positive change.

The unfulfilled activities include:

1. TREE PLANTING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF

NAIROBI GROUNDS

With the help of the Kenya Forests Department,

through the Green Earth Club, SfGS-UoN

obtained 1000 seedlings to be planted at the

university grounds with the active participation

of our members. However, we still face the

daunting challenge of raising petty cash for

working out the logistics of such activities, e.g.

transportation, refreshments, and subsequent

maintenance. Our request for assistance from

the university has delayed the implementation

of this exercise.

Goals of the event:

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• To create awareness to members and non

members on the importance of environmental

conservation and the effects of global warming

and climate change.

• Re-greening the University of Nairobi grounds

as part of fulfilling the greater objective of

re-greening the city in the sun (Nairobi).

2. TALK BY MR. GEORGE MALAKWEEN AND

MOVIE AT THE UNIVERSITY

We planned to host GEORGE MALAKWEEN from

the Eastern Africa Environmental Network

secretariat to make a presentation during a

forum that was to be attended by SfSG-UoN

members and other interested

students/organizations at the university

premises. The climax of the event would be a

movie, ‘The Inconvenient Truth’ by Al Gore.

Goals of the event:

Create awareness on the impact of global

warming and climate change on the earth.

3. RECRUITMENT DRIVE:

Since the majority of our current membership is

composed of senior undergraduate students,

we planned to hold a major recruitment drive

for 2008 to increase our membership base and

enlighten the students (members and non

members) on issues of global warming, climate

change and environmental sustainability and

bring their attention to practical action.

Because of financial limitations, we strategized

to utilize the tree planting exercise, movie show

and presentations of the environment audit

report as a platform for recruitment. Since these

projects weren’t realized we are compelled to

postpone the exercise.

……THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT………

_______________________________________

from SCOTLAND

University of St Andrews Sustainable

Development Society (SDsoc), Scotland, UK

Dear WSC-SD,

I’m very happy to be writing for the first

time on behalf of the University of St Andrews

Sustainable Development Society, introducing

the first British member of WSC-SD. It is fitting

that we should be the first Brits to join, as St

Andrews is the first University in the UK to offer

Bachelors’ Degrees in Sustainable Development

and is currently underway in developing

Masters and PhD level counterparts. We are a

fledgling society with only two years on our

neck, a mere blip in the University’s 600 year

history. Nevertheless, we have ambitious plans,

and the climate in Scotland and the rest of the

UK is very conducive to expanding the horizons

of sustainability, and pushing the frontiers of

innovation in the field. The vocabulary of

Sustainable Development is already easily

accessible by all here, and we hope to add fuel

to the debate which will bring about the

paradigm shift necessary for a sustainable

future.

Practically speaking, we are currently

planning events and projects ahead of the

autumn term which commences 22 September.

We are arranging an introductory social event

for “Freshers’ Fair”. Also, we have a number of

smaller events lined up, including documentary

film screenings and hosting guest speakers. We

hope to attract high profile guest speakers

further on in the academic year. Furthermore,

we are involved in a project with the local Fife

council in making St Andrews a plastic-bag free

zone, and have met with great enthusiasm from

the local community. We have already produced

and sold sturdy biodegradable grocery bags on

our own, and are now helping Fife council

develop similar cotton ones.

http://www.plasticbagfreestandrews.com. And

indeed, most importantly, we are very excited

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to get involved with WSC-SD, and aim to send

delegates to the May conference.

Hoping to initiate an inter-university dialogue,

Warm regards from a sweltering Cairo,

Amanda Gudmundsson

Vice President, University of St Andrews

Sustainable Development Society

[email protected]

_______________________________________

from MEXICO

Jimena Ortega, Individual Member

I work as junior research coordinator on

environmental policy at the National Institute of

Ecology (INE) in Mexico. INE belongs to the

Secretariat of Environment and is a research

agency that develops and coordinates research

projects and policies as solutions to the

environmental problems and the conservation/

restoration of the environment in Mexico.

