Diary

Citation

(2000), "Diary", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 1 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijshe.2000.24901cac.001

Diary

Society for Human Ecology XIth International Conference – Democracy and Sustainability: Adaptive Planning and ManagementSnow King Resort, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA18-22 October 2000

For a decade and a half, scholars and practitioners from around the world have been meeting at 18-month intervals at Society for Human Ecology (SHE) conferences to discuss issues in the interactive field of human/environment interdependence: human ecology. As we begin a new century and millennium, the pace of human-induced change in the world is accelerating. But there is a modifying counter-trend in many nations, to include more and more of the public in environmental and public resource decisions. Last year's SHE conference dealt with contributions of interdisciplinary research to adaptive decision-making. In October we will build on that discussion of adaptive planning and management decisions, focusing on the interrelationship between democratic institutions and ecosystem sustainability.

The concerns of human ecology are distinctly interdisciplinary and transnational. SHE-XI will bring together researchers from communities around the world whose concerns are the enrichment of human well-being and the concomitant protection of environmental quality. From local to world scale, scholars are working on issues such as: the relationships between human activities and environmental change; the effects of environmental changes on human health and well-being; the dynamics of human adaptation to societal, technological, and environmental change; and methods by which environmental planning and decision-making can be improved.

The SHE-XI Conference will consist of Symposia, Paper Sessions and Workshops, Round Table Discussions, and Poster Sessions. For further details, please contact: Dr Jonathan G. Taylor, First Vice President, Society for Human Ecology, c/o Social, Economic, and Institutional Analysis Section, MESC/USGS, 4512 McMurry Ave., Fort Collins, CO. 80525; Tel: 970-226-9438; Fax: 970-226-9230; E-mail: jonathan_taylor@usgs.gov www.SocietyforHumanEcology.org.

The Wanderstudent 2000Leuven20-21 October 2000

An International colloquium, organised by EuroPACE in the framework of the 575th anniversary celebrations of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

Will the student of the new millennium wander again from university to university, but then virtually? Will every university become a regional node within a European global Web? Is the European Virtual University under construction? Are the USA far ahead of us? Will developing countries get equal access to learning and knowledge? The main goals of the conference will be to provide an answer to questions such as:

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  How will universities of the new millennium exploit optimally the potential of ICT and international networking for an improvement of the educational quality, an enrichment of their learning offer, and an enhancement of international exchange and mobility?

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  How can ICT and international networking improve cost efficiency?

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  Will universities have to establish strategic alliances in order to be competitive on a global market?

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  How can ICT-based international networking be used in partnership with industry and government to develop new demand-based learning activities and services?

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  How can ICT-based international networking be used to provide equal access to learning for all continents of the world, and for all groups of society?

This colloquium is targeted to all those who are interested in the impact of ICT and networking upon the future of higher education: policy makers, teachers, students, managers and so on. Further information on the conference is available on the conference Web site: http://www.europace.be/wanderstudent2000

Economic development and sustainability: the environmental and cultural tourism as new occupation opportunityAnacapri, Italy2-5 November 2000

The event is organised by the University of Sannio, in cooperation with the Government of Italy, with speakers from the European Commission, the European Parliament, and various Italian government agencies.

A special feature of the event will be the links between sustainable tourism and economic stability, focusing on the subject matter of tourism among others. Papers are now invited.

For further information, please contact Professor Eugenia Aloj Totàro, Facoltà di Economia, Università del Sannio, Paiazza Guerrazzi, 1 Benevento, Italy. E-mail: aloje@complab.com or ecolab@inwind.it; Fax: 0824/61365 081/666117.

Symposium making sustainable regional development visible evaluation methods and indicators in the regional contextSchloss Seggau, Austria13-15 November 2000

The symposium addresses the problem of evaluation of sustainable development in the context of regions. Indicator systems and evaluation methods have the potential to play a significant role in the decision-making process at regional level. They can form the basic information that is necessary to allow strategic planning as well as informed participatory processes for the decision among different pathways into the future. The symposium will bring together on the one hand experts for the development of evaluation methods –especially in the field of ecological aspects of sustainable regional development – and on the other hand "end users" for indicators and results of evaluation from the regional up to the European level of decision making.

Besides the information on the state of the art of indicator systems and evaluation methods and their proper application to the regional development processes, the symposium will provide a platform for discussion about the proper role of evaluation in sustainable regional ideas as well as the requirements for indicators and valuation methods to become useful tools for regions to decide about their future.

The results of the symposium will form the basis for further and more detailed discussion within the framework of the ENSURE network about a consistent system of evaluation and application of evaluation results in sustainable regional development, covering all aspects necessary for successful implementation of sustainable development in the regional context.

It is the stated goal of the symposium to facilitate discussion between developers of evaluation methods (coming mostly from the science and research sector) and those who apply these methods and make use of them in the regional development process. The symposium is therefore directed towards peers as well as decision makers from the regional to the EU level.

The symposium will be jointly organised by ENSURE (http://www.european.association.org) and SUSTAIN (www.sustain.at). The Advisory Board of ENSURE acts as scientific committee for the symposium. The local organisation will be in the hands of SUSTAIN.

