Diary

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education

ISSN: 1467-6370

Article publication date: 11 April 2008

42

Citation

(2008), "Diary", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 9 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijshe.2008.24909bac.001

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Diary

Article Type: Diary From: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Volume 9, Issue 2.

Climate Protection and Renewable Energy: Medium and Small Communities Facing the Challenge

2-4 April 2008, Rovigo, Italy

This capacity-building event aims to transfer good practice and know-how from experienced and successful communities to as many communities as possible. The event will be of special interest to:

  • Medium and small communities to learn about the impacts of and solutions to climate change, and how to move towards more sustainable energy use and local production.

  • Associations of neighbouring communities wishing to cluster and cooperate on mitigation and adaptation to climate change focussing on sustainable energy.

  • Successful and ambitious communities that can transfer know-how and experience in the field of climate change and sustainable energy management.

  • Provinces and metropolitan areas in their roles as facilitators and guides for the medium and small communities in their jurisdiction.

  • Local Agenda 21 coordinators interested in further engaging citizens and stakeholders on climate action and a sustainable energy future.

Further details are available at: www.iclei.org/rovigo2008

International Conference: “An end to history? Climate change, the past and the future”

3-4 April 2008, Birmingham, UK

The premise of this conference is that human society has had a potentially catastrophic effect on the earth's climate. For some commentators, it is not out of the question that we will bring about our own extinction unless we modify our behaviour. And while the scientific community has had a major influence on governments' and the public's understanding of climate change, the contribution of the humanities has been less significant.

Therefore, this conference seeks contributions from not only the environmental sciences, but also from across the humanities, from historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, human geographers, demographers, philosophers, writers, and from students of politics, economics, international relations, religion, literature and culture. Further details are available at: http://rescue-history-from-climate-change.org/Birmingham_Conference.php

8th International Conference on Current Issues of Sustainable Development

7-8 April 2008, Opole, Poland

The EU's Lisbon strategy aims at making Europe the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world. At the same time, sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion should be gained while the carrying capacity of the ecological environment needs to be respected. Indeed, these ambitious goals call for innovations, in the meaning of social and organisational changes, new product development or more sustainable industrial processes.

With respect to transition countries in Eastern and Central Europe, this again raises questions such as:

(1) How to steer societal processes towards sustainable development (top down)?

(2) How can consumption and production patterns be influenced (bottom up)?

(3) What kinds of tools are needed? For whom (i.e. businesses/industry/designers, planners, governments)? Is there a common use of tools that are already developed?

(4) How can regional innovation systems, clusters or networks support regional sustainable development?

(5) Policy making for sustainable development: policy coherence, the importance of prices and incentives for sustainable development, investment in science and technology, stakeholder involvement (citizens, business, NGOs).

Papers for the conference are invited from scholars from disciplines involved in issues of sustainable development, e.g. economics, geography, environmental sciences, natural sciences, legal sciences, social sciences. Further details are available at: jplatje@uni.opole.pl

Sustainabilitylive! 2008

20-22 May 2008, NEC, Birmingham, UK

Sustainabilitylive! 2008, the UK's most comprehensive forum for excellence and innovation in the water, environment, land remediation and energy sectors, will take place 20-22 May 2008 at the NEC in Birmingham. Launched in 2007 by Faversham House Group, Sustainabilitylive! Brings together under one roof the respected shows of Environmental Technology and Environmental Services, NEMEX National Energy Management Exhibition, International Water and Effluent Exhibition and Brownfield Expo formerly known as International Clean-up.

Building on the success of Sustainabilitylive! 2007, which hosted 450 exhibitors and attracted around 7,000 visitors, the 2008 event will allow visitors to keep up-to-date on the latest legislation and technologies, to hear from industry leaders and to network with peers. Further details are available at: www.sustainabilitylive.com

Thinking through Nature: Philosophy for an Endangered World

19-22 June 2008, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA

The International Association for Environmental Philosophy invites interested delegates to this conference, to be held 19-22 June 2008 at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Taking as its theme “Thinking through Nature: Philosophy for an Endangered World” the event will focus on the following topics:

  • Environmental ethics.

  • The aesthetics of natural and built environments.

  • Environmental restoration and design.

  • Architecture, place, and dwelling.

  • Humanities and environmental policy development.

  • Environmental justice, social ecology, and ecofeminism.

  • Traditional ecological knowledge and indigenous perspectives.

  • Non-western and comparative approaches.

  • Ecocriticism.

  • Ecophenomenology.

  • Environmental metaphysics and theology.

The first afternoon of the conference will be devoted to workshops emphasizing active learning and participation. Although the range of topics is open, a special attention will be given to papers on pedagogy, service learning, campus sustainability, and related themes. Further details are available at: www.uoregon.edu/~toadvine/IAEP/Thinking ThroughNature.html

“Fuelling the Climate”: European Symposium on Technological Developments in Renewable Energy

26-27 June 2008, Hamburg, Germany

Further to the successful 1st European Symposium on Technological Developments in Renewable Energy held in Hamburg in March 2007, the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences is pleased to announce the 2nd European Symposium on Technological Developments in Renewable Energy “Fuelling the Climate” (FTC 2008), to be held in Hamburg, Germany, on 26-27 June 2008.

Similar to the 2007 event, the 2008 event is based on the pressing need to discuss initiatives, methods and projects which are in line with the EU's energy end-use Efficiency and Energy Services Directive (adopted in December 2005) and which obliges member states to reduce their energy consumption by 9 per cent until 2017. One of the ways of pursuing this goal is by means of information exchange and know-how transfer on appropriate technologies. According to the EU's Directive on the Promotion of Biofuels and other renewable fuels for transport, research and technological development in the field of the sustainability of biofuels should be promoted. It is on this basis that FTC 2008 is being organised.

This time, the emphasis of the event will be on biofuels. To this purpose, FTC 2008 will congregate not only the automotive industry and scientists developing biofuels, but also automobile clubs and end-users, i.e. consumers. The main aims of the event are:

  • to show-case and demonstrate the various technological developments seen until now; and

  • educate the general public about the usefulness and value of biofuels and how their use can be related to individual attempts to protect the climate.

Under the slogan “Fuelling the climate” (Tanken für das Klima), the 2008 Symposium will show what science and industry are doing to address the challenges posed by climate change. Further details are available at: www.haw-hamburg.de/ftz-als/FTC2008

Engineering Education for Sustainable Development Conference 2008 (EESD 2008)

22-24 September 2008, Graz, Austria

With ever increasing pressure to find sustainable solutions for global warming, depleted resources like crude oil, utilising limited resources like fertile soil or water and the global fight against poverty and illness, engineering education becomes increasingly relevant for the future of industry. This is the driving force behind the “Engineering Education for Sustainable Development Conference 2008” (EESD 2008) that will be held in Graz (Austria), 22-24 September 2008.

The EESD 2008 is the fourth conference in a series of biannual international conferences dealing with all aspects of the education of engineers for sustainable development. Over the years the EESD has developed into the prime platform for the exchange of ideas among industry, academic educators and students who are interested in making future engineers fit for the challenges of sustainable development as well as in transforming universities into sustainable institutions. The overarching theme of EESD 2008 is “Bridging the Gap.” The following topics will be addressed:

  • Education and engineering challenges of the twenty-first century.

  • Students, universities and industry.

  • University and society.

  • University and regions.

  • Research community and sustainable development.

Further details are available at: http://eesd08.tugraz.at

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