At INE I developed a Geographical Information

Systems (GIS) on ecotourism tour operators in

Mexico. With this I am developing an

accessibility analysis to prove that a short

distance between a nature based tourism

market from a big city (where most tourism

takes place) is very important, given that mass

tourism is the rule and that most of the tourists

have no information about the existence of

sustainable markets close to them. In parallel, i

am writing a paper on environmental impact

assessment for tourism in Mexico, given that

tourism is a high environmental impact activity

and that is the second most important industry

in my country.

Also, I am developing an advertising project

based on postcards that give information about

INE´s work.

Receive warm greetings from Mexico!!

Jimena Ortega

_______________________________________

from CAIRO

Quark Society

The American University of Cairo

This summer we are just preparing for our

events for the next semester starting on 7th of

September, all what we are doing preparing the

training contents for the semester, contacting

sponsors, preparing the new members welcome

party on 29th of August on which we are going

to present everything about WSC-SD, Quark

Society Achievements and recognizing the old

members and professors.

1( Research Assisting Programs:

AUC students work as research

assistants for the faculty for 5 hours

a week to enhance their scientific

knowledge and their research skills

2( Thesis / Graduating Seniors

Program: It is a program especially

designed for the graduating seniors

(Those who are working for their

graduating projects). Quark Society

present international/national

company problems, so that

graduates work on a research to

solve this program to get their

award.

3( Conference Program: It is a

program for all the national

universities where every

undergraduate student could

participate, take the training and

work on his/her own research

paper to on different scientific

topics and present it in Quark’s

Annual Conference.

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_______________________________________

from BOSTON

Sustainability@MIT

(formerly Students for Global Sustainability)

This summer, Students for Global Sustainability

has joined forces with Share A Vital Earth, the

MIT Generator, S*, and the

Sustainability@Sloan Speaker Series to form

Sustainability@MIT, a larger group dedicated to

environmental sustainability. We can now boast

620 members!!

With more students involved and stronger

connections to faculty and administration,

Sustainability@MIT will more efficiently

promote green practices and policies on campus

and beyond.

In the upcoming school year,

Sustainability@MIT will continue to organize

FreeMeets, EcoExpo, and other events SfGS has

held in the past, in addition to speaker series,

campus greening projects, community activism,

curriculum developments, and more. First

events include a “zero-waste”

clinging-to-the-end-of-summer kick off to rally

all students new and old who are interested in

sustainability issues and inform them about our

new group, and the first “Generator” of the year

where students pitch sustainability ideas and

form groups for actual realization of the

successful ideas. For more about the MIT

Generator see:

http://sustainability.mit.edu/Generator

_______________________________________

from GÖTEBORG

Chalmers Students for Sustainability (CSS),

Sweden

Much has happened since the last newsletter:

• CSS Food Seminar – “You are What you Eat”

On the 6th of May CSS held a discussion seminar

for sustainable food habits named “You are

what you Eat” on Chalmers campus. The topics

were

- The meat industry’s effect on the climate

- Sustainable fuels – from wheat to ethanol

- Biodynamic farming

The seminar turned out to be a real success.

Interesting speakers and almost every seat in

the audience occupied. It started off with very

interesting presentations; the CEO of

Lantmännen Agro Ethanol who presented

techniques for converting wheat to ethanol, the

CEO of Ekolådan Biodynamic Production, and

more. The seminar ended with a very inspiring

and enthusiastic debate which was so successful

that we overshot our time schedule with almost

an hour. We in CSS really liked this event and

will therefore plan another seminar in the near

future.

• Engineers Without Borders

CSS has initiated cooperation with Engineers

without Borders, which is an international

network for engineering “missionary” projects.

This will in the future give members the

possibility to participate in international

projects from Sweden and also abroad. We in

CSS are very positive to this collaboration and

are looking forward to see what this can bring to

our organisation.

