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U N E S C O I N T E R N AT I O N A L S C I E N C E , T E C H N O L O G Y & E N V I R O N M E N TA L E D U C AT I O N N E W S L E T T E R
VOL. XXVII, No. 1-2, 2002

Envir onmental education:

possibilities and
constraints

O
ver the last 30 years, those
involved in environmental educa-
tion (EE) have gradually become
aware of the richness and breadth of the
educational project they have contributed
to build. They have realised that the envi-
ronment is not merely a subject to be stud-
ied or a theme to be analysed among
others, nor is it only the necessary con-
straint of a development we want to be
sustainable. The weft of the environment is
life itself, at the interface between nature
and culture. The environment is the cru-
cible in which our identities, our relations
with others and our “being-in-the-world”
are formed.
EE is therefore not a “form” of education
(an “education for …”) among many oth-
ers. It is not simply a tool for environmental
problem-solving or management. It is an
essential dimension of basic education
focused on a sphere of interaction that lies
at the root of personal and social develop-
ment1: the sphere of relationships with our
environment, with our common “home of
life”. EE aims to induce social dynamics,
first in the local community and subse-
quently in wider networks of solidarity, fos-
tering a collaborative and critical approach
to socio-environmental realities and an
autonomous and creative grasp of current
problems and possible solutions.
Over and above an education “about”,
“on”, “in”, “for” or “by means of” the
environment, the concern of EE is basically
our relationship to the environment. It is
thus important for educators to take
account of the many possible dimensions
of this relationship which correspond to dif-
ferent but complementary ways of appre-
hending the environment:
• Let us first consider the environment as
nature (to be appreciated, respected
and preserved). Underlying the socio-
environmental problems is the funda-
mental rupture between human beings
and nature, which needs to be bridged.
We must rebuild the sense of belonging
to nature, to the flow of life of which
we are a part. EE also leads us to explore
the close links between identity, culture
and nature and to realise that through
nature we find part of our own human
identity as living beings among other liv-
ing beings. It is also important to recog-
nise the links between biological and
cultural diversity and to value this “bio-
cultural” diversity.
• Then there is the environment as a
resource (to be managed, to be shared).
There is no life without the cycles of
matter and energy. EE implies conserva-
tion education as well as education for
responsible consumption and solidarity,
with equitable sharing within and
among societies and between present-
day and future societies. The concern is
to manage production systems and use
of shared resources as well as waste and
by-product processing systems. EE inte-
grates economic education focused not
on the management of the environment
but on that of our own individual and
collective relations with regard to vital
resources taken from the environment.
• The environment as a problem (to be
avoided, to be solved) requires the
development of skills for critical investi-
gation into the realities of our milieu
and for the enlightened diagnosis of
problems. It strives to make people
realise that environmental problems are
socio-environmental issues. EE invites us
to solve real problems and to make
plans for preventive action. The devel-
opment of skills in this field could
strengthen the feeling that something

1. At the root of personal and social development are three closely linked spheres of interaction: interaction with oneself (for construction of one’s own identity);
interaction with others (for construction of relations with other human beings); and interaction with the shared “home of life”, Oïkos, the setting for both eco-
logical and economic education, where the sense of “being-in-the-world” is enriched by the person’s relations with the “non-human world”.

can be done, that each one can con-
tribute, a feeling that may in turn trig-
ger the desire to take action.
• The environment as a system (to under-
stand so as to improve decision-making)
calls for the development of systemic
thinking. By analysing the components
and relationships of the environment as
an “eco-socio-system” (according to the
expression proposed by Louis Goffin,
1999), one can gain a global under-
standing of environmental realities and
thus have the necessary inputs for judi-
cious decision-making. It is here that
ecological education basically comes
into play. It involves learning about the
diversity, richness and complexity of
one’s environment; learning to define
one’s human “niche” in the global
ecosystem and learning to fill it properly.
In a systemic perspective, EE also
encourages us to recognise the links
between here and elsewhere, between
the past, the present and the future,
between local and global matters,
between the political, economic and
environmental spheres, between
lifestyles, health and the environment,
etc.
• The environment as a place to live (to
get to know, to improve) is focused on
everyday life – at school, at home, at
work, etc. Here the first stage of EE is to
explore and rediscover one’s own sur-
roundings, that is, the “here and now”
of everyday realities, with a fresh look
that is both appreciative and critical. It
also involves redefining oneself and
defining one’s social group in terms of
our relationship with our surroundings,
our living place. Projects can be devised
to restore or design environments that
enhance comfort, security, health, social
interactions or the aesthetic qualities of
the place. Through such exploration and
projects, EE aims to develop a sense of
belonging and to encourage dwelling.
The local context is the first crucible for
the development of environmental
responsibility in which we learn to
become guardians, responsible users
and builders of Oïkos, our common
“home of life”.
2. We have, among other things, identified nine research journals dedicated specifically to EE which reflect the growing vitality, credibility and recognition of this
field of educational reflection and action: The Journal of Environmental Education; Environmental Education Research; Environmental Education and Commu-
nication; The International Journal of Environmental Education and Research; International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education; The Aus-
tralian Journal of Environmental Research; The Canadian Journal of Environmental Education; Education relative à l’environnement – Regards, Recherches,
Réflexions and Tópicos en educación ambiental.
2 Vol. XXVII, No. 1-2, 2002
EE: possibilities and constraints
• The environment as the biosphere (in
which to live together over the long
term) makes us aware of the interde-
pendence of socio-environmental reali-
ties at world level, that of our “small
planet” which James Lovelock calls Gaïa
and regards as a self-regulating macro-
organism. It is the locus of planetary,
even cosmic, consciousness: Earth as a
life-giving matrix or shared garden
which nurtures the symbolic universe of
many indigenous peoples. It is the focus
of international solidarity which invites
us to think more deeply about the
modes of development of human soci-
eties. We find here an ideal context for
taking advantage of the interface
between EE and education for develop-
ment.
• The environment as a community pro-
ject (in which to become actively
involved) focuses on co-operation and
partnership to achieve desired changes
within a community. People need to
learn to live and work together in com-
munities of learning and practice. The
environment is seen as a shared and
essentially complex object: only a collab-
orative approach can foster better
understanding and more effective
action. People must learn to discuss, lis-
ten, argue and convince: in a word, to
communicate effectively through a dia-
logue in which various types of knowl-
edge – scientific knowledge, practical
experience, traditional knowledge, etc.,
are brought into play. Here the idea of
praxis is introduced: action is associated
with a constant process of critical reflec-
tion. Education for democracy, the
mainstay of citizenship education,
becomes vital. The political aspects of
socio-environmental realities are high-
lighted.
Of course, other representations of the
environment could be identified and char-
acterised. For example, the environment as
territory among indigenous peoples (who
attest the narrow association between cul-
tural identity and the land) or the environ-
ment as landscape (the geographer’s view,
which opens the way to the interpretation
of local contexts, highlighting the dynamics
of their historical development and their
symbolic components). The relationship to
the environment depends greatly on the
context and is culturally determined. It is
therefore expressed through a set of inter-
linked and complementary dimensions. An
EE that is limited to only one of these
dimensions is incomplete and nourishes a
biased vision of what is “being-in-the-
world”.
Because it is so wide-ranging and demands
in-depth changes, EE is indeed difficult to
carry out. It calls for the involvement of the
whole educational community: schools,
museums, parks, municipalities, community
organisations, firms, etc. It is for each actor
to identify his/her own educational “niche”
in EE, depending on the particular context
of his/her action, the target group and the
resources available. The issue is to choose
objectives and strategies that are relevant
and realistic without forgetting the full
range of other possible objectives and
strategies. Each specific activity or project
should be seen as complementary to and
preferably integrated with those of the
other EE actors and with other associated
dimensions of basic education, in particular
citizenship education (focused on an
awareness of human diversity and more
specifically on questions of democracy,
peace and solidarity) and health education
(associated inter alia with issues of nutri-
tion, outdoor education and risk educa-
tion).
Over the years, a growing number of EE
actors have added a research or reflection
component to their practical action on the
ground. An “educational heritage” has
thus been built up, including a rich diversity
of theoretical propositions, models and
strategies capable of stimulating discussion
and inspiring practitioners2. An analysis of
these proposals makes it possible to iden-
tify different currents of thought and prac-
tice in EE: naturalist, conservationist,
problem-solving, systemic, holistic, human-
ist, critical, bioregional, feminist, etc.
(Sauvé, 2002). These currents reflect
diverse and complementary ways of relat-
ing to the environment. In a professional
development process for teachers, anima-
tors and other educators, one of the first

tasks is to subject these currents to critical
scrutiny in order to highlight the different
possibilities, to stimulate reflection and
more creative teaching, and to make rele-
vant choices in the light of each particular
context of action.
The field of EE is therefore developing in a
constructive manner. It is, however, faced
with major issues that could compromise its
basic goals. The main current challenge is
the prevalence of the development ideol-
ogy (Rist, 1996) promoted in the proposal
of “education for sustainable develop-
ment”. Here education is perceived as a
tool in the service of the long-term conser-
vation of the environment, the latter being
regarded as a pool of resources to be
utilised for a sustained economic growth,
which is itself regarded as the pre-condition
for “human development” (Sauvé, Berry-
man and Brunelle, 2000). In the conceptual
framework of sustainable development,
often illustrated in the form of three inter-
linked spheres (economy, society and envi-
ronment), the economy is viewed as a
separate autonomous entity, outside the
social sphere, that determines a society’s
relationship to the environment. While that
does indeed reflect the current alienation
of societies in regard to an exogenous and
dominant economy, should such a vision of
the world be nonetheless promoted as the
supreme goal of all humanity?
The idea of sustainable development is, of
course, relevant in certain respects and in
certain contexts, such as when it becomes
the key to initiating dialogue among actors
in the economic, political and environmen-
tal spheres. That is in fact how the concept
came into being. It has been presented as
the product of a social “consensus” (in
reality, the outcome of a negotiation round
between certain privileged social actors in a
specific historical context). Let us note that
this idea of a consensus happens to be very
seductive at a time when formerly
“unquestioned values” and meta-narra-
tives are collapsing: consensus-building
confers a measure of legitimacy on deci-
sions and makes it possible to “manage”
the diversity of possible approaches to the
issues at stake.
But is consensus (too often false consensus)
an appropriate basis for intervention and
3. People talk, for example, about “sustainable meals”, “sustainable mining industry”, “sustainable consumption” or “sustainable water”, even seeking “sus-
tainability criteria” for education …
4. See in this connection the report on the debate in: Jarnet, A., Jickling B., Sauvé, L., Wals, A. and Clarkin, P. The Future of Environmental Education in a Post-
modern World? Whitehorse: Yukon College (Canadian Journal of Environmental Education), 244 pages.
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EE: possibilities and constraints
action in the matter of education and envi-
ronment? Is it not a mistake to confuse the
strategy of sustainable development (how-
ever astute it may seem for some specific
purposes) with a blueprint for all society,
with a social ideal, and to redefine educa-
tion as a whole, in all countries, in terms of
this now dominant vision of the world? The
utilitarian conception of education and the
resource-based representation of the envi-
ronment adopted by “education for a sus-
tainable development” are clearly
reductionist from the standpoint of a basic
education aimed at fully developing the web
of relations between persons, the social
group to which they belong and the envi-
ronment. The relationship with the world
cannot be seen solely as a question of
“resource management”; human activities
cannot be interpreted only within the con-
text of “development” overusing the lan-
guage of durability (or viability or
sustainability)3 in a sort of “newspeak” that
is spreading throughout the world, superim-
posed on each culture and reducing the abil-
ity to think differently about realities. It must
also be recognised that the ethics of sustain-
ability is a product of the “heuristics of fear”
(to quote Hans Jonas, 1992) associated with
the current crisis in security (one of its man-
ifestations being the interest in human
cloning). While it may constitute a first step
towards an upturn in ethics, it is certainly
not broad enough to found a blueprint for a
society, and even less for humanity.
As a result of strong criticisms from all
quarters (philosophers, sociologists, educa-
tors, other economists, etc.) directed at the
idea of sustainable development,4 the cur-
rent trend is to invite each one to redefine,
in one’s own way, this inescapable concept
that has now been established in the vari-
ous spheres of society. It is thus agreed that
sustainable development is not a clearly
defined goal (to sustain development is
indeed vague) but a road to open up
towards this goal, which will progressively
appear more clearly. Each must chart
his/her course as he/she sees fit. After the
argument of the existence of a universal
consensus for sustainable development,
this new argument about the legitimacy,
even the necessity, of identifying different
paths to the goal seems to work well in
promoting the idea of “sustainable devel-
opment” as the saviour of humanity. In this
context emerged the proposal of “educa-
tion for a sustainable future”, a quasi-syn-
onym of education for sustainable
development. This concept has the advan-
tage of proposing a framework that inte-
grates the various dimensions of
contemporary education (relating to peace,
democracy, international co-operation, the
environment, etc.), but this framework lim-
its the scope of each of these educational
fields. As these other theme-based “forms
of education”, environmental education is
reduced to a mere instrument in the service
of sustainable development. Moreover EE
ceases to be seen as a setting for interdisci-
plinarity and the dialogue of knowledge
systems (knowledge related to the biophys-
ical and human sciences, traditional knowl-
edge, experience, common sense, etc.); it
becomes more narrowly associated to the
field of biophysical sciences and technol-
ogy, the key area of the new “knowledge
economy”.
It is possible however to conceive of an EE
that considers the sustainable development
proposal (as a socio-historical phenome-
non), but that is not locked into it. EE can
only be achieved in a context in which
social criticism is not impeded; the relation-
ship to the environment is not a priori a
matter of social compromise, even less of
world wide consensus. EE accompanies and
supports the emergence and implementa-
tion of a project to improve a person’s own
relationship to the world, whose signifi-
cance it helps to clarify in the light of each
particular context. In a global perspective,
EE contributes to the development of
responsible societies. This last expression
seeks to clarify the deliberate vagueness
surrounding the word “development”
(generally centred on the economy) by link-
ing it to the development of societies (each
one integrating its own endogenous econ-
omy) and to an ethics of fundamental
responsibility, that is significantly richer
than the essentially minimalist ethics of sus-
tainability (“so long as it lasts” or “so long
as we survive”). The ethics of responsibility
goes beyond a legalist and civic approach
to rights and duties; it calls for a sense of
responsibility for one’s own being, knowl-
3

