2007-08 Symposium: Global Warming and the Environment
On November 7th, 50 school teams will again join CIE at the World Bank to learn about issues caused by Global Warming and how to take action in their schools and communities. (Note: this year's symposium will be held in the fall based on feedback from previous participants.)
Teams will learn how one person can make a difference by taking local action in response to the larger, global issue of climate change. These tools are participatory—they engage students and teachers in leadership skills and they enable students and teachers to make a difference in their schools and communities.
When: Wednesday, November 7, 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Where: The World Bank's Pearson Auditorium (directions)
Who: High school and middle school teams of one to two teachers and two to three motivated young leaders
Goals of the Symposium
The one-day symposium will combine the following components in an effort to educate and prepare today's youth to become leaders through collaborative work with their teachers and schools in addressing critical global issues.
- Educate student-teacher teams about the issues and component of global warming
- Motivate them with speakers who have made differences in their communities and in the world
- Teach skills for designing and implementing an action plan with a step-by-step training guide
- Connect teams to resources from environmental organizations to assist action plans
- Challenge teams to deliver outcomes
- Network with other students and teachers taking action in their schools and communities
Outstanding Speakers
Majora Carter, a South Bronx native, is connecting poverty alleviation & the environment - in ways that benefit both concerns, demonstrating Clean-Tech solutions for our most persistent urban public health & global climate concerns. She founded Sustainable South Bronx in 2001 to fight for Environmental Justice through innovative, economically sustainable projects that are informed by community needs. Majora is a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship "genius grant" and is the co-host of The Green on the Sundance Channel.
Mike Tidwell is founder and director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in Maryland, Virginia, and DC. He will speak about the critical components of climate change that are affecting and changing our planet. He is also an author and filmmaker who predicted in vivid detail the Katrina hurricane disaster in his 2003 book Bayou Farewell: The Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana’s Cajun Coast. His newest book, focusing on Katrina and global warming, is titled The Ravaging Tide: Strange Weather, Future Katrinas, and the Coming Death of America's Coastal Cities.