• Student Summit for Sustainability - Regina,

Saskatchewan, Canada

6 students represented CSS at the Student

Summit for Sustainability in Regina. Everyone

came back with a very big smile on their faces

and they felt that it had been a really amazing

experience. CSS presented their local projects

that they had performed during the year, made

lots of new friends and really enjoyed

themselves in the remarkable nature of

Saskatchewan. An experience for a life time. We

are therefore in eager expectation for the Zurich

meeting in January next year.

10

• UPC International Seminar on Sustainable

Technology Development – Barcelona, Spain

Two of our members attended the UPC

International Seminar on Sustainable

Technology Development. Marcus Högberg was

one of two. Here is his story:

-The first day started with a lecture about

back casting by Professor John Holmberg,

Chalmers. Back casting is an interesting method

for evaluation of future sustainable technologies

and an excellent base for decision making. In the

afternoon there was a poster session with the

representatives posters. Next day started off

with project work. The aim with the project work

was to find a sustainable solution for the people

living in the ghetto Morovia in Medelin,

Coloumbia. The third day addressed the

question how the use of bio fuels influence or

can influence the use of water and the water

supply. The presentation was held by Michael

Narodoslawsky from TU Graz. The fourth

morning started with a presentation about

Chalmers Students for Sustainability (CSS) and

World Student Community for Sustainable

Development (WSC-SD). Many students were

interested in joining WSC-SD and were very

impressed of the work made by CSS. After CSS

presentation, Karel Mulder and Leo Jansen from

TU Delft held a presentation about sustainable

technology development. CSS presented two

posters and Marcus Högberg’s poster won the

best poster award.

We in CSS like to send you our best wishes and

hope to see some of you in Zurich next year.

Martin Persson, Chair CSS

_______________________________________

from NEPAL

Tulsi Giri, Individual Member

Youth Participation in Social Development

Work Camp, Rivan, Kaski, Nepal

August 1-5, 2008

USSHA Foundation

‘Work Camp for Youth Participation in Social

Development’ project had two phases of

implementation. The first phase was conduction

of work camp. The work camp was conducted in

the ‘Community Building’ of Janajagriti Youth

Club (Public Awareness Youth Club) in ward

number 6 of Rivan VDC from August 1-5, 2008.

The second phase of the work camp is

implementation and follow-up of the

Aggregated Youth Club Action Plan (AYCAP)

developed at the end of the work camp.

During the work camp the participants were

kept in home stay with different families of the

ward number 6. There were altogether 13

homestay families (6 brahmin families, 3 giri

families and 4 magar families). Each family got

one or two participants as their own family

members for the 6 nights. One family, nearby

the community building, was the center point

which was responsible for preparing tea and

snacks for the work camp participants according

to the schedule. All the home stay families got

some financial support from the project for

hosting the participants.

Outcomes

1. 25 participants from the rural and urban

communities participated in the work

camp and learned about the sustainable

social development.

2. The participants learned the knowledge

and skills to identify and prioritize the

problems, issues and needs of the

communities, and resource

identification and mobilization for the

social development.

11

3. The participants identified the basic

need of the community and youth, and

prepared the action plan i.e.

establishment of the ‘Community

Resource Center’ for addressing the

prioritized needs.

4. The work camp has initiated an

environment for the community youth

to participate in the social development

in organized way where at the same

time it has established a network

between the inside and outside youth

for two-way assistance for the social

development of the rural communities.

Participants interacting with the Secretary of the

Village Development Committee office

Teamwork to cross the river.

The work camp which was focused to generate

youth resource for the social development was

completed successfully with very positive

response from the community, local youth clubs

and participants. USSHA Foundation is hence

motivated to follow-up and to implement the

action plan very successfully for the social

development of Rivan VDC. And also, is looking

ahead to establish and widen up the scope of

this work camp model in other rural

communities to encourage and support youth of

that community to involve in social

development.