edge and action, which implies commit-
ment, lucidity, authenticity, solicitude and
courage.
It is to be hoped that the forthcoming
Johannesburg Summit, focused from the
very beginning on sustainable development
for the whole planet, will afford an oppor-
tunity to stimulate a genuine debate on the
“consensus” underpinning this blueprint
for humanity, which has not borne much
fruit since the previous summit held in Rio.
It will be particularly important to stimulate
discussion among all the actors in the field
of education, which is both “the mirror and
the crucible” of a society’s development,
and more specifically among those involved
in the field of environmental education,
whose vision of education cannot develop
fully unless the diversity of ways of appre-
hending and relating to the world is recog-
nised and valued.
UNESCO Activities Worldwide
Technical, Vocational and Science Education for Girls:
Schools as Community Catalysts for
the Empowerment of Girls and Poverty Reduction
T his project, undertaken as part of
UNESCO’s programme in the fight for
poverty-reduction, is due to be launched in
the current year.
The aim of the project is to develop the
technological capacity of girls in developing
countries through gender-sensitive voca-
tional training on appropriate knowledge
and skills, in order to increase their chances
for access to work and a better life. Its ratio-
nale is that instead of relying upon methods
developed in foreign countries. local actors
should be encouraged and guided to seek
innovative ways to reduce gender disparities
in scientific, technical and vocational educa-
tion based upon ideas stemming from the
teachers’ hands-on experience.
After evaluating pilot activities in model
schools in selected developing countries in
Asia (Nepal, Laos and Cambodia), a set of
guidelines for policy makers will be devel-
oped in order to promote larger participa-
tion of girls in technical and vocational
education (TVE).
The specific objectives of this project are as
follows:
a) To increase access of girls from develop-
4 Vol. XXVII, No. 1-2, 2002
UNESCO Activities Worldwide
Lucie Sauvé, PhD
Research Chair of Canada
in Environmental Education
Université du Québec à Montréal
C.P.8888 Suce, Centre - ville
Montréal, Québec,
Canada H3C 3P8
References :
Goffin, L. (1999). L’environnement comme
éco-socio-système. In Loriaux, M.
Populations et développements : une
approche globale et systémique. Lou-
vain-la-Neuve /Paris : Academia-Bruy-
lant/L’Harmattan, pp. 199-230.
Jonas, H. (1992). Le principe responsabilité.
Paris: Les Editions du Cerf.
Rist (1996). Le Développement. Histoire
ing countries to appropriate learning
and life-skills training programmes in
order to ensure access to professions in
which women have traditionally been
under-represented.
b) To help educational managers, planners
and teachers to effectively adopt innov-
ative measures, curriculum and educa-
tional materials to incorporate girls in
scientific and technical fields in selected
model schools in three selected coun-
tries.
c) To provide policy makers with guidelines
to better promote participation of girls
in scientific, technical and vocational
education based upon the experience of
these model schools through close mon-
itoring and comparative studies by spe-
cialists.
The project is expected to have an impact
not only on the capacity building of direct
beneficiaries, notably school girls (approxi-
mately 13-17 years old) and in-service
teachers in the model schools, but also on
that of national educational managers,
planners and policy makers. Moreover,
although the implementation of the activi-
d’une croyance occidentale. Paris: Les
Editions Sciences Po.
Sauvé Lucie. (2002). Courants d’interven-
tion en éducation relative à l’envi-
ronnement. Module 5. Programme
international d’études supérieures à
distance en éducation relative à l’en-
vironnement. Université du Québec à
Montréal – Collectif ERE-Francopho-
nie.
Sauvé L., Berryman, T. and Brunelle,
R. (2002). International Proposals
for Environnemental Education:
Analysing a Ruling Discourse.
Proceedings of the International Con-
ference on Environmental Education:
“Environmental Education in the Con-
text of Education for the 21st Cen-
tury: Prospects and Possibilities”,
Larissa, Greece. 6-8 October 2000,
pp. 42-63.
ties will concentrate on a limited number of
pilot countries, the research results and pol-
icy guidelines drawn from the experience of
the model schools should also be able to
serve different actors (teachers, educational
managers and planners, decision makers,
researchers) world-wide, particularly in
developing countries.
UNESCO's role is to promote such a partic-
ipatory approach and to foster exchange of
ideas/information on innovative activities
among different stakeholders in different
countries at a later stage of the project.
UNESCO is also very interested in learning
of any interesting initiatives underway that
promote the participation of girls in TVE in
both industrialized and developing coun-
tries.
For more information, please contact:
Miki Nozawa
(Email:m.nozawa@unesco.org)
Yuto Kitamura
(Email: yu.kitamura@unesco.org)
Julia Heiss (Email:j.heiss@unesco.org)
Fax: [33-1)45.68.56.30
(Postal address on last page)

Comparative Study on Envir onmental Education in Technical
and Vocational Schools in developing countries
U NESCO’s Sections for Technical and
Vocational Education and for Science
and Technology Education are launching a
survey on EE in technical & vocational
schools at secondary level in fifteen devel-
oping countries in Asia, Africa and Latin
America*. This survey should provide a
comprehensive and comparative overview
of various national approaches
to integrate environmental training in
technical and vocational schools; analysis of
the needs and gaps and a set of sugges-
tions/recommendations for UNESCO and
any interested parties for future action.
The rationale of the study is that TVE grad-
uates have a crucial role in devising and
implementing practical solutions to current
problems such as environmental degrada-
tion and therefore should be aware of the
concept and challenge of sustainable devel-
opment. Technicians are the interface of
nature, technology, economy and society
and have a key role to play in helping soci-
ety resolve environmental and development
issues. Challenges such as: reorienting
technology and managing risks; meeting
Towar ds a girl-friendly science
A joint UNESCO-UNICEF project for Indian girls
T his joint UNESCO-UNICEF project,
coordinated by the Centre for Science
Education and Communication (CSEC) of
the University of Delhi, seeks to make sci-
ence more girl-friendly within the frame-
work of Scientific and Technological
Literacy for All (STL) by developing ade-
quate, supplementary teaching materials
for use by teachers at their discretion. A
number of organisations from different
parts of India are also involved as nodal
agencies in the project.
The materials to be developed are inter-dis-
ciplinary and treat concrete problems like
power failure, overgrazing and falling
water tables, instead of abstract principles.
Relevance is ensured by building the teach-
ers’ capacity to prepare their own teaching
* Provisional list of countries : Belize, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mozambique, Nepal, Philippines, Rwanda, Seychelles,
South Africa, Vietnam.
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UNESCO Activities Worldwide
essential needs such as food, water, sanita-
tion while conserving natural resources;
reducing energy and resource consumption
and many others will have to be tackled by
them. It has been found that it is techni-
cians who possess understanding and prac-
tical skills in the matter of sustainable
development that resort to more sustain-
able practices in industrial and agricultural
production.
As stressed in the recommendations of the
Second International Congress on Technical
and Vocational Education (Seoul, 26-30
April 1999), TVE systems should not only
focus on economic dimensions but should
also incorporate emerging issues such as
use of environmentally sound technology.
UNESCO, in its programme on technical
and vocational education, has been asked
to assist its Member States through advo-
cacy and training programmes to promote
the cross-cutting skills demanded by the
contemporary world of work that includes
environmental issues. For this, it is impor-
tant for UNESCO to review what has
already been done in this field, lessons
materials addressing local problems of
interest to students. The freedom to inves-
tigate such problems is expected to lead to
greater interest in science and increased
self-confidence in students.
The fundamental aims of the project, which
began in late 2000 are:
• To address problems faced by girls with
regard to school science, based on a
study of gender discrimination in the
school system
• To produce science teaching/learning
materials that are girl- as well as boy-
friendly
• To develop a resource base of low-cost
science experiments for schools based
on the equipment demands of the cre-
ated materials; test prototypes of all
learnt from the experience and what still
needs to be done in particular for develop-
ing countries.
Thus, the objectives of this study are:
• To obtain a comprehensive overview on
initiatives already taken at national level
in selected countries on EE integrated in
technical and vocational schools, which
will enable UNESCO to plan its future
work in responding to the needs of
Member States to introduce such train-
ing (for example, development of train-
ing materials for trainers).
• To provide interested parties (Ministries,
institutions, trainers, teachers, etc.) with
an analytical and comparative docu-
mentation of good practices and lessons
to increase their awareness on the issue
and encourage them to take action.
• To make recommendations for the
development of new training materials
and programmes.
For further information contact:
Miki Nozawa/Julia Heiss
(address above)
equipment and suggest other investiga-
tions that can be carried out with the
same equipment
As a detailed study on gender discrimina-
tion in schools mentioned above was
likely to take some time, the project relied
upon the possibility of each individual
teacher carrying out a small local study to
find out in what ways prevalent school
science is unfriendly to girls. This had the
added advantage of avoiding total
reliance on educational/curriculum plan-
ning institutes which could be male-dom-
inated. Besides, by choosing a majority of
female teachers in the materials develop-
ment workshops it was possible to ensure
that the female viewpoint was adequately
represented.
5