The symposium will be held at the Castle of Seggau in the vine-growing region of Southern Styria. The Bishop of Styria owns the castle that has been adapted to host venues of all kinds. The vine cellar of Castle Seggau is renowned for its excellent quality wines and spirits. Participants will stay at the castle itself, and the enchanting surrounding will add to the atmosphere of the symposium.

Seggau Castle is located approximately 40kms south of Graz and has a homepage at http:\\www.seggau.com

Arrival by train: Graz main station or Leibnitz: Pick-up service will be provided.

Arrival by car: A9 Phyrn Autobahn, exit Leibnitz, follow the signs to Schloß Seggau (you can see the castle right from the motorway to the West on the hill of Seggau).

Arrival by plane: Graz airport pick-up service will be provided.

The cost is 290 Euros, which includes conference fee, accommodation and meals, coffee breaks and transfers to/from Graz Airport or Leibnitz train station. Unfortunately, the organisers are not in a position to give any grants.

For further information and the workshop programme contact Sibylle Braunegg, SUSTAIN, Inffeldgasse 21, A 8010 Graz. Tel: +43 316 873 7465; Fax: +43 316 873 7469; E-mail: braunegg@glvt.tu-graz.ac.at

Policy Agendas for Sustainable Technological Innovation International ConferenceLondon1-3 December 2000

Organised by the Department of Innovation Studies, University of East London, this will be the third conference of the European POSTI project: Policies for Sustainable Technological Innovation in the 21st Century. The purpose of the London conference is to debate policy design strategies for a sustainable future based on scientific research, technological innovation and new concepts of democracy. The conference will explore the agendas of various actors (governments, companies, political parties, industrial associations, non-governmental organisations, social groups, universities, the media, etc.) and their role in defining policies for sustainable technological innovation. The conference will also cover aspects of ecological systems and socioeconomic conditions which interact only weakly with traditional democratic institutions, discussing how the policymaking environment itself may need to innovate in order to accommodate new expressions of social concern, environmental degradation or ecological disruption.

The conference will be organised into plenary sessions, panel discussions, a keynote address and working group sessions on the following topics:

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  Socially acceptable technological innovation: quality of life, ethics and policy.

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  Economically acceptable technological innovation: the "real world" of discharging political responsibility.

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  Environmentally acceptable technological innovation: urban, industrial, residential and rural habitats.

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  National, European and global policymaking environments: who benefits, who pays, and who decides?

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  Democratisation of policymaking processes: how can society and the natural environment best be heard?

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  Future challenges for sustainable innovation.

Proposals for papers should consist of a title, an outline of maximum two pages (ca. 800 words) including references and a ten-line CV. Proposals will be refereed by a committee led by Dr Josephine Anne Stein (University of East London), Professor Wiebe E. Bijker (University of Maastricht) and Dr Terje Grønning (University of Oslo).

For more information about the conference and the POSTI project, see: http://www.esst.uio.no/posti/ or contact Gillian Perkins, Conference Administrator, Department of Innovation Studies, University of East London, 4-6 University Way, London E16 2RD, UK. Tel: +44 20 8223 4215; Fax: +44 20 8223 7595; E-mail: g.s.perkins@uel.ac.uk; http://www.uel.ac.uk/innovation

Third International Conference on Ecosystems and Sustainable Development (ECOSUD 2001)Alicante, Spain6-8 June 2001

Organised by University of Alicante, Spain, Wessex Institute of Technology, UK and Universitat Jaume I, Spain,

ECOSUD 2001 is the third international conference in the series on Ecosystems and Sustainable Development. The meeting will provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of recent work on the engineering and modelling aspects of ecosystems and sustainable development.

The aim of the conference is to encourage and facilitate the interdisciplinary communication amongst scientists, engineers, economists and professionals working in ecological systems and sustainable development. Emphasis will be given to those areas that will most benefit from the application of scientific methods for sustainable development, including the conservation of natural systems in developed and developing countries.

Special sessions are being planned to focus on research in ecological modelling, socioeconomic ecology, conservation, management and recovery of endangered and degraded areas, sustainable development, information techniques for development, ecological engineering, health and development.

ECOSUD 2001 will discuss research results in the following main areas:

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  Development economics – international and industrial applications.

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  Conservation, management and recovery of endangered and degraded areas.

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  Modelling of natural and human ecosystems.

For further details on the conference location, accommodation, dinner, exhibition facilities and proceedings, please see the event's Web site at: http://www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2001/ecosud01/

EMSU 2001Grahamstown, South Africa11-14 September 2001

The International Conference EMSU 2001 (Environmental Management for Sustainable Universities) has "Sustainability and Transformation in Higher Education" as its theme.

Papers are now being invited and interested delegates should contact: Lesley Futter, EMSU 2001 Conference, Rhodes University, PO Box 94, Grahamstown, South Africa. Fax: +27 46 636 1902; E-mail: L.Futter@ru.ac.za; http://www.rhodes.ac.za/environment/emsu.html