Participants during the practical session;

planting the tea

Participants in the typical setting having tiffin;

boiled maize and tea.

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OPPORTUNITIES

_____________________________________

Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable

Development

The Editorial Board of Consilience: The Journal

of Sustainable Development invites both

undergraduate and graduate students to

contribute to the journal. The first issue of

Consilience was published online in February

2008, and we are pleased to announce that the

next issue is due to be published November

2008. We accept submissions in English only,

but offer help to those for whom English is not

their first language.


Development is the first student-founded

academic journal of sustainable development

and is based at Columbia University in the City

of New York. The aim of Consilience is to

juxtapose different disciplinary approaches of

students worldwide to confront the challenges

of sustainable development.

Thank you for your consideration and I welcome

you to visit www.consiliencejournal.org to view

our first issue. Please do not hesitate to

contact me at [email protected] or

another member of the editorial board at

[email protected] with questions

regarding the submission process and

Consilience.

With regards,

Hannah Lee

Editor-In-Chief


Development

con·sil·i·ence (noun): The joining together of

knowledge and information across disciplines to

create a unified framework of understanding.

_____________________________________

oikos International

Do you make a difference?

Apply for the oikos Student Award!

This year, oikos rewards outstanding projects

for 'Curricula Change' and 'Sustainable Campus'.

Apply until 30 September and win 500€ and a

free participation for the oikos Winter School.

http://www.oikos-international.org/projects/aw

ard.html

Participate in the oikos Winter School 2008!

The oikos Winter School empowers 20 to 30

motivated students from all over the world to

realise their projects related to sustainability at

their universities. Hand in your application until

15 September.

http://www.oikos-international.org/projects/ws

/ws2008.html

Become an oikos PhD Fellow

oikos is now inviting applications from qualified

candidates for an oikos PhD Fellowship, starting

in February 2009. oikos PhD Fellows receive a 3

years grant to conduct their research in the field

of Sustainability Management and Economics at

the University of St. Gallen, a leading European

management school. Apply until 1st September.

http://www.oikos-international.org/projects/fel

lowship/become-a-fellow/application-schedule.

html

Discuss Curricula Change at the oikos

Conference

oikos St.Gallen invites you to approach the topic

of sustainability integration into university

curricula on 23-24 October at the University of

St.Gallen. Register now!

http://conference.oikos-international.org/

_______________________________________

World Happiness | Call for Photos!

Sanae Ohshiro, one of our active members from

Tokyo, will be presenting at an upcoming event

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in Japan this August on the topic of "World

Happiness". Takahashi and Shindou, two top

leaders are always constantly innovative ideas in

Music and Design, are now announcing the

"New Space for Music" event. Music transcends

generations, and so do images which can

motivate and inspire us.

Sanae has requested assistance from our

WSC-SD community to please send her

photographs which showcase the theme of

'world happiness'. Please send your images

directly to Sanae ([email protected])

and these photos will be shown with full credit

to you in her presentations. Please include your

name, nationality, a short description of where

the photo was taken and why you think it

symbolises the theme of 'world happiness'.

After the event, the photos will go online on the

website as part of our Gallery which will be

launched shortly.

Let us assist Sanae and support her in this

worthwhile project!

_______________________________________

UNESCO/Keizo Obuchi Fellowships for young

researchers

UNESCO is inviting young researchers in

developing countries to apply for grants through

the UNESCO/Keizo Obuchi Research Fellowship

Programme, financed for the ninth time by

Japan through funds-in-trust dedicated to the

development of human resources.

The programme – named after the late

Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi who was

known for his commitment to development

issues – offers a total of 20 fellowships worth

US$6,000 to $10,000 each. They target

post-graduate university researchers with a

Masters Degree, or equivalent, in one of four

fields: the environment, inter-cultural dialogue,

information and communication technology,

and peaceful conflict resolution.