At the workshops, teachers were encour-
aged to reflect on what makes science
unfriendly to girls and to consciously design
supplementary teaching materials to rectify
this. It is hoped that this will be the start-
ing point of a move towards a model of
teacher training of which gender under-
standing is an integral part.
Initially, the project was seeded at five
nodes located in four states: Rajasthan,
Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and
Delhi where nodal agencies – both govern-
ment institutions and NGOs – working in
school education were identified. After a
National workshop to initiate activities,
these agencies held regional workshops to
train their teachers in creating supplemen-
tary STL materials that were gender sensi-
tive.
At the beginning of the second phase of
the project which involves the inclusion of
additional nodes, the following achieve-
ments can be noted:
1. A large number of original STL materials
were produced and several existing ones
tested. It is noteworthy that it is the
teachers and not resource persons who
were responsible for all the materials
developed.
2. A substantial volume of field data con-
taining information on the process of
materials development as well as tri-
alling was generated. This includes
Pr oject for the impr ovement of
secondar y school science education
T his project, a joint venture of UNESCO
and the Ministry of Education of
Costa Rica, was launched in 2000.
The project was implemented in 250
schools throughout the country and directly
involved 890 schoolteachers. Divers activi-
ties were foreseen in the project like
production of self-training modules, dis-
semination of educational materials and
organisation of monthly training work-
shops.
Voluntarily circumscribed to Grade 7 of
school education, the objectives of the pro-
ject were to strengthen science education
* In Costa Rica, Grade 7 marks a change from primary to middle school.
6 Vol. XXVII, No. 1-2, 2002
UNESCO Activities Worldwide
teachers’ accounts as well as reports
and other documents on work done by
students. A beginning was also made
towards community engagement in
schools by encouraging students to dis-
cuss issues like garbage disposal and the
dangers of tobacco use with their par-
ents and the public.
3. A group to study gender in the science
classroom was set up. It carried out an
analysis of science textbooks as well as
other materials from the perspective of
gender sensitivity.
4. A team to develop a resource base of
low-cost experiments was set up. It has
already developed a number of experi-
ments/instruments based on existing
STL materials.
Overall, it can be said that the first step has
been taken to establish a network of
groups to fulfil the objectives of a more stu-
dent-friendly school science. A process has
been set underway and in the near future
improved versions of the STL materials as
well as direct assessments of their girl-
friendly nature should be produced.
An important concern of the project is to
formulate evaluation devices and an inven-
tory for formative assessment. Criteria for
the assessment of the appropriateness of
the materials, their impact on girls, the
teaching processes inherent in them and of
the level of interest they generate in stu-
Costa Rica
by making it more relevant to current needs
of the youth and by enabling them to
make use of science and technology in a
creative, critical, responsible and construc-
tive manner.
The reason for selecting Grade 7 for the
project was that a noticeable difference
was found in student response to science
between the sixth and seventh grades*.
The traditionally oriented seventh grade sci-
ence curriculum tended to favour a passive,
rote-learning education. This did nothing to
promote thinking and reflection on the part
of the students and only created a negative
dents are being developed in the current
phase of the project.
A conceptual consolidation of the project
as a whole will also be undertaken. The
idea is to take the first steps, based on
some theoretical understanding, towards a
truly gender-sensitive school curriculum pri-
marily in science but going beyond it. The
work done by the low-cost equipment
group will also be augmented and com-
piled as a resource book/manual.
The long run goal is to build up a repertoire
of tested and viable supplementary teach-
ing units that are gender-sensitive and can
be used as exemplars in the remaining
states of the country as well as to create an
expanding network of nodal institutions
that will work towards the empowerment
of teachers and the integration of schools
with the community. The finality is to
evolve a model for school science that
holds excitement and joy for the child,
especially the girl child, provides a sense of
empowerment and control over the cur-
riculum for the teacher and promotes the
involvement of the community in educa-
tion.
Further information from:
Amitabha Mukherjee/ Vijaya S. Varma
University of Delhi
Delhi 110 007
India
image of science and technology. As a
result, student performance at this level
was poor with the highest level of failures
and dropouts in the entire educational sys-
tem of Costa Rica.
Educational systems have a vital role to play
in scientific and technological develop-
ment. Since the applications of science and
technology play a major role in all fields of
human activity, it is highly important that
science education should lead students to
acquire knowledge, attitudes, skills and
capacities which will allow them to partici-
pate meaningfully in scientific and techno-

logical development. Furthermore, science
education must adapt itself to the changing
needs of society so as to allow new gener-
ations to acquire basic scientific knowledge
and skills which will permit them to make a
critical and rational use of the available sci-
entific-technological applications.
Following the teacher-training workshops
organised in the implementation of the
project, the following five self-training
manuals were developed:
• Improving Grade 7 science education:
Enhancing Public Understanding of the Inter r elationship
between Science, Envir onment and Health
A new project developed by UNESCO/Cairo
B uilding up on the efforts of the inter-
national community and on the
important recommendations of the World
Conference on Science, UNESCO/Cairo has
pledged to utilize science popularisation as
an instrument towards creating a healthier,
scientifically oriented society in the Arab
region.
To this end, UNESCO/Cairo intends to
make use of science popularization in
order to promote a better understanding
of the interrelations between science, the
environment and health. UNESCO/Cairo
believes that the first crucial step towards
creating such a society is to raise public
awareness for the protection of human
health and that this should be done
through the use of communication media
and technologies. It has thus initiated an
innovative project on science, environment
and health aimed to promote and improve
people’s health by providing simple and
basic scientific knowledge to raise public
awareness, improve people’s understand-
ing, change their attitudes and to ulti-
mately reduce exposure to risk factors in
the environment.
The project targets the Arab population at
large, but more particularly the marginal-
ized segments of the population in rural
areas, especially women and children, who
are exposed to numerous environmental
hazards in their everyday surroundings. The
* It is proven that an audio-visual kit as an educational tool can lead to 40% reduction in the time needed for learning, compared to other learning (conven-
tional) tools, and can raise the coefficient of memorization by 20%.
Connect
UNESCO Activities Worldwide
an Anthology
• Climate change and Atmospheric phe-
nomena
• Transversal themes
• Science, Technology and Sustainable
Development
• Didactics of Science Education
All the manuals were tested by teachers
and experts and found to be more than sat-
isfactory. The anthology of activities for
improving science education was used in
workshops in various regions. All these
project consists of two phases. The first will
focus on the effects of air and water as key
environmental elements of direct and tan-
gible impacts on human health, while the
second will focus on other environmental
issues such as recycling, noise and food
safety.
In the first phase of the project, an interac-
tive science-based environmental education
audio-visual kit* will be produced contain-
ing basic scientific knowledge necessary to
enhance people’s awareness, change atti-
tudes and behaviour towards their health
and their environment. It will then be dis-
seminated in the Arab region, particularly
to institutions targeting the rural poor,
especially women and children.
The main targets of this project are chil-
dren, dropouts and women. This is due to
the firm belief that women and children
form the most vulnerable group among
urban and rural underprivileged people
needing environmental education and
health awareness. The lack of proper edu-
cation and correct scientific information
and knowledge aggravates their situation
and contributes to a low quality of life.
The strategy followed will be geared
towards enhancing awareness of environ-
mental health. This will be done with the
help of mass media. The activities consist
of collection of research-based, accurate
scientific information on pollutants of the
resources are subject to further improve-
ment. They will then be sent to teachers
who will be trained in their use.
For further information contact:
Comisión Costarricense de cooperación
con la UNESCO
Apartado postal 393-2050
San Pedro, Montes de Oca,
San José
Costa Rica
environment and their direct impact on
health; production of audio-visual kits on
science, environment and health; dissemi-
nation of the information and conducting
training programmes in schools and com-
munities. Emphasis will be placed on inte-
grating environment and health issues at
all levels of education, both formal and
non-formal. Working closely with Min-
istries of Environment, Health, Social
Affairs and Information, as well as donor
groups, sister UN organizations, and inter-
ested NGOs, efforts will be made to ensure
wide dissemination of the information and
the chosen subjects to the entire Arab
Region. Efforts will be made to mobilize
the necessary resources so that this initia-
tive can be reinforced and expanded.
Emphasis will be placed on the World Con-
ference on Science follow-up by continu-
ing support of the popularization of
science particularly for women and
increasing awareness of health and the
environment. Particular emphasis will be
placed on topics such as water, air, food,
safety, noise, UV radiation and recycling of
solid wastes.
Expected results:
Research on and collection of scientific
material relevant to specific environmental
problems
• Production of a series of modem educa-
7

tional tools (audio-visuals) with direct
relevance to specific environmental
problems
• Organisation of training programmes in
schools and communities for school
teachers, locally influential people and
the public at large
• Wide dissemination of environmental
audio-visual kits, particularly to institu-
tions targeting the rural poor who are
facing the greatest threat
Workshop on Teacher Materials Cr eation/Implementation
for Science & Technology Education (STE)
in Souther n Eur ope
Thessaloniki, Greece, 27-31 August 2001
T his workshop was organised jointly by
UNESCO, the International Council of
Association for Science Education (ICASE)
and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki,
Greece.
The workshop was targeted at science edu-
cators, key representatives of science
teacher associations and science teachers
and its aim was to provide them support
for promoting a more popular approach to
the teaching of science subjects in schools.
Twenty one STE teachers, teacher trainers
and school supervisors from Bulgaria,
Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hun-
gary, Ireland, Italy, Romania and Sweden
participated in the workshop.
The rationale of the workshop was that
since science teachers lack the necessary
background training to deal effectively with
such issues as the lack of popularity and
public awareness of science and technol-
ogy, it is vital not only to inform but also to
empower them with the necessary skills
and capabilities in developing science and
technology learning materials which are
appropriate for their students and consis-
tent with the goals of science and techno-
logical literacy for all (STL).
The principal workshop objectives were:
• To train participants to create and
develop exemplar STL materials relevant
to local needs and contexts and assist
other teachers in developing such mate-
rials
• To support them at the science-technol-
ogy interface in developing more mean-
ingful and relevant teaching approaches
8 Vol. XXVII, No. 1-2, 2002
UNESCO Activities Worldwide
• Media coverage of the audio-visual kits
through short TV spots
Long term Outcomes:
• Improvement of people’s health, espe-
cially that of young women and deprived
children, through upgrading information
and knowledge on scientific issues
related to health and environment
• Reduction of people’s vulnerability to
environmental hazards and mitigation
and in the use of local resources
• To encourage them to organise further
workshops for the production of a wide
range of STL exemplar materials notably
such as are relevant for girls.
The substantial programme of the work-
shop consisted of sessions devoted to the
following topics:
• Concepts of STL
• Sharing of innovative experiences in
teaching approaches for STL materials
• Preparation and development of educa-
tional exemplary materials on STL
• Presentation of and discussion on devel-
oped STL materials
• Introduction of evaluation and follow-
up of STL activities in the European
region, especially Southern Europe
Following the presentation of the STL phi-
losophy, initial ideas of the participants
were discussed and the context of each
script that would be developed in the work-
ing groups of 2 - 4 participants decided.
Different working groups then undertook
to develop one or more scripts depending
on the number of participants involved. A
plenary session allowed each group to
explain how they designed and started
developing their ideas for creating teaching
materials. In the final session each working
group distributed printouts of their scripts
and gave an electronic version of each
script to the organiser. Further develop-
ment, refinement and improvement of the
scripts is still going on.
The outcome of the workshop was the
development of 12 exemplary teaching
of environmental degradation
• Enhancement of the livelihood of poor
people and improvement of the quality
of life.
For further information contact:
Director, UNESCO/Cairo
8 Abdel Fahmy
Str Garden City, Cairo 11511 Egypt
Fax: 202-35.45296
E-mail: uhcai@unesco.org
materials on STL entitled:
1. Should cars be powered by fuel cells?
2. Which materials to choose?
3. Can the electricity bill be reduced?
4. How can we avoid cavities in teeth?
5. Industrial plan with environmental pro-
tection – Is the risk acceptable?
6. Shampoo – should we believe the
advertising?
7. A sun tan – is it a sign of good health?
8. Do we need nuclear power ? Learning
from the case of Chernobyl
9. Optical illusions: is what we see what
we get?
10. Wind energy – is this a solution for the
future?
11. Are mobile phones safe?
12. Are roads safe in winter?
The developed materials are in the process
of being edited in collaboration with the
participants who developed them. Upon
finalisation they will be disseminated to
participants for pilot application and fur-
ther improvement in their countries. They
will also serve as exemplar materials for fur-
ther workshops on training teachers how
to gain ownership of STL ideas through the
development of STL materials.
For further information contact:
Nicos Valanides,
Associate Professor
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Greece
 UNESCO Activities Worldwide

