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HERODOT NEWS
Citizenship group - 21st century Geography - Innovative teaching group - Lifelong learning group
TP1 Citizenship, Culture, Place and identity
Co-ordinators: Margaret Keane; Maria Villanueva
This group will hold seminars and proudce publications on the European dimension in Geography. It will support course development linking research to teaching and learning. The group are currently working on a research plan and will hold its first meeting in Belfast Thursday January 18th - Sunday January 21st 2007. If you are interested in attending please contact Karl
Donert.
Rationale:
The world is being deeply reshaped by knowledge technologies which are impervious to political boundaries in a mobile globalising society. Economic and cultural exchanges have been accelerated and in Europe the results are affecting the social environment, everyday life and social governance. The relationship between society and territory is being reorganised. This has ramifications for the role of states because economic activities are operating beyond state limits and because both supranational and regional organisations are also taking over part of their competences. The distinction between local and global is blurred, as places in Europe can no longer be understood except in the context of their relations with the world beyond, for they are meeting places of peoples whose different stories have become entangled. Migration and mobility underpin the new European identity and this is transforming Europe into a complex multi-cultural, multi-faith and pluri-lingual society. Yet, national identities still maintain their significance. Racism and xenophobia suggest a lack of understanding of the pace of change. At the same time, employers increasingly seek candidates who are able to cross cultural divides in the workplace.
These changes require new ways of understanding, new knowledge, attitudes and skills to work and live in contemporary European society. Geography, in this analysis of the relationships between society and territory, has a very relevant role in the development of critical thought and of European citizens. Join the discussion on the HERODOT community
TP2: Geography for 21st century
Co-ordinator: Maria Attard
The first meeting will be held in Malta, Thursday 22nd - Sunday 25th March 2007
The goal of this working group is to communicare Geography into society; to improve the awareness of the significance of geography in society: The group will seek to establish ways to promote and lobby for geography and geography education. If you are interested in attending please contact Karl
Donert.
Join the discussion on the HERODOT community
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TP3: Innovative teaching in and about Europe
Co-ordinators: Daniela Schmeinck, Olivier Mentz and Yvonne Schleicher
The first meeting of this group will be in London Monday 9th April 2007 (arrival 8th April) prior to the IGU/HERODOT event in London. Join the discussion on the HERODOT community
This pillar will focus on innovative and effective concepts in Geography Teacher Education. The first planning-session will look at three main activities (workshops on fieldwork, Geoinformation/ICT/E-Learning, forgotten/rare/modern/unique approaches). The work of the group will focus on the following themes:
- needs for Europe
- major European issues
- Geography in a changing world
- sustainable development
- globalisation
- local issues linked to innovation and future
- exciting learning and teaching Geography
- enhancing the effectiveness of both formal and non-formal Geography education
- excellence in learning and teaching
If you would like to participate in the pillar please contact Daniela Schmeinck (email: schmeinck@ph-karlsruhe.de)
TP4: Lifelong learning and employability
Co-ordinators: Marius Matache and Stelian Dimitrov
What sort of Geography will make our students more employable? What Geographical skills are needed by employers? This working gropup will seek to understand some of the issues involved and to provide guidance for those developing courses.
5 - 7 January - Thematic Pillar 4 workshop, meeting in Sofia, the theme of this working meeting is about what we can do to improve the employability of Geography graduates. Join the discussion and read the documents on the Geography forum.
RECENT NETWORK EVENTS
Karl Donert lectured on the theme of Geography and Citizenship at the EGEA Winter School conference in Utrecht in December 2006 and he also introduced the work of the HERODOT network to more than 60 student delegates. Members of EGEA will join the first working group meeting on employability and lifelong learning, to be held in Sofia 5-7 January 2007.
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FORTHCOMING NETWORK EVENTS
Joint HERODOT/IGU Conference: There will be a HERODOT/ IGU Commission for Geographical Education British Sub-Committee conference on the theme “Changing Geographies: Innovative Curricula” at the Institute of Education, University of London on 10-11 April 2007, with an optional London field excursion on 12 April to the site of the London Olympics included in the conference fee of £240. Full papers should be sent to Glenda Wall wallg@hope.ac.uk by 31 January 2007.
