2011 World Student Forum on Environment and Sustainability
Tongji University, Shanghai, China
June 6-9, 2011
Background Information
Tongji University aims at becoming a sustainability-oriented university. To achieve the goal, Tongji has developed strategies and identified three main themes to implement those strategies, namely, discipline chain, social service and smart campus, which fit the triple bottom line of sustainable development, economy, society and environment. As a higher education and research institution, in the past few years, Tongji has re-adjusted discipline directions, re-organized research groups and established trans-disciplinary centers, for the purpose of meeting the needs of student and faculty in moving toward sustainability. Tongji also has joined a number of international partnerships on sustainability, such as RUC, ProSPER.Net, AC 21, GPN, CLUSTER, IDEA League, etc. Last November, Vice-President Wu Jiang of Tongji was elected at Nairobi, Kenya, the first Chairman of Global University Partnership on Environment and Sustainability (GUPES).
Tongji is one of the Chinese universities that are working closely with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to pilot environment and sustainable development programs in Asia and the Pacific, and Africa. On May 9, 2002, Tongji University and UNEP signed the Letter of Agreement to establish the UNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD), with the goal of promoting scientific research and education on global environment and sustainable development.
Environment and sustainability have become the major challenges that the world has been facing since 1960’ s. It is very important to engage young generations from different nations to work together, tackling critical environmental issues and creating new solutions. The initiative of the Student Forum aims at providing an open platform for young students, who are the future managers, policy makers, scientists and actionists, to discuss the recent hot topics, the latest technologies and creative ideas on environment and sustainable development. The student participants with varied backgrounds will come from well-known universities all over the world. By intensive brainstorming, mobile classroom and product exhibition, the forum is designed to boost their engagement into environment protection, deepen their understanding of social responsibility, and trigger new concepts and practice in sustainable development. The 4-day forum will combine keynote speeches, field visits, parallel group workshops and poster display. The venue will be Tongji University, Shanghai. The program will include presentations, lectures, organized and structured fields visits in and around Shanghai, a concluding conference where the results of work done by mixed thematic groups will be presented and discussed and awards on poster design, innovative idea and group performance.
The forum will feature prioritized themes on environment and sustainability which are important both in the Chinese context and in the rest of the world, such as forest, water, clean energy, urban ecology, green transportation and inter-cultural sustainability. In the course of the forum, the participants will explore joint perspectives and formulate findings and recommendations on these topics.
The student forum is directed towards undergraduates, graduates and a small number of high school students from selected universities all over the world (around 150 persons). Some experts will be invited to give speeches, presentations and group workshop moderators. Dr. Achim Steiner, Undersecretary General of UN and Executive Director of UNEP is also invited to provide a keynote speech.
We are very eager for your participation in this event. The insight that you can bring to the forum will add great value to its success. We will provide local accommodations to all participants. Registration fee will be waived for those who apply before April 15, 2011. To apply, please fill Registration Form online and upload an A1-size Poster (594×841mm ) before May 1, 2011.
Contact:
Secretariat of Organization Committee
2011 International Student Conference on Environment and Sustainability
Tel: +86-21-6598 7790
Fax: +86-21-6598 5059
E-mail: wsfes@tongji.edu.cn
Program Overview (Draft)
| Day | Event | Description |
| Jun.5, Sun. | Arrival of participants in Shanghai, check-in | |
| Jun.6, Mon. | AM: Opening & Seminar (plenary session) | Ÿ Welcome and keynote speeches Ÿ Expert presentations Ÿ 2011 Klaus Toepfer Environmental Scholarship |
| PM: Group workshops & Poster display (thematic groups) | Ÿ Participants are split into 4 groups (approx. 40 persons per group ) Ÿ Group work | |
| Jun.7, Tue. | AM: Seminar & Poster display (plenary session) | Ÿ Check-out at the hotel Ÿ Expert presentations |
| PM: Field Visits (thematic groups) | Ÿ Issue-specific site visits in and around Shanghai Ÿ Check-in at other cities | |
| Jun.8, Wed. | AM: Field Visits & Group workshops (thematic groups) | Ÿ Issue-specific site visits in and around Shanghai Ÿ Group work |
| PM: Return & Group workshops (thematic groups) | Ÿ Back to Jiading campus of Tongji Univ. Ÿ Group work Ÿ Check-in at hotel at Jiading | |
| Jun.9, Thu. | AM: Report & Poster Awards (plenary session) | Ÿ Presentations of findings from each group Ÿ Vote for the Best Poster and the Best Innovative Idea |
| PM: Concluding & Awarding (plenary session) | Ÿ The Best Posters Ÿ The Best Group Ÿ Forum Declaration Ÿ Press conference | |
| Jun.10, Fri. | Check-out, departure | |
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