Regional Adaptation Workshop on STL

Pangkor Island, Malaysia, 15-19 October 2001

T his regional workshop was organised

jointly by UNESCO, SEAMEO REC-
SAM* and the International Council of
Associations for Science Education (ICASE)
with support from the British Council. It
was attended by specialists from Brunei
Darusalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand
and Vietnam.
The objectives of the workshop were:
• To familiarise participants with develop-
ments in STE for a better conceptual
understanding of STL
• To share experiences in promoting
teaching/learning of science and tech-
nology in the context of the participat-
ing countries
• To familiarise the participants with the
STL Manual (v. Connect, No. 1-2, 2001)
so as to permit teachers to develop
their own culturally-sensitive STL materi-
als
• To formulate follow-up actions for the
translation and utilisation of the Manual
in participating countries
The work was divided in three parts:
explanation by resource persons to the par-
ticipants on how to conceptualise and oper-
ationalise STL for All and then proceed with
the assessment of students; drafting, peer
evaluation and refinement of STL instruc-
tional materials and finally, formulation of
recommendations for follow-up actions.
At the end of the workshop, the partici-
pants were able to develop three modules
comprising: Introduction; Educational
goals; Scientific objectives; Student’s guide;
Teacher’s guide and Assessment of student
learning.
The modules were entitled :
• Drink to health (treating the concept of
pH)
• Dangers of acid rain (treating corrosion)
• Disposal of solid wastes (treating
biodegradability vs non-biodegradabil-
ity)
The main recommendations made for the
various participating countries were:
• Inclusion of STL in the development
of teaching-learning materials to be
disseminated to schools (Indonesia,
Malaysia)
• Translation of the training manual from
English to the national languages
(Brunei Darusalam, Cambodia, Indone-
sia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thai-
land and Vietnam)
• Sharing of acquired knowledge and
skills with other school teachers (all
countries)
• Utilisation of the newly acquired knowl-
edge and skills in teaching (Vietnam,
Lao PDR)
Those addressed specifically to UNESCO
were:
• Organisation of training programmes at
the country level as a follow-up to this
workshop
• Organisation of writing workshops to
train teachers to develop supplementary
teaching/learning materials
• Support to activities at the national
level
The workshop was both successful and
productive. Its outcomes were a strong
indication that the Training of Trainers
Manual for promoting STL could easily be
adapted to local conditions and would be
very useful in guiding trainers and teachers
to help other teachers develop their own
supplementary teaching/learning materials.
For further information contact:
Ms Lucille C. Gregorio
UNESCO/PROAP
Box 967, Prakanong Post Office
Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Fax: 391-0866
E-mail: UHBGK

Seminar on Envir onment Education in

Asia and the Pacifi c Region
Tokyo, Japan, 19-23 November 2001

T his seminar was organised by the Field

Study Institute for Environmental Edu-
cation, Tokyo Gakugei University with sup-
port from the Japanese Ministry of
Education as a contribution to UNESCO
/APEID**. Representatives from the follow-
ing 14 countries participated in this seminar:
Australia, China, Fiji, Indonesia, India, Japan,
Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philip-
pines, Republic of Korea, Thailand and Viet-
nam together with representatives from the
following institutions and organisations:
UNESCO/Bangkok; the Foundation for Envi-
ronment Education (FEE), Germany; the
Japanese International Cooperation Agency
(JICA); the JF New Paradigm Education, Sin-
gapore; the Institute of Advanced Studies
United Nations University (UNU) and Tokyo
Gakugei University, Japan.
The seminar consisted of plenary and
workshop sessions as well as a field
study and visit to a model EE primary school.
Based on the country presentations, the par-
ticipants summarized the aims, goals, hopes
and future vision of EE in Asia Pacific, under
the following headings:
• Educational materials and resources,
where the main concerns were the need
for:
➣ extensive capacity building and
continuous professional develop-
ment of teachers, curriculum
developers, school administrators,

* South East Asian Ministers of Education Organisation, Regional Education Centre for Science and Mathematics.
**Asia Pacific Programme of Educational Innovation for Development

Connect 9
 UNESCO Activities Worldwide

members of the community, NGOs
and the private sector
➣ encouragement by national authori-
ties to be given to local communities
to make use of available materials
and resources for promotion of EE
➣ greater collaboration between all
sectors for the development of qual-
ity EE materials
➣ further research in EE and the use of
media for promotion and lobbying
• Teacher Education, specifically for pre-
and in-service teachers, teacher educa-
tors, NGOs, school administrators and
curriculum developers
• Policy, where it was considered essen-
tial to set up a ministerial office on EE
for the Asia-Pacific region as well as an
EE network to evaluate projects and
assess EE impact on society which could
be linked to sustainability indicator
activities.
Following these considerations six recom-
mendations were made whose substance is
as follows:
1. UNESCO/Bangkok should facilitate
the inclusion of EE on the agenda
of regional educational/environmental
meetings as well as at the “Rio+10”
Conference in Johannesburg, August
2002.
2. A regional EE network should be estab-
lished with founding members from
each of the participating Asia-Pacific
countries.
3. Members of this regional network
should set up/strengthen their national
network.
4. Activities of the regional/national net-
work should be disseminated through
existing websites or through internet/
newsletters.
5. Mutual sharing of expertise and materi-
als through the clearing house process
should be encouraged and promoted.
6. All the governments in the Asia-Pacific
region should be encouraged to develop
an EE policy and to allocate funds
specifically for EE reflected in the annual
budgets/plans of the Ministry of Educa-
tion/Environment.
For further information contact:
Lucille C. Gregorio
UNESCO/PROAP
(address above)

Essay Contest for High School Students on

“Space And Daily Life”

logo credits: CEOS/CNES/ESA

UNESCO is holding an international essay contest for high school students (15 - 18 years) on the World Space Week 2002 theme “Space
and Daily Life”.

Students are invited to write about their experiences on how space is affecting/improving and helping them in their daily life together with
their vision of space and society in the coming decades.

The essay contest is organized in cooperation with the European Space Agency’s Research and Technology Centre (ESA/ESTEC), Instituto
Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE, Brazil), Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales
(CNES, France).

Girls are highly encouraged to participate in the contest.

Deadline of submission of essays: 30 July 2002.

For more information on the essay contest, please visit:

http://www.unesco.org/science/earthsciences/sep_essay_announcement.htm

10 Vol. XXVII, No. 1-2, 2002


STEE Activities Worldwide
8th Inter national Expo-Sciences
T his manifestation, the 8th of its kind,
was organised under the high patron-
age of UNESCO by the Mouvement Inter-
national pour le Loisir Scientifique et
Technique (MILSET), the town of Grenoble
and the Centre de Culture Scientifique,
Technique et Industrielle (CCSTI), Grenoble
Rhône Alpes .
It was held in Grenoble, France, from 9-14
July 2001 and attracted a record participa-
tion of 1,109 persons representing 54
countries from 4 continents.
The main objective of Expo-Sciences, held
every two years in a different country*, is
the popularisation of science and technol-
ogy among children and youths the world
over. Organised in teams representing their
region/country and accompanied by a
guide/teacher, they are asked to present a
concrete science/technology project to sci-
ence specialists and experts, educators,
industrialists - and the general public, mak-
ing use of their knowledge, inventiveness
and creativity. Thus, Expo-Sciences acts as a
unique forum where young persons from
countries all over the world can exchange
experiences, ideas and processes as well as
express their doubts and interrogations on
science and technology not only among
themselves but also before a wide public.
At the 8th International Expo-Sciences, as
many as 375 projects were presented by
the youths each afternoon to a total of over
Envir onmental Education in Cuba
Programmes and actions implemented by the Ministry of Education from 1997-2001
F ollowing the Environmental Education
Plan concretised in 1995 and 1998,
the Ministry of Education (MINED) contin-
ued developing concrete programmes and
actions in environmental education (EE) in
the 1997-2001 period, in collaboration
with the Ministry of Science, Technology
* The previous seven International Expo-Sciences were held at: Québec, Canada(1987); Brest, France (1989); Prague, Czech Republic
(1991); Amarillo, U.S. (1993); Kuwait city, Kuwait (1995); Pretoria, South Africa (1997) and Puebla, Mexico (1999).
Connect
STEE Activities Worldwide
Grenoble, France, 9-14 July 2001
12,000 visitors who came to the huge Alp-
Expo pavilion located in the outskirts of
Grenoble. Very often the visitors consisted
of families on vacation who came in with
their children.
Besides the projects, there were also a host
of shows, demonstrations and presenta-
tions of all kinds aimed at popularising sci-
ence and technology and targeted
specifically at children of all ages. These
included preparation of micro-rockets,
humoristic theatrical presentations,
quizzes, games, etc. If the afternoons were
devoted to the presentation of their pro-
jects to visitors, every morning between
500-600 of the participating youths were
taken to visit museums, laboratories,
research centres or very simply to indulge in
leisure and nature sports and other open air
activities.
One of the most popular activities of the
manifestation, proposed by the CCSTI of
Grenoble, was ‘Un Jour, une Manip’
(Hands-on activity of the day). Meant for
children and adults alike, a number of
important themes such as magnetism, Fou-
cault’s pendulum, informatics, etc., were
dealt with in a practical manner inviting –
and receiving – active public participation.
The Grenoble International Expo-Sciences
was an immense success for all the actors
of science and technology education. A
number of professional meetings were also
and the Environment (CITMA). It is this Plan
that fixed the conception of the work to be
done in EE and specific results to be
obtained in the 5 year period.
Consequently, the MINED focused upon
integrating the environmental dimension in
all disciplines with the following major
organised alongside such as the 1st meet-
ing of cultural mediators of the CSTI organ-
ised by the Office de Coopération et
d’Information Muséographiques (OCIM);
the annual congress of the Association des
Musées et Centres pour le développement
de la Culture Scientifique, Technique et
Industrielle (AMCSTI) and the international
meeting on scientific and technological
culture organised by the Collectif Interasso-
ciatif pour la Réalisation d’Activités Scien-
tifiques et Techniques, et Internationales
(CIRASTI).
The next International Expo-Sciences will be
held in Moscow, Russia, from 15-22 July
2003. The organisers expect to attract a
multitude of projects from all over the
world and are counting on the presence of
2,000 participants. A number of meetings,
visits and discussions between the youths,
renowned scientists and politicians are
planned for this manifestation which is
expected to be a festival of the youthful
intellect celebrating the spirit of coopera-
tion, research and friendship.
For further information contact :
CCSTI de Grenoble La Casemate
Place St Laurent 38000 Grenoble,
France.
Tel: (33-4) 76.44.88.77
Fax: (33-4) 76.42.76.66
http://www.ccsti-grnoble.org/somesi.html
results:
• Incorporation of the environmental
dimension as an integral part in each
type and level of teaching; its develop-
ment in formal and non-formal types of
education and its gradual reinforcement
in methodological work
11