Delegates will book their own accommodation, but information about this can be found on the Web site http://hopelive.hope.ac.uk/international/karld/IGU/
DATE FOR YOUR DIARY
2007 HERODOT Conference 24-27 September 2007, Stockholm. this major event will be held jointly with ESRI Europe, further information and details to follow.
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FUNDING NEWS No. 13
This section
provides information on funds available for Geographers. You can contact Karl Donert if you
want informal advice on any applications you are considering. HERODOT News
aims to provide members will useful information concerning opportunities to
access funds to further collaboration and for
projects. Funding workshops are planned in the future, contact Karl Donert if you would like to
participate.
New Lifelong learning project opportunities - the European Commission will announce the new funding opportunities under the lifelong learning programme (2007-2013). Many funding possibilities exist, for higher education, teacher training and professional development. The deadline for most applications will be 30 March 2007. Further information http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/newprog/index_en.html and http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/static/index.htm
WWF Kathryn Fuller Fellowships 2007-2008
World Wildlife Fund announced the opening of its 2007-2008 Kathryn Fuller Fellowship competition. Two post-doctoral fellowships will be awarded for a two year period to individuals with outstanding research proposals that are of fundamental and immediate importance to global biodiversity conservation.
Fuller Fellows can be based at any institution, including at World Wildlife Fund, and will co-advised by one academic and one WWF mentor. Fellows are provided a stipend of $50,000 per year, as well as a $15,000 annual research allowance. Applicants should have received a doctorate degree between January 2002 and January 2007. For more information, application guidelines, and on-line application forms, please visit www.worldwildlife.org/sfn
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Tourism Cares for Tomorrow Worldwide Grant Program
As part of its mission, Tourism Cares for Tomorrow distributes charitable grants to worthy tourism-related non-profit organizations worldwide. http:ourismcaresfortomorrow.org
Geographical Association International Initiatives Fund
Awards (usually £250-£750) are available for individual Geography educators or for GA members to travel and exchange ideas of good practice in teaching and learning. Each year some awards are also given to educators from outside the UK so they can attend the Annual GA conference (held in April each year).
Closing date for application is 30th April each year, for the academic year starting the following September. For details and application form see the GA Web site at http://www.geography.org.uk/funding or contact Sarah Maude sarah@maudes.net
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GEOGRAPHY NEWS
Geographers scoop awards down under
Professor Iain Hay of Flinders University was awarded the Prime Minister's award, for the Australian university teacher of the year. He also won one of three awards for Teaching Excellence in Social Sciences. Associate Professor Richard Baker of The Australian National University who was awarded one of three Teaching Excellence Awards in Biological Sciences, Health and Related Studies.
The full list of awards is available at:
http://www.carrickinstitute.edu.au.
Europe’s Geographical Challenges, the EUGEO Conference 2007 is the first major conference to be organised by the European Association of Geographical Societies, on 20 - 23 August 2007. It is open to everyone involved in geography in Europe and/or interested in the geography of Europe. It is organised by the Dutch Geography Society (KNAG) and will be held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Web site http://www.eugeo2007.org/
Italo-Maltese Geography workshop The Workshop will provide the opportunity to present current research on the relationships that exist between the geomorphological environment, cultural heritage and tourism promotion both in Malta and at an international level. Dates 25-27 April 2007. If interested please visit http://www.terra.unimore.it/maltaworkshop/
China - India glaciers:
Amid concerns of accelerated glacier retreat in the
Himalayas, India and China have agreed to carry out a joint scientific expedition in these mountains to study the effects of global warming.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1875659,0008.htm
Mongolian wildlife:
International conservationists have warned of a
catastrophic decline in wildlife in Mongolia.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6172207.stm
Alpine spring:
With trees bursting into bud and ski runs looking like
spring meadows, the Alpine winter appears to have been
cancelled. http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2081644.ece
Carpathian agreement:
Seven European nations sharing the Carpathian
mountains agreed recently to do more to protect the
environment to help attract tourists and safeguard
wildlife such as brown bears, lynx and eagles.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L13218191.htm
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20966&Cr=&Cr1
Alaskan Dumping Coeur Alaska has proposed turning Lower Slate Lake
into a dumping ground for 4.5 million tons of
waste expected from the Kensington gold mine on
Alaska's panhandle. http://tinyurl.com/y3no6b
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Geography in the Americas conference website is now available with information about accommodation, registration, paper submission, and other details: http://www.geographyintheamericas.com/
Snow In Australia Whites-out Forest Fires
http://tinyurl.com/yf9zwp
Fair Trade: Ethiopian coffee farmers reaping rewards of fair trade
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/11/11/wfair11.xml
The health of the Brazilian rain forest depends on dust from one valley in Africa
http://80.70.129.162/site/en/weizman.asp?pi=371&doc_id=4743
Google Earth aide à protéger la forêt équatoriale http://tinyurl.com/t9ulb
More Google Earth ** Google Earth misses landmarks ** video clip -
Google Earth has given internet users access to aerial images of the world's surface.