In a series of letters, Director-General Koïchiro

Matsuura has called on all of UNESCO's National

Commissions, Permanent Delegations to

UNESCO, and the Organization's field offices, to

invite potential candidates from 156 countries

to apply for the fellowships, through their

National Commission. Applications must reach

UNESCO Headquarters in Paris before 9 January

2009.

Researchers under 40 years of age must submit

their applications to their country's National

Commission for UNESCO, which will select a

maximum of two candidates. A special selection

committee of experts in the four research fields

concerned will review the applications and

propose a pre-selection to the Director-General

of the Organization.

http://portal.unesco.org/unesco

_______________________________________

YOUTH ENCOUNTER ON SUSTAINABILITY (YES)

AUSTRALIA 2009

Applications Now Open!

Deadline: 14th September 2008

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

ETHsustainability, the Center for Sustainability

at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

(ETH) Zurich and the International WaterCenter

in Australia are pleased to announce the

opening of the applications for the 2009 Youth

Encounter on Sustainability (YES) in Australia.

The two week course aims to sensitize

participants to the complex issues of sustainable

development in a global context, while

exploring issues pertinent to Australia and the

greater Asia-Pacific region, though course work,

field trips, workshops, group work, discussions

and practical learning experiences, combined

with social and cultural activities. The unique

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program builds on 9 years of experience

successfully running the Youth Encounter on

Sustainability YES program in Switzerland, Latin

America, Japan and Central and Eastern Europe

and Africa.

Dates: January 30th – February 16th, 2009

Course Location: Noosa North Shore Retreat,

Noosa, Queensland, Australia

(http://www.noosanorthshore.com.au/)

More information on the course is available in

the brochure and inlay attached.

The online applications are now open at:

http://www.sustainability.ethz.ch/en/activities/

YES_Australia.cfm

_______________________________________

VII Latin American Encounter of Youth for

Environment and Sustainability

Date: 16 - 19 October 2008

Place: Bogotá – Colombia

Brief: The regional director for Latin America of

the WSC-SD, Adriana Valenzuela, is organizing in

Bogotá, Colombia the VII Latin-American

Encounter of Youth for Environment and

Sustainability, with the principal topic “Youth,

Climate Change and action for the future”. In

this Encounter will participate leaders,

governments, NGO, and international agencies.

It will consist of conferences, workshops, stand,

poster, cultural activities and visits to different

institutions. On Friday 17 there will be a

presentation on the WSC-SD and the

participation of the sustainability student.

More information: www.grupotayrona.info

Email: [email protected]

_______________________________________

2009 UNESCO World Conference on Education

for Sustainable Development-Moving into the

Second Half of the UN Decade

The United Nations Decade of Education for

Sustainable Development (DESD, 2005-2014) is

a worldwide endeavour that seeks to integrate

the principles, values and practices of

sustainable development into all aspects of

education and learning. The Decade was

adopted by the United Nations General

Assembly in Resolution 57/254 in December

2002.

As the DESD approaches its mid-point, the

“World Conference on Education for Sustainable

Development – Moving into the Second Half of

the UN Decade” will be held in Bonn, Germany,

from 31 March to 2 April 2009. Organizers of

the conference are UNESCO and the German

Federal Ministry of Education and Research, in

cooperation with the German Commission for

UNESCO.

The conference will provide a platform for

dialogue and advocacy on Education for

Sustainable Development at the global level,

involving some 700 participants from all regions

representing UNESCO Member States, UN

agencies, civil society organizations, youth and

the private sector.

Information pdf:

http://www.bne-portal.de/coremedia/generato

r/unesco/de/Downloads/Hintergrundmaterial__

international/Weltkonferenz_20Ziele.pdf

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FOR MORE OPPORTUNITIES, NEWS, and INFORMATION GO TO OUR WEBSITE:

www.wscsd.org

& COMMUNITY WIKI PAGE:

wscsd.wik.is

WSC-SD Newsletter August 2008

Documents

Transcript of WSC-SD Newsletter August 2008