• Development and incorporation of EE
with greater emphasis on teacher train-
ing
• Promotion and creation of environmen-
tal activities in selected schools and
polytechnics
• Implementation of an increased number
of educational projects, programmes
and experiences for the improvement of
local environments through problem-
solving approaches
• Gradual increase of educational activi-
ties with families and communities as
well as the development of publications,
videos and other educational means
and methods
The inclusion and association of the
environment, particularly in the sciences
and humanities, has been progressively
achieved, though with more encouraging
results in the sciences and in general edu-
cation. The environment is taken as the
subject and related to local ecological prob-
lems. Besides, a significant number of suc-
cessful extra-curricular activities are being
carried out which complement the envi-
ronmental work carried out in the classes.
The environmental dimension has also been
incorporated in pedagogy, curricula, practi-
cal work, research, extra-curricular activi-
ties, etc., at the Institutes of Education
(Instituto superior pedagogico - ISP) includ-
ing their branch for technical and voca-
tional education. There has been a marked
increase in the number of courses, degrees,
diplomas done in this period which has had
a positive influence by way of strategies
and concrete actions in careers, subjects
and specialities in the ISP.
Thanks to existing local experiences which
highlight the educational and participative
role of schools in the work of environmen-
tal protection, it has been seen that greater
participation of the family and community
forges stronger linkages and better results
in environmental work. However, it must be
pointed out that these results have been
more significant in suburban, rural and
mountainous zones and in small communi-
ties and popular councils than in big cities.
It is important to note that though environ-
mental work in the last triennium has
focused on the development of concrete
projects, research work and integral studies
and experiences, it has been based on the
conception that EE transforms and con-
tributes to solving diverse environmental
projects with community participation and
with intersectoral support. The following
projects are some notable examples:
12
STEE Activities Worldwide
Gestión para la Educación Ambiental (Man-
agement for EE) of the Ciudad Escolar Lib-
ertád; Cómo Realizar la Educación
Ambiental (How to achieve EE) in San
Cristobal, Piñal del Río; Proyecto de Preven-
ción del Parasitismo Intestinal y Protección
Ambiental (Prevention of intestinal para-
sitism and environmental protection pro-
ject) in Sierra del Escambray and Prevención
de los Desastres Naturales y Protección del
Medio Ambiente (Natural Disaster Preven-
tion and Environmental Protection) in Hol-
guín. Some of these projects include
activities that are still continuing in the pre-
sent term and have led to the development
of activities in other fields as well.
Moreover, the MINED has been the funda-
mental protagonist of the Environmental
Mission Project: children and youths for
sustainable development, a project in
which there has been a massive participa-
tion of regional schools and which has had
very positive results including publication of
the work done by the participants.
Some other notable examples of CITMA
projects in which the Education sector par-
ticipated were those related to EE in the
north zone of Sabana-Camaguey and Bio-
diversity of the south west of Cienaga de
Zapata as well as that of EE in coastal
ecosystems that has succeeded in creating
a movement for the protection of coastal
resources. The Ministry of Basic Industry
and the MINED together with the nickel
industry and concerned municipal delega-
tions have been developing in Moa, Hol-
guín, timely projects focusing on
environmental protection and education
related to ore extraction, risks of industrial
accidents and natural phenomena, refor-
estation of marshlands, etc., with wide
school participation.
The MINED, in conjunction with other insti-
tutions, has enlisted schools in the Pro-
gramme of Water Basins of National
Interest whose report spoke favourably of
the work of the Education sector asking for
its reinforcement and systematisation. From
1999 to 2001 the following programmes
were approved: National Drought and
Desertification Programme, National Pro-
gramme for Conservation and Improve-
ment of Soil and the Biological Diversity
Programme. These programmes, which
have been recognized as priorities by the
government, are being integrated into
schools so that they may develop concrete
educational activities on these subjects.
Another MINED programme that has had a
significant impact is the Programme for
Energy Saving which has generated activi-
ties in schools and communities on energy
saving and the rational use of natural
resources. In the schools affiliated to
UNESCO‘s Associated Schools Programme
(ASP) and certain Centres of Reference, EE
work has been systematised significantly as
well as linking it to other subjects such as
children’s rights, culture of peace, historico-
cultural heritage and equality of races.
Due to all the work accomplished in EE,
Cuba was selected for the celebration of
the World Environment Day on 5 June,
which saw a massive participation of chil-
dren, teachers and educators in all the
activities carried out and events celebrated
in the country.
The work that has been accomplished is
positive and favourable but it is necessary
to achieve greater promotion, systematisa-
tion, reinforcement and perfection as well
as generalising the best experiences. Based
on the activities and work carried out in the
schools, it can henceforth be affirmed that
EE has been incorporated - in one form or
another and albeit with varying degrees of
success, in all teaching centres. In order to
strengthen this work in the 2001-2003
biennium the MINED has set out Guidelines
for Work in EE which include notably:
• Strengthening of methodological work
at educational levels and departments
• Emphasising incorporation of EE in cur-
ricula
• Promoting and implementing innovative
projects
• Reinforcing work in suburban, rural and
mountain-region schools
• Encouraging work on the perception of
EE by students as well as teachers
• Developing teacher training and capac-
ity building
• Designing and perfecting dimensions,
indicators and variables for the evalua-
tion of processes, results and impacts
• Strengthening bonds between student
bodies, institutions and organisations
and the MINED as well as promoting
dissemination of information.
For further information contact:
Dr. Orestes Valdes Valdes
Instituto Central De Ciencias Pedagogicas
Ministerio De Educacion De Cuba
Calle 17 # 1 Esquina A Calle Ovedado
C.P 10400-Habana 4, Cuba
Fax: 00 537 33 56 52
E.Mail: ICCP@ICCP.RIMED.CU
Vol. XXVII, No. 1-2, 2002

Envir onmental Management Systems for
Cities:
Resource Kit & Training Workshops
T he International Environmental Tech-
nology Centre (IETC) of UNEP has
developed an Environmental Management
Systems (EMS) Resource Kit as part of the
development of a series of tools to help city
managers and officials build a framework
for enacting various urban environmental
strategies and activities. Primarily designed
for city managers and officials to use in the
design, implementation and operation of
EMS for their own cities, the kit contains
relevant materials and support resources
such as case studies, check-lists and ques-
tionnaires. As it has been recognized that
an integral part of the EMS process is the
training of city staff responsible for suc-
cessful establishment and maintenance of
EMS, the kit has also been designed to
serve as a resource for training.
Euthanasia: For or Against
National Conference of Polish UNESCO affiliated secondary schools
Czestochowa, Poland, 20-22 April 2001
T his national conference was organised
by the group of the C.K. Norwid Sec-
ondary Schools with financial support from
Bandku Handlowy and Warta and was
attended by 60 participants form Bialystok,
Gorzow Wielkopolski, Jelenia Gora, Nowy
Sacz, Wroclaw, Warszawa and Czesto-
chowa.
The participants included secondary school
teachers and students as well as doctors
and nurses. The purpose of the meeting
was to provide participants with informa-
tion related to the problem of euthanasia
and to make them aware of all the issues
involved in the practice of euthanasia in
Australia, Netherlands and USA.
Students taking part in the seminar were
asked to collect information in their region
on welfare organisations and those who
look after the old and the terminally ill.
Doctors and nurses, members of the Hos-
pice Care Association of Czestochowa
Region and who have been taking care of
Connect
STEE Activities Worldwide
Recognizing the need to train persons who
will be responsible for the environmental
management systems of cities, IETC has
also undertaken a series of training work-
shops for trainers. These efforts are increas-
ing the number of persons who can act as
trainers within their own cities or train oth-
ers who will be responsible for establish-
ment of EMS. The workshops, held in
Hungary and Singapore in past March and
May respectively, form the initial phase of
IETC’s urban environmental management
training programme. The training pro-
gramme will be offered globally, on a
regional basis, as well as within specific
countries should there be sufficient
demand. Other courses are also planned
for 2002 focusing on:
• Environmental Auditing
the ill since 1993, were invited to make
presentations and answer students’ ques-
tions.
The main part of the conference consisted
of two sessions held on 21 April. The first
session consisted of a film projection
related directly to the subject followed by a
discussion on whether the decision to com-
mit suicide was justifiable. The second ses-
sion was mainly devoted to the informative
presentations of invitees from the Hospice
followed by a general discussion.
Some of the conclusions of the conference
were that:
• Lack of information on the latest pain-
relieving techniques may account for
the popularity of euthanasia among
many medical personnel
• Euthanasia entertains the myth of free-
dom of choosing the moment of death
• Euthanasia represents lack of respect
and love for the sick and non-willing-
ness to take care of them
• Integrated Waste Management
• Energy Efficiency and Management
• Waste for Cities
Other relevant courses will be developed
and delivered on a demand basis – subject
to sufficient resources and availability of
partners.
For further information contact:
UNEP/IETC
2-110 Ryokuchi Koen Tsurumi-ku
Osaka 538-0036
Japan
Fax: (81-6) 6915-0304
E-mail: ietc@unep.or.jp
The purpose of the conference being infor-
mative, it did not aim to influence students’
thinking on the subject. It only intended to
give them the opportunity to learn more
about, and to reflect upon, the problem of
euthanasia. Collaterally, the very interesting
information collected by students from the
various regions of Poland showed that hos-
pice care and volunteer activity in the coun-
try still need to be developed.
For further information contact:
Ms Anna Cukier and
Mr Grzegorz Herman
Szkol im. Cypriana Kamila Norwida
Ul. Jasnogorska 8
42200 Czestochowa
Poland
E-mail: norwid@zsno.ids.czest.p
13
 STEE Centres, Associations, Networks…
STEE Centr es, Associations, Networks…
Inter national Network of Gover nment Offi cers in
Science and Technology Education (INGOSTE)
F ollowing the recommendations of
the World Conference on Science,
Budapest, 1999, which highlighted the
importance of education, as well as those
of the International Conference on Science,
Technology and Mathematics Education
(ICSTME), Goa, 2001, which called upon
governments to take action in renewing
and reforming science, technology and
mathematics education, UNESCO’s Section
for Science & Technology Education
launched an International Network of Gov-
ernment Officers in Science and Technology
Education (INGOSTE) in order to stimulate
action in STE at the governmental level in
the Member States of UNESCO.
The rationale behind the launching of this
network is that if effective changes are to
be made in the traditional modes of deliv-
ery of STE – and experts have long been of
the opinion that fundamental changes are
necessary to reverse the current trend of
falling interest in S&T - it is at the govern-
mental level that action has to be taken.
For in the majority of the countries around
Solid Waste Envir onmental Education Network
(SWEEN)
S WEEN, the Solid Waste Environmental
Education Network of the Organisa-
tion of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)*
was formed by environmental education
officers in solid and hazardous waste man-
agement of the region.
The network was proposed and endorsed
at the Regional Round Table discussion on
Solid and Ship Generated Waste Manage-
ment, which was recently held in Grenada.
The Round Table meeting was conducted
by the OECS through its Natural Resources
Management Unit (NRMU).
The objective of SWEEN is to serve as a
* The member states of the OECS are: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vin-
cent & the Grenadines
14
the world, STE is primarily delivered
through the formal education system which
is under government control. Thus, with-
out the active involvement of governmen-
tal bodies all efforts to reform STE are at
best doomed to be little more than pious
wishes.
Again, given the disparities in the level of
STE in diverse countries, the establishment
of communications between governmental
representatives in charge of STE across the
world would be an excellent way to share
information, knowledge, procedures, expe-
riences, etc., for the benefit of all con-
cerned.
The Ministries of Education of all UNESCO
Member States were thus requested to des-
ignate an STE specialist who would offi-
cially represent the country in this network
and serve as a focal point for exchange of
information on STE. Until new, over 60
countries worldwide have responded posi-
tively naming their representative in STE.
The network will facilitate access to infor-
mation on STE in each of the participating
mechanism for sharing information such as
best practices and solutions as well as to
update member countries on developments
pertaining to solid waste management.
The recently formed network has been
described as a success story of the OECS
Secretariat in facilitating collaborative
approaches towards the development of
member states. It will be chaired by
St. Lucia for the initial year with the NRMU
playing a supportive role.
SWEEN comprises environmental
education officers from Antigua and Bar-
buda, Dominica, Grenada, St.Kitts and
countries which will be stored in a data-
bank available to all the members of the
network. It is hoped that this will lead to a
permanent dialogue among the various
members on the initiatives, innovations,
successes, failures, specific problems, etc.,
encountered by each country. The constant
interflow of information should lead to a
better understanding of how to deal with a
variety of problems that beset STE special-
ists in various parts of the world, not the
least of which is that of attracting children
and youths to S&T in order to ensure the
future of a world increasingly dependent
on its applications as well as of convincing
the general public of the importance, as
responsible members of a democratic soci-
ety, of possessing at least a basic level of
scientific and technological knowledge.
For further information contact:
Section for Science and
Technology Education
(address on last page)
Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the
Grenadines.
For further information contact:
Raymond O’Keiffe,
Comm. Officer, NMRU
Email:pickon@mailcity.com
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
NMRU Morne Fortune
PO Box 1383, Castries, St Lucia
or
Carlene Jules SLSWMA 453-2208.
Dept of Environment Anguilla
(264) 497-2518
Vol. XXVII, No. 1-2, 2002