Excellent spatial visualisations on the Mountain GeoPortal http://menris.icimod.net/, include an Inventory of Potential Dangerous Glacial Lakes in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan Region, Transboundary Air Pollution and Indian census mapped on the Internet - see these and others at http://menris.icimod.net/internetmapping.php.
Belgians Upset Over Dissolution Hoax
State television in Belgium reported that the province of Flanders had proclaimed its independence and thus Belgium was no longer a country. Read more
Warm Alps:
It is warmer in Europe's Alpine region now than at any time in the past 1,300 years, the head of a wide-ranging climatic
survey said recently.
http://tinyurl.com/yd775n
Highest peak? Argentina - Chile:
Where is the “Roof of South America”, scientists speculate that the continent’s highest
peak may actually be Ojos del Salado in northern Chile rather
than Aconcagua, which stands at 6,962 meters in Argentina. http://tinyurl.com/ycah4c
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Protecting Grasslands, grasslands provide humanity with "environmental services"
worth billions of dollars a year. But only 0.7 percent of the world's grasslands -- and only 0.3 percent of those in South
America -- are protected.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35740
Global Wealth The richest 2 per cent of people in the world own more than
half of all household wealth, while the poorer half of
the global population control just 1 per cent, according to
a study released recently by the United Nations University (UNU). http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20856&Cr=UN&Cr1=University
Environmental threat Farm animals are a greater threat to the environment than
motor cars, because they produce a greater quantity of
greenhouse gases, a UN report claimed recently. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/11021.html
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"Marie Curie European Summer School on Earth System Governance"
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 24 May-6 June 2007, Call for applications
The Summer School consists of three days participation in the 2007 Amsterdam Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global
Environmental Change 'Earth System Governance: Theories and
Strategies for Sustainability' and 8 days of intensive lectures
by international faculty. Participation
in the Summer School includes access to the conference on 24-26
May 2007 and intense lectures, paper discussions and group work
from 28 May to 6 June. The European Union finances the basic
costs of the summer school for all participants, including a
travel subsidy, accommodation, breakfast, lunch, coffee and tea
and the teaching programme. The organisers request a
participant fee of 250EUR for additional expenses.
