NAAEE 2004 Annual Conference

This year's conference theme "Sustainability and Environmental Education" reflects growing concerns with the sustainability of our society and its natural resource-based economy, and the role environmental educators can play to help right the course.

Sustainability carries with it a vision for a better world. Many leaders and citizens envision a more socially tolerant and equitable society where business, industry, government, and citizens practice environmental stewardship, leave smaller ecological footprints, and are involved in community-based decision making.

NAAEE is leading the conversation about the ways educators can contribute to a more sustainable world and the role they can play during the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. We hope that you will join that conversation. Our goals are to:

Identify common goals and priorities related to sustainability;
Discuss the core content and skills that EE and ESD should focus on and how they can contribute to environmental, social, and economic sustainability, locally and worldwide;
Look at success stories of schools and communities around the world that are showing the way to a more sustainable future; and
Identify ways we can work together to broaden our traditional perspectives to encompass environmental, social, and economic themes to create a more knowledgeable global citizenry.

Strands

Sustainable Environment
The health of natural systems upon which all life depends is of paramount importance to present and future generations. This strand will include presentations focused on environmental education delivery, best on-the-ground EE practices found in field-tested national curricula, conservation education programs and nonprofit initiatives, and the use of green technologies and the restructuring of resource uses.

Sustainable Society
In modern sustainable societies, education plays a huge role in which responsibilities of global citizenship include honoring cultural diversity and participation in community decisions. This strand will focus on the social and political facets of EE: creating sustainable EE organizations and communities, integrating concepts of sustainability, fostering the role of a sense of place, recognizing multicultural differences, and working across international and cultural borders.

Sustainable Economy
Achieving sustainable environments requires an understanding of the resources and constraints natural systems place upon our economy. This strand will look at key issues of economic sustainability, sustainable business practices, global responsibility, and expanding the student's perspective of economics within the contexts of social and natural systems.

Global Responsibility for Sustainability Embracing the idea of interconnectedness of our natural and human-made systems requires the ability to consider multiple perspectives; understand the connections between ecological, economic, and social systems; and measure our progress towards sustainability. This strand will explore the relevance of EE within our communities through presentations focusing on the impacts of our decisions on the world, expanding perspectives through values analysis, and case studies involving global responsibility.

Traditional and Leading-Edge EE This strand will feature the best EE programs that represent the history of EE and new EE programs that tackle difficult educational and environmental issues facing local communities. Presentations include research that pushes forward the knowledge base of EE and helps bridge the theory and practice of EE.

Albuquerque Skyline-The cottonwood trees along the Rio Grande turn a warm gold in autumn.
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