Sociedade Galega de Educación Ambiental
(SGEA)
T he Sociedade Galega de Educación
Ambiental (The Galician Society of
Environmental Education) is an indepen-
dent, non-profit association founded in
May 2001 in order to associate the efforts
of a large and varied section of educators
working for the promotion of EE in the
state of Galicia and who wish to affirm
their role in the society through a common,
action-oriented project.
The principal objective of the SGEA is to
contribute, through the various fields and
modalities of education, to the construc-
tion of a more just and equitable society in
the distribution and management of nat-
ural resources as well as in a more respon-
sible relationship with the environment.
The foundation of the SGEA is a response
to a need felt for many years by many envi-
ronmental educators in Galicia, geographi-
cally close but without mutual contact.
The Indigenous Science Network
T he Indigenous Science Network is an e-
mail based network that was initiated
after a combined meeting of participants at
the Conference of the Australian Science
Teachers Association (CONASTA) and the
Australasian Science Education Research
Association (ASERA) in Darwin in July 1999.
Since then the network has been in use for
communication between members.
The network currently counts about 75
members representing 12 countries from all
continents. They include a number of Aus-
tralian academics, practitioners and post-
graduate students, as well as some
academics and students from overseas.
Membership of the network has been
extended to all those who request it.
Bulletins are produced every second month.
Back issues can be accessed at the site as
Connect
STEE Centres, Associations, Networks…
Spain
Since its foundation, the SGEA has focused
its work fundamentally on consolidating its
structure, divulgating its objectives and
establishing permanent means of commu-
nication and contact among educators. In a
meeting in December 2001, members
of the association were called upon to
reflect, through exchange of ideas and
experiences, on professionalism as a neces-
sity for the development of EE in Galicia. At
the meeting, the first issue of the SGEA
bulletin was presented together with the
SGEA website (http://www.sgea.org).
Currently the association is working to
develop two poles of action:
• Working groups for training, local
Agenda 21, EE equipment and EE in for-
mal education
• “Encounters” programme in order to
keep constant contact with educators as
well as with the Galician environment.
Australia
well as the most recent issue. Recently the
bulletins were archived into a more useful
format and they can be accessed through
the website (http://www.ozemail.com.au
/~mmichie). Active links are given wherever
possible, including e-mail links, although
some older links may no longer exist. E-mail
is used in between bulletins to keep in
touch with members.
A number of items are incorporated into
the bulletins such as:
• information about conferences
• abstracts from conference papers and e-
mail contact with authors
• information about recent publications
• websites worth visiting
• members’ current projects.
There are two ways of accessing the Net-
work.
To this end a meeting with educators is
organised every two months in a differ-
ent locality where novel experiences in
EE, educational research or publications
of interest are presented
In the current year, the SGEA proposes to
develop a directory and to collaborate in
the organisation of a state-wide meeting of
EE associations.
For further information contact:
Sociedade Galega de
Pontevedr Ambiental
R/Curros Enríquez,
19 – 1° interior
32003 Ourense
Spain
• The first is to be listed among the
e-mail addresses of members (mail to:
mmichie@ozemail.com.au). After you
receive your first e-mail you can reach
the network by sending a message to all
or selected members.
• The other way is to access the bulletins
which are posted on the website every
two months at <http://www.ozemail.
com.au/~mmichie/network.html>. In
this way you only see the bulletins
rather than having the potential to take
part in any discussion.
For all further information contact:
Michael Michie
mmichie@ozemail.com.au
15
 Doing it & Telling it

Doing it & Telling it

EDUCodazzi: Natur e conser vation for school childr en near a
pr otected zone
Venezuela

Place: The Pico Codazzi Nature Monument in the Vargas, Miranda and Aragua states.

Target group: Pupils from three schools adjacent to the monument belonging to two age groups:10-15 yrs (Basic Education) and
16-17 yrs (Middle school) together with their teachers.

Introduction: This nature reserve is home to a great variety of fauna and flora associated with the tropical cloud forest. Seven
rivers, vital for the adjacent communities, spring from the reserve. But due to the expansion of agriculture, hunting, forest fires
and high urban pressure brought on notably by tourism, resources of this zone are imminently threatened. As a response, the
National Institute of Parks has developed an educational project targeting educational institutions in the surrounding areas, whose
objective is to inculcate conservation and management awareness and skills in its future caretakers.

Objectives: To develop a programme of educational activities and materials that are locally relevant and adapted to the charac-
teristics of the target groups in order to promote knowledge, appreciation and pro-environmental attitudes best suited for the
conservation and sustainable management of the nature monument Pico Codazzi.

Resources: The programme was implemented with financial support from the British Embassy. Two children’s activity handbooks and
one teacher’s manual were developed. The basic education level handbook was entitled Playing and Learning whereas that for the
middle school level was entitled Challenges in Codazzi. The teacher’s manual contained facts and figures with pedagogical sugges-
tions on their use at different educational levels in different subject areas. All were printed on recycled paper in green and black.

Methodology: Phase I consisted of researching pre-conceptions and interest areas. Thus, 15 teachers and 115 pupils were inter-
viewed in order to gauge their knowledge about the monument, its resources, centres of interest, activities to implement in the
zone and programme propositions.

In Phase II, going on from the results of the previous phase, appropriate materials were prepared and a plan charted for activities
to be undertaken.

Phase III was devoted to the development of the programme in the area. The first part was done in the schools through work-
shops with teachers and discussions and programmed activities with the children. These were followed by excursions with each
of the four participating groups consisting of discovery, exploration and knowledge gathering by means of games and environ-
mental interpretation based on the didactic material that had been produced.

Evaluation:
• Printed material: During production this was done through the views of experts on the form and contents. Later on, the suit-
ability of the selected format and contents was verified during the implementation of the programme.
• Programme activities: These were evaluated by means of a questionnaire based on the material, as well as what was learned
during the programme

Results: Although the activity did not allow evaluation of the impact on the environmental conditions that generated it, 97% of
the participants classed it 5 in a low-high scale of 1-5. Furthermore, 98% considered the experience highly satisfactory on a scale
of very unsatisfactory, unsatisfactory, satisfactory, very satisfactory and highly satisfactory. As for the variable of acquired knowl-
edge, participants noted the number of monuments, the major tourist resources included in the circuit, the rock carvings and the
rules and regulations. In the course of this year an evaluation is planned in order judge the long term learning effect of the activ-
ity among participating teachers and pupils and to gauge their pro-environmental attitudes with respect to this zone.

Sent by: José Alí Moncada y Ulandia Rávago, Dirección General Sectorial de Parques Nacionales, Instituto Nacional de Parques,
Ave. Rómulo Gallegos, Sta. Eduvigis, Caracas, Venezuela. Telefax: (00-58-212-285-30-70) e - mails: parqnacional@cantv.net.ve /
jmoncadar@hotmail.com

16 Vol. XXVII, No. 1-2, 2002

 Doing it & Telling it

Cr eating envir onmental awar eness in cyclone devastated

communities
Orissa, India
Place: Sanadhar village of Naharana G.P., Jagatsinghpur district, Orissa.

Target Groups: The village community as a whole

Introduction: The super-cyclone of 1999 that devastated the state of Orissa in eastern India caused large scale destruction not
only in terms of human and animal loss but also in terms of the deforestation that it occasioned seriously affecting ecological bal-
ance in the region. The Sanadhar village of Naharana G.P., in particular, which has a large area of community land where the state
government’s Department of Social Forestry had planted over 60,000 casuarina trees, suffered heavy damage in October 1999
when the cyclone left the entire forest barren. The trees formed a natural barrier between the village and the river on the other
side of the forest, besides preventing soil erosion, checking wind, conserving moisture, etc.

Objectives:
• To create environmental awareness in the villagers
• To raise a plant nursery
• To re-generate the forest devastated by the cyclone

Resources: The entire project was carried out under the Food for Work (FFW) programme supported by CARE-Orissa and imple-
mented by the People’s Forum.

Methodology:
As a start, training courses were organised for the village community with the purpose of raising environmental awareness and mak-
ing them realise the importance of the objectives of the project: starting a plant nursery and re-generating the forest in the cyclone
devastated land. Following the courses it became possible to mobilise the same villagers in June 2000 to start a plant nursery and to
plant as many as 60,000 saplings in the 27 acres of the community forest land in order to restore the forest to its pristine state.

Evaluation: No formal evaluation was made, but the interest shown by the villagers in nurturing and guarding the plants is a
good indication of the success of the project.

Results: The reforestation carried out in the community land resulted in a survival rate of over 90% - i.e. a total of 55,000
saplings, which now stand about 3 metres high. The villagers have recovered their forest through their own efforts and their vil-
lage has become a model for the surrounding communities. Our only regret is that due to limited resources we are not able to
extend our action for spreading greenery to other areas in need of similar projects.

Sent by: Alice Noronha, Executive Director, People’s Forum, 725/2 Gandamunda, Bhubanesar, Orissa, India.

Readers are invited to send us their FIELD experiences in Science/Technology/Environmental Education activities involving
the teaching/learning process - but not necessarily limited to students and teachers. They should be as brief as possible and set
under the following headings:

Place: Locality where the activity was carried out

Target Groups: For whom the activity was intended
Introduction: Background information - reasons for initiating the activity
Objectives: What was the activity expected to achieve?
Resources: Materials/funds needed for the activity
Methodology: The way in which the activity was carried out
Evaluation: How was the activity judged? By whom?
Results: Did the activity produce any concrete changes in the target group(s)?

Selected experiences will be published with the name and address of the author. Please address your contributions to: Doing it
and Telling it (address on last page)

Connect 17
 News & Publications

News & Publications

Science and technology at the heart of UNESCO Director-General’s visit
to the Islamic Republic of Iran, 16 - 19 Februry 2002
Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, paid an official particularly stressed the fact that “the exchange of scientific knowl-
visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran from 16 to 19 February 2002. In edge, the conduct of joint research projects, and the education of
Shiraz, he spoke to university students and teachers and representa- young scientists, engineers and technologists serve other purposes
tives of the scientific community, stressing the urgent need to rem- too. In particular, they help to create bridges linking people, insti-
edy the “growing unpopularity” of science and technology in tutions, societies and cultures more closely together”.
universities so as to be ready to meet the new economic, ethical and
political challenges of the early twenty-first century. It is thus vital, given the dynamics of globalization, to signal clearly
the importance of the cultural dimension of science as an instru-
“It is vital to make clear the explicit link between science and tech- ment of international cooperation, one that is particularly effective
nology, on the one hand, and economic and social development and in reducing social, digital and cultural divides and avoiding the
poverty eradication, on the other”, he said. The Director-General moral pitfalls of scientific progress that is not shared.

Data base of STEE resource persons/institutions in South Asia

UNESCO in collaboration with the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology has initiated a data-base of resource persons/institu-
tions, associations, organisations, etc., in South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka) involved in science, tech-
nology and environmental education (STEE). All those involved in STEE - educators, experts, specialists, volunteer workers…interested in
figuring in this comprehensive data base are kindly requested to contact: Dr Neelima Jerath, Principal Officer for Environment, Punjab
State Council for Science and Technology (PSCST), Adj. Sacred Heart School, Sector 26, Chandigarh, India. Fax: 0172-793143

The International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) has decided
to open up access to its INCHEM database on the Web free-of-
charge. The database contains a wealth of information including
notably the international evaluations of chemicals carried out by the
IPCS for over two decades, a range of documents on chemical safety,
environmental health criteria monographs, health and safety guides,
pesticide data sheets, etc. Internet address: www.inchem.org
The Central Information Agency for Science and Technology,
DPR of Korea, has published the latest 2001 edition of their Multi-
lingual Scientific and Technical Dictionary KWANGMYONG 2001
initially published on CD-ROM in 1998. Terms are given in 7 lan-
guages: Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean and
Russian. The dictionary, which has required the collaboration of
several hundred scientists, technicians, professors and experts con-
tains 3,000,000 entries and covers 210 sub-fields of agriculture,
atomic energy, biology, chemistry, construction, electrical engineer-
ing, electronics, geology, geography, informatics, light industry,
machines, mathematics, mechanics, medicine, metals, mining
engineering and physics. For further information contact: Ju
Gyong Son, Head of Exchange Section, CIAST of the Academy of
Sciences, PO Box 81, Wasan Dong, Podunamu St., Sosong Dis-
trict, Pyongyang, DPR of Korea. Fax: 850-2-381.2100
The French Centre National d’Enseignement à Distance
(CNED) (The National Centre of Distance Learning) has started a
higher education level training course in French entitled Eduquer à
l’environnement: de la réflexion à la pratique (EE: from theory to
practice) aimed at all those involved in activities of popularisation
/communication related to the environment. The 10 month course
includes 50 hours of training and registration is open all year
through. For further information contact: Eduquer à l’environ-
nement (Ref :P1004), CNED, BP200, 86980 Futuroscope Cedex,
France. http: //www.cned.fr

GRANTS AVAILABLE
ICRA Training Course on
Interdisciplinary Teamwork Research for Agricultural Development
13 January – 24 July 2003 (English) -- 20 January – 31 July 2003 (French)

The International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture (ICRA) has announced the availability of a few grants
worth 26,9001 as well as possibilities of co-financing for the above-mentioned training courses.