To apply, send a letter of motivation and a full CV to Philipp.Pattberg@ivm.vu.nl by 20 January 2007. Applicants
will be notified not later than 25 February 2007. For further information on the curriculum, the core faculty and
organizational details, please visit
http://www.2007amsterdamconference.org/summerschool.htm
Exchange request the Universidad de Leon, Spain, is interested in establishing ERASMUS Student Exchange links in the following academic areas, Land Surveying, Geomatics, Geoinformatics, Surveying and Geoinformatics, Cartography and Geomedia-Technology, please contact Rafael de Paz Urueña, Universidad de León, Spain, Oficina de Relaciones Internacionales, Tel: +34 987 291646 Fax: +34 987 291693, e-mai: internacional@unileon.es
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Connecting classrooms project: Connecting Classrooms, Comparing Perspectives, pupils from different countries work on geography tasks, Michael Mueller is seeking geography teachers who would like to participate, with their classes, in an international e-mail project. In the project the tasks will offer the pupils opportunities for intercultural learning by exchanging their opinions, by comparing materials/sources from the different cultures and by solving tasks cooperatively. The pupils communicate via e-mail and perhaps via video conferencing. The working language will be English. His pupils are about 15 years old and they are in their 5th year of learning English. The project could start in May 2007, depending on the schedule of the classes involved. As the project includes three parts, the pupils will probably work on it in stages over a period of about 6 weeks. If you are interested, or if you know someone who might like to cooperate in such a project, contact: Michael Mueller, University of Education, Freiburg, Germany, email: michael.mueller@ph-freiburg.de
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SOME GREAT RESOURCES (in no particular order)
The European Geographer, is the magazine produced by EGEA for Geography students and by the students. issues can be downloaded from the EGEA forum: http://www.egea.eu/files.php?action=category&id=17 Encourage your students to get involved
Earth Sciences for Society - an International Year of Planet Earth Web site http://www.esfs.org
ISS Education kit - the International Space Station for secondary education, is avaiulable for download in different languages http://www.esa.int/esaHS/SEMO0457ESD_education_0.html
Coastal Dune and Shingle Network promotes the sustainable use and sharing of experience in conservation practice. Visit http://www.hope.ac.uk/coast/ to find out more
ECTS and assessment in higher education - free download of conference proceedings 2006. Editor: Kent Löfgren), from the Department of Educational Measurement, Umeå University, Sweden. http://www.umu.se/edmeas/publikationer/index_eng.html
ERIC - Education Resources Information Center - is an internet-based digital library of education research and information sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. ERIC provides access to bibliographic records of journal and non-journal literature indexed from 1966 to the present. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/resources/html/about/about_eric.html
Alpine publication "Signals of range expansions and contractions of vascular plants in the high Alps: observations (1994-2004) at the GLORIA master
site Schrankogel, Tyrol, Austria". Further information:
http://www.gloria.ac.at/?aB&bV
and on the high mountain research network GLORIA: http://www.gloria.ac.at.
The link to the article in Global Change Biology is:
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2006.01282.x
The full text pdf can be sent on request if you email: harald.pauli@univie.ac.at
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Agriculture and environment literature access tools
for low-income country institutions/researchers that allow
free access to full-text articles in health, agriculture, and environment,
coordinated through international public-private consortia among publishers, Institutions and researchers have to register at the respective web sites to gain full-text access:
HINARI
http://www.healthinternetwork.org
over 3000 journals in health
AGORA
http://www.aginternetwork.org
over 900 journals in agrcultural sciences
OARE
http://www.oaresciences.org
close to 2000 journals in environmental sciences
Diamont Project newsletterfrom the system for the observation on the Alps
http://www.uibk.ac.at/diamont/pubicrelation/newsletter.htm
LIFE and European Forests, new LIFE brochure: low resolution
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/infoproducts/forests/forest_lr.pdf
high resolution
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/infoproducts/forests/forest_hr.pdf
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WEB SITES AND RESOURCES
New EU logo
http://www.logo-competition.eu
Science Across the World:
http://www.scienceacross.org/
Climate Change :
http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/15.cfm
MTN – Climate Change:
http://kmi4schools.e2bn.net/mtn_satw/
Natureweb – exploring a wetland habitat:
http://microweb.e2bn.net/natureweb/
Floods in Bangladesh: History, Dynamics and
Rethinking the Role of the Himalayas".
Authors: Dr. Thomas Hofer and Dr. Bruno Messerl, New book,publisher: United Nations University Press,
450p; USD 45.00, Order from: press@hq.unu.edu,
http://www.unu.edu
'Give Geography its Place' Campaign website The site seeks to raise the profile of Geography in all forms of the media, to increase awareness of the importance of Geography and the vital role that it plays in schools, colleges and universities in preparing young people for life in the 21st century. http://www.passion4geography.co.uk/
Mountain Resort Planning and Development
In an Era of Globalization, A Tourism Dynamics Series Book,
EDITED BY:
Thomas Clark, Rudi Hartmann, University of Colorado,
Alison Gill, Simon Fraser University. To review contents and order:
http://www.cognizantcommunication.com
Conservation GeoPortal http://www.conservationmaps.org/index.jsp
The Conservation Geoportal is a collaborative effort by and for the conservation community to facilitate the discovery and publishing of geographic information systems (GIS) data and maps, to support conservation decision-making and education
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