Deadline for applications: Grants – 1 July 2002; Enrollment: 1 October 2002.

For more information contact: ICRA, Agropolis International, Avenue Agropolis, 34394 Montpellier CX05, France. Fax: 33-
(0)467.04.75.26 E-mail: icra@agropolis.fr http: //www.icra.agropolis.fr

18 Vol. XXVII, No. 1-2, 2002

 News & Publications
For thcoming confer ences, workshops,
seminars…
Two courses organised by the Smithsonian Institution’s Monitor-
ing and Assessment of Biodiversity program (MAB) will be held at
its Conservation and Research Centre near Washington DC, USA:
• Biodiversity Assessment and Monitoring for Adaptive
Management Course, an intensive course for resource man-
agers, ecologists, biologists and environmental educators and
consultants from 12 May – 14 June 2002
• The Smithsonian Environmental Leadership Course, for
improving personal and team leadership, negotiation and
strategic planning skills and creating effective communication
in and across organisational cultures. 8 – 20 September 2002
Further information from: MAB Program, Smithsonian Institution,
1100 Jefferson Drive, SW, Suite 3123, Washington DC 20560-
0705, USA. Fax:202.786.2557. e-mail: simab@ic.si.edu http://
www.si.edu/simab
International Conference on Trends in Mathematics Educa-
tion, Beirut, Lebanon, 26 – 28 June 2002. More information
from: May Abboud (E-mail: mabboud@lau.edu.lb) or Sameer
Habre (E-mail: shabre@lau.edu.lb)
The 16th Caretakers of the Environment International Confer-
ence on Sustainable mobility and ICT will take place in Turin
(Italy) from 29 June - 3 July 2002. Further information from:
Giusy Spinasanta – COREP, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24 - 10129
TORINO, Italy. FAX +39 0115645199 http://www. lamp.polito.it/
globalconvention/index2.htm
N.B. change of dates: 17th International Conference on Chemical Education, Beijing, China, 6-10 August 2002 (from 18-23
August 2002).
http://www.iupac.org/symposia/conferences/17icce
EECOM 2002 conference: COMMUNAUT’ERE:Les défis de l’éd-
ucation relative à l’environnement centrée sur la commu-
nauté (COMMUNIT’EE: Community centred challenges in
environmental education) to be held in Montréal, Canada, from
12-15 August 2002. More information from: AQPERE, Con-
férence EECOM 2002, 6400, 16e Avenue, Montréal (Québec),
Canada H1X 2S9. Fax: (514) 376-1905. E-mail:aqpere@crose-
mont.qc.ca http://www.eecom.org
ICM-2002: International Satellite Conference on Mathemat-
ics Education, organised by the Tibet University in Lhasa, Tibet,
China, from 12-17 August 2002. More information from:
Mr. Yutian Fei, Department of Mathematics, Tibet University, Lhasa,
Tibet, 850000, China Email: xzsxh@campus.utibet. edu.cn
<www.math.ecnu.edu.cn/ meeting/Conference.htm>
Training programme on Leadership and Adaptive Manage-
ment in Forest Environment comprising five short courses and
one seminar offered by the International Agricultural Centre (IAC),
Netherlands, 9 September – 22 November 2002. Further infor-
Connect
International Design and Technology Research Conference
organised by the Design & Technology Association, UK, will be held
in Wellesbourne, UK from 2-5 July 2002. More information from:
Natalia Link, Managing Editor, DATA, 16 Wellesbourne House,
Walton Road, Wellesbourne CV35 9JB, UK. Fax:01789-841955
E-mail:natalia@data.org.uk http://www. data.org.uk
Conference on Creativity in Mathematics Education organised
by the Latvian Education Informatization System (LIIS), to be held
in Riga, Latvia, 15-19 July 2002. More information from: LIIS
izveide, University of Latvia, Raina bulv. 19, Riga, LV 1586, Latvia.
Fax: 7 034 513 E-mail: info@liis.lv http://www.liis.lv
Third Interdisciplinary Conference of the International Soci-
ety of the Arts, Mathematics and Architecture organised by
the Pedagogical University of Freiburg in cooperation with the Uni-
versity of Albany - N.Y.,USA, will be held in Freiburg im Breisgau,
Germany, 22 - 26 July 2002. Further information from: Prof. Diet-
mar Guderian, Institute of Mathematics, Informatics and their
Didactics, Pedagogical University Freiburg, Kunzenweg 21, 79117
Freiburg, Germany. Fax +761 682 525. e-mail: isama2002@ph-
freiburg.de http://www.ph-freiburg.de/ISAMA2002
Fifth Annual International Conference of BRIDGES: Mathematical
Connections in Art, Music, and Science organised by Towson Uni-
versity from 27-29 July 2002 in Baltimore, MD, USA. More informa-
tion from: rsarhangi@towson.edu www.sckans. edu/~bridges
mation from: IAC, PO Box 88, 6700 AB Wageningen, The Nether-
lands. Fax: +31-317-495.395 E-mail: training@iac.agro. nl
http://www. iac.wageningen-ur.nl
International Conference: The Humanistic Renaissance in
Mathematics Education organised by The Mathematics Educa-
tion into the 21st Century Project to be held in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
from 20-25 September 2002. Further information from:
Dr A. Rogerson, ul LISTOPADOWA 1/45, 60-153 POZNAN,
Poland.E-mail: arogerson@vsg.edu.au http://www.math. unipa.it/
~grim/palermo 2002
The European Space Agency’s Research and Technology Centre
(ESA/ESTEC is organizing, in cooperation with UNESCO, space
events on 6-7 October 2002 in Noordwijk, Netherlands as part
of the World Space Week 2002 celebration. Activities foreseen
are a personal appearance and presentation of a European astro-
naut, a Virtual Reality tour of the International Space Station (ISS)
and a walking tour of the International Space Station User Infor-
mation Centre. The events are open to students, educators and
19
 News & Publications

the general public aged 12 and above. For more information and
pre-registration, please visit: http://www.esa.int/worldspaceweek
An International Seminar on Education for Science and
Technology designed for directors, managers and supervisors of
educational institutions and systems has been announced by the
Aharon Ofri International Training Center of MASHAV to be held
in Jerusalem, Israel, from 29 October – 27 November 2002.
For further information contact: Aharon Ofri International Train-
ing Center, Ramat Rachel, D.N. Tsafon Yehuda 90900, Israel. Fax:
972-2-670.25.38. E-mail: ofriaa@netvision.net.il
Por una educación que permita preservar la naturaleza
para las presentes y futuras generaciones (Promoting nature
conservation education in the interests of present and future
generations) is the title of the 1st Symposium on Environmental
Education organised by the Centro de Estudios para la Edu-
cación Ambiental (CEEA) to be held in Granma, Cuba, 22-24
November 2002. For further information contact: Lic. Sergio
Torres Zamora, Director del CEEA, Carretera Blanquizal Km1,
Manzanillo, Granma, Cuba 87510. Tel: 5-4779 E-mail:
ceea@isp.granma. inf.cu

Publications

Teaching about Climate Change: Education et environnement à

Cool schools tackle global warming
(2001, 80 p.)This new anthology by
the Green teacher offers a frame-
work for teaching fundamental con-
cepts and a variety of activities that
can be undertaken in school, at
home and in the community. Includes
experiments demonstrating the
greenhouse effect, school energy and
waste audits, hands-on explorations
of energy as well as up-to-date lists of learning resources and
related organisations. Price:US$12.95 (+s&h). Bulk rates possible.
(Also available in French as: Des idées fraîches de l’école : activ-
ités et projets pour contrer les changements climatiques). For
copies contact : Green Teacher, 95 Robert Street, Toronto, ON,
Canada M5S 2K5. Fax: (416)925-3474 http://www. green-
teacher.com
l’école secondaire (EE in secondary
school) (2001, 311 p.) by L. Sauvé.
This work is the fruit of a collabora-
tive work carried out from 1996-
2000 by a research group of the
Université de Québec à Montréal and
one composed of teachers and edu-
cators from local secondary schools.
It consists of a brief presentation of
the methodological processes used,
followed by the description of nine model approaches of inter-
vention in EE developed by the teachers and educators and finally
a project for continuing education. French only. For further
information contact: Les Editions Logiques, 7, chemin Bates, Out-
remont, Québec, Canada H2V 1A6. Fax: (514) 270-3515
http://www.logique.com

World Environmental Library (2000) This CD-ROM, initiated and Community Development library (2001) This is a practical
coordinated by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technis- CD-ROM edited by Human Info NGO in coopera-
che Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and the Human Info tion with other partner organisations.
NGO in cooperation with World Information Intended to help prevent poverty,
Transfer (WIT), World Resources Insti- increase human potential and pro-
tute (WRI) and the United Nations vide education for all, it con-
University (UNU), contains tains 1,550 publications
400 publications in the field of including 32,000 images and
environment containing 12,000 160,000 pages. Treats subjects
images and 45,000 pages of ideas like: Agriculture, aquaculture,
and solutions on topics such as: Biodi- economy, education, forestry, gen-
versity, Climate Change, Energy, Health, der, industry, nutrition, sanitation,
Sustainable Development, Waste Manage- society and water. For information
ment and Water. For information on obtaining on obtaining copies contact: Human
copies contact: Human Info NGO, Oosterveldlaan 196, B-2610 Info NGO (address above)
Antwerp, Belgium. Fax:32-3-449.75.74 E-mail:wel@humaninfo.
org

20 Vol. XXVII, No. 1-2, 2002

 News & Publications

Superkid Science information and

Quiz (2001, 87 p.); amusement – to 6-12
Superchild Science yr old children. Price:
Quiz (2001, 108p.); The +/- US$1 each. Order
little about Scientists from: Rupa & Co, 7/16,
and Inventors all should Ansari Road, Daryaganj,
know (2001, 86p.) by D. New Delhi 110 002, India.
Salwi are three publications Fax: (91-11) 327.7294
aimed at providing accessible E-mail: rupa@ndb.vsnl.net.in

L’Eau partagée: Approche péda- Educação Ambiental: Princípios e

gogique (Sharing water: an educa-
tional approach) (2001, 30 mn). This
video-cassette was produced by the
Syndicat Intercommunal de Distribu-
tion d’Eau de la Corniche des Mau-
res, France, in collaboration with
UNESCO/ED/STE following an edu-
cational experience undertaken by
schools and the community in the
South of France and a Sahelian vil-
lage in Burkina Faso threatened by desertification. French only.
For copies contact: Connect (address on last page)
Prácticas (2000, 551 p.) by G. Freire
Dias, is the 6th revised and updated
version of a very extensive work on
EE at the international and Brazilian
level. Includes reports on the major
conferences and events as well as
discussions on important issues,
case studies, periodicals, etc. Por-
tuguese only. Information on
copies from: Editoria Gaia, Rua
Pirapitingui, 111-A, Liberdade, CEP 01508-020 – São Paulo – SP,
Brazil. Fax: (11)3277-8141 E-mail: gaia@dialdata.com.br

Secrets à dire sur l’environ- Hydrogen Futures: Toward a Sus-

nement (Let me tell you a secret tainable Energy System (2001, 92
about the environnement) (2001, 20 p.) by S. Dunn, is a Worldwatch
p.) is a colourful booklet of the Euro- Institute publication. The author
pean Commission addressed to 6-10 holds that in a world fuelled by con-
yr old children. Written in a story- cerns about air pollution, energy
form, the booklet aims to raise security and climate change, interest
awareness on 3 environmental issues in hydrogen, the simplest and most
: waste proliferation; ozone layer abundant element in the universe,
depletion and global warming. Pub- as fuel resource is rising. But to help
lished in 11 languages: Danish, governments arrive at a hydrogen
Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Por- economy stronger public policies and educational efforts are
tuguese, Spanish and Swedish. For copies contact: Mme M.A. essential. Price US$5 (+s&h). Order from: Worldwatch Institute,
Pauwels, European Commission. Fax :31-2-299.61.98. PO Box 879, Oxon Hill, MD20797, USA.

Youth, sustainable consumption YouthXchange: towards sustain-

patterns and lifestyles (2001, 214
p.) reflects the results of the
UNESCO/UNEP joint project on Youth,
Sustainable consumption and Life
styles launched in March 2000
(v. Connect, Vol. XXVI, No.1-2,
2001). This report attempts to under-
stand some preliminary youth atti-
tudes towards consumption and to
evaluate the potential role of young
people in a transition towards sustainable consumption lifestyles. For
copies contact: Julia Heiss, Programme Specialist, UNESCO/
ED/STE (address last page). E-mail: j.heiss@unesco.org
able lifestyles. The Guide (2001,
52 p.) is a training kit on responsible
consumption produced jointly by
UNESCO and UNEP following their
joint project on sustainable con-
sumption mentioned above and
treats topics such as food, air pollu-
tion, tourism, waste reduction,
energy saving, climate change, water, human rights and globali-
sation. For copies contact: Julia Heiss (see above)

Connect 21
 News & Publications
Gender, Science & report work in Malawi,
Technology: Participation
and Performance in Africa
(2001, 126 p.); ed. V. Reddy, P.
Naidoo, M. Savage. This publication
of the African Forum for Children’s
Literacy in Science and Technology
(AFCLIST) contains papers presented at two
Gender and Science and Technology Confer-
ences (Malawi, 1997 and Ghana, 1999) which
Language & Literacy in Science Education (2001, 160 p.) by
J. Wellington and J. Osborne is an accessible book which explores
the main difficulties of the language of science and examines
practical ways to aid students in understanding, reading, speak-
ing and writing scientific language. Aimed at pre- and in-service
secondary science school teachers as well as science advisers and
school mentors. Price: £14.99 (paperback). Order from: Open
University Press, Celtic Court, 22 Ballmoor, Buckingham, MK18
1XW, UK. Fax: +44(0)1280-82.32.33 E-mail:enquiries@openup.
co.uk http://www.openup.co.uk
Principles and Practices in Arithmetic Teaching: Innovative
Approaches for the Primary Classroom (2001, 224 p.) edited by J.
Anghileri. This book shows contrasting influences for change in
traditional arithmetic teaching dominated by a focus on standard
algorithms, with leading mathematics educators from the
Netherlands, UK and USA identifying the way research is used to
develop different classroom practices. Price £15.99 (pb); £50
(hb). Order from: Open University Press (address above).
Scol’Air: mallette pédagogique is a resource kit on air pollution
for primary school children. The objective of the kit is to inform
children of the problems of air pollution, to make them aware of
their role in combating it and encourage them to act. Developed
by environmentalists in close collaboration with teachers, trainers
and educators the kit contains informative brochures, question-
naires, material for experiments, posters, projection slides as well
as supplementary information. In French only. For all further
information contact: Association pour la Surveillance de la
Qualité de l’Air en Picardie, 44 rue Alexandre Dumas, 890094
Amiens Cedex, France. Fax: (33-3)22.33.66.96 http://www.
atmo-picardie.com
Educational Illustrations (2001) by Ric Lowe is a practical guide
for teachers, instructional designers, illustrators and publishers of
educational materials. It is designed for all those who select, use,
design or create illustrations to support learning. Science, tech-
nology and environmental education are increasingly reliant on
diagrams, graphics and other forms of illustration to present chal-
lenging subject matter. However, for learners to benefit from
these illustrations, they must be properly designed. This book
covers fundamental principles of visual learning and how they
can be applied to make illustrations more effective. US$25.00 +
s&h. Order from :Curtin Bookshop, Curtin University of Technol-
ogy, GPO Box U 1987, Perth WA, Australia 6845. FAX: +61 8
9266 3188 Email: cubs@bookshop.curtin.edu.au
22
Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South
Africa and Zanzibar. For copies
contact: AFCLIST, University of
Durban-Westville, Pvt Bag X54001,
Durban 4000, South Africa
FaxL27)31-262-8044 E-mail: afclist@
pixie. udw.ac.za or AFCLIST, Chancellor
College, PO Box 280, Zomba, Malawi.
Fax: (265)522-046 E-mail: afclist@Malawi.net
Studies in Science Education is an international review of
research, policy and related issues for all who are interested in the
education dimensions of science. Published by the Centre for
Studies in Science and Mathematics Education, University of
Leeds (U.K.), it is intended to complement other journals by pro-
viding reviews of research on specific aspects of science educa-
tion and by drawing together, in analytical surveys, recent
contributions which may be published in widely scattered loca-
tions. The editor welcomes approaches from prospective authors
who feel that their research experience qualifies them to write a
comprehensive review of studies in a particular field. More infor-
mation from: <http:education.leeds.ac.uk/~edu//sse/home.
htm> Subscription enquiries: Studies in Education, Driffield
Road, Nafferton, Yorkshire YO25 0JL, U.K.
Education à l’environnement: six propositions pour agir en
citoyens (EE : 6 propositions for responsible citizenship) (2001, 80
p.) coord. P. Robichon, C. Souchon, Y. Ziaka, is the result of a col-
lective work based on the conviction that the finality of EE is to
form responsible citizens and that to do this it is essential to deal
with the three ruptures that the planet today is suffering from:
rupture between humans and nature; rupture among humans
themselves and rupture between societies. To this end, the
publication presents six propositions backed by case-studies.
Available in French and English. Further information from:
Editions Charles Léopold Mayer, 38 rue Saint Lubin, 75011 Paris,
France. Fax: (33-1)48.06.94.86 E-mail:diffusion@fph.fr
Introduction to Environmental Management Self-study
Course (2001, 408 p.) based on Industrial Environmental
Management, A Practical Handbook by Jack. E. Daugherty, is
designed as a guide to hands-on, day-to-day environmental man-
agement. The course provides a thorough introduction for those
new to the field or those needing a thought provoking refresher.
Students learn the practicalities of understanding environmental
hazards, controlling air and water pollution, managing hazardous
wastes, implementing pollution prevention programmes, dealing
with compliance audits and regulatory inspections, etc. Each les-
son is followed by a self-test. US$495+postage. More informa-
tion from: Martin Heavner, Self-study Director, ABS Consulting
Inc,4 Research Place, Suite 200, Rockville MD 20850-3226, USA.
Tel: 301-921-2345. Fax: 301-921-0373 http://www.absconsult-
ing.com
The Science of Cooking (2001, 244 p.) by P. Barham sets out to
demonstrate that a kitchen is no different from most science lab-
Vol. XXVII, No. 1-2, 2002
 News & Publications

oratories and cookery may properly be regarded as an experi-
mental science. Food preparation and cookery involve many
processes which are well described by the physical sciences and
so understanding the chemistry and physics of cooking should
lead to improvements in performance in the kitchen! £19.95 +
VAT & shipping. Order from: Springer-Verlag, 1, rue Paul
Cezanne, 75008 Paris, France. http://www.springer.de
Applied Environmental Education and Communication is an
international quarterly peer-reviewed journal featuring articles for
academics and practitioners, a discussion and editorial section
and reviews of books and materials. It has announced a Call for
Papers for its coming issues. For more information contact: Brian
A. Day, Editor, Academy for Educational Development, 1825 Con-
necticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA. Fax:202-
884.8997 E-mail:AEEC@aed.org
IAEA Bulletin, the quarterly journal of the International Atomic
Energy Agency, contains in its Vol.43, No3, 2001, a special sup-
plement entitled Advancing the Agenda on IAEA’s technical
cooperation in support of the Earth Summit’s Agenda 21. Also
contains interesting articles on Energy, Technology and Sustain-
able Development and IAEA’s project on saline soils. For copies
write to: IAEA, Division of Public Information, PO Box 100,
Wagramerstrasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria. http://www.
iaea.org

Volunteers needed for Sea Turtle Conservation Work in Greece

ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, which conducts conservation projects on all major nesting grounds of the
loggerhead in Greece invites volunteers for:

• the year 2002 nesting season (May-October) on Zakynthos, Crete and Peloponnesus, opportunities for fieldwork, public aware-
ness and maintenance
• all year round at ARCHELON’s Rescue Centre in Athens, work on sea turtle rehabilitation, public awareness and maintenance

Basic accommodation with cooking facilities provided. Research opportunities are available for graduate and undergraduate
students.

Requirements:

• minimum age 18 years

• minimum 4-week commitment
• capacity to cope with challenging work and basic living conditions
• capacity to communicate in English

Further information from: ARCHELON, The Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, Solomou 57, GR-10432 Athens, Greece.
Tel/Fax: +30-10-523.13.42. E-mail: stps@archelon.gr

Connect 23
 Viewpoint

Viewpoint
Dear Sir/Madam,

We are a common initiative group (sustainable agriculture for poverty alleviation and environmental protection) SAPAEP-CIG,
based in the south west province of Cameroon. We are actively involved in working with the rural masses as sustainable agricul-
ture and environmental protection are the only way to protect the environment and conserve biodiversity.

We have been working as service providers in these domains with the Mount Cameroon Project, Limbe -Cameroon, for the rural
populations in the Mount Cameroon region.

We would therefore be pleased to share ideas with other organizations also involved in similar activities.

Best regards.
Shu Moses Ngwa
Public Relations Officer, SAPAEP, P.O.BOX 1205, Limbe, Cameroon.

If you have something concerning STEE to communicate to us - information, suggestions, opinions, ideas - on events or even the
articles in Connect, write to us - briefly. The most interesting letter(s) will be published, in substance, with the sender's name.
Send your letters to Viewpoint, address below.

CONNECT is also available on the Science and Technology Education homepage:

http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/ste/index.html

Due to staff shortage, it is no longer possible to attend to requests for mailing list changes without the SUBSCRIPTION
NUMBER (top right hand corner of address label).

Unless otherwise stated, all correspondence concerning Connect should be addressed to:
Editor, Connect, UNESCO/ED/STV/STE, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris Cedex 07, France. Fax: (33-1) 45.68.56.26
E-mail: d.bhagwut@unesco.org
N.B. Replies to unsolicited correspondence cannot be ensured

Connect
REC

R
PE

YC
LE PA
Editorial Board:
Save trees.
Chairman: J. Daniel Published by UNESCO
This issue is printed on recycled paper
Assistant Director-General for Education Education Sector not retreated with chlorine.
W. Iwamoto Connect is also published in French as
7, place de Fontenoy
M. J. Pigozzi Connexion, in Spanish as Contacto, in
75352 Paris 07 SP Russian as Kontakt, in Arabic as Arra-
M. Nalecz
France. bita, in Chinese as Lianjie and in
O. Hall-Rose Hindi as Sampark.
K. Langer (WOCATE) Tel: (33-1) 45.68.08.09 Connect is free. Reproduction of its
contents is not only permitted, it is
W. Goldstein (IUCN) Fax: (33-1) 45.68.56.26
solicited and encouraged; please send
Editor: D. Bhagwut E-mail: d.bhagwut@unesco.org clippings, if used.

24 Vol. XXVII, No. 1-2, 2002