Home About IEF Conferences Newsletter Resources INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT FORUM 8TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The 1992 Earth Summit marked the beginning of an effort to address human needs holistically by integrating environmental, economic and social goals. Following the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD, held in Johannesburg in 2002) the UN launched the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development starting in 2005, with UNESCO appointed as its Lead Agency.

The goal of the United Nations is to build a broad ownership of sustainable development at all levels - global, regional, national and local/community and to engage all possible partners including governments, municipalities, NGOs, civil society, and the private sector in this effort.

In accordance with the Programme of Activity approved by the 32^nd General Conference of UNESCO (Paris, 2003), the UNESCO Center for Women and Peace in the Balkan Countries has included the issues of sustainable development and management of resources among its highest priorities for action.

This event, bringing together Greek and foreign speakers, made a substantial contribution in this field, by exploring how education can encourage sustainable lifestyles and bring about behavioural changes that individuals and communities need to embrace in order to realise sustainable development, with emphasis on the role of the individual in leading the transition towards sustainability through changing life styles.

The International Environment Forum, accredited by the United Nations to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, hopes that the results will provide a contribution to the launching of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

FRIDAY 15 OCTOBER:
At the Directorate of Secondary Education of West Thessaloniki, In Greek and English.

Welcome:
... on behalf of Dr. G. Karatasios, Regional Director of Education, Central Macedonia
 Mr. N. Philippou, President & Managing Director of Philippou S.A.
 Dr. Rodica Maties, Executive Manager, UNESCO Center for Women and Peace in the Balkan Countries
 Prof.Dr. Anastasios Voulgaropoulos,  on behalf of Prof. A. Giannakoudakis, Head of Chemistry Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
 Mr. G. Konstantinidis, Director of Secondary Education, West Thessaloniki
 Ms. Stavroula Bairaktari, President, Organization for the master plan implementation and environmental protection of Thessaloniki

Opening remarks:
Dr. Arthur L. Dahl, President, International Environment Forum (Switzerland)

"The United Nations Policy on Sustainable Development":
Mr. A. Tzitzikosta, political analyst

"Leading the Transition to Sustainability: Global Challenges and Individual Action". (html, also powerpoint 52 k)
Keynote: Dr. Arthur L. Dahl, International Environment Forum, Geneva, Switzerland

THE DIMENSIONS OF SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLES

The environmental, economic and social dimension of sustainable lifestyles.
Panel: Ms. Yasmina Mata (Spain), Social Sustainability (pdf 56 k)
Dr. E. Sartzetakis (Greece), Economic Dimension of Sustainable Lifestyles (powerpoint 566 k)
Dr. Arthur L. Dahl, (Switzerland), Environmental Dimensions of Sustainable Lifestyles (html, also powerpoint 260 k)

"Integrating environmental, economic and social goals"
Discussion chaired by Assistant Professor Dr. Eftichios Sartzetakis, University of Macedonia (Greece)

Case studies:
     "The local-global lifestyle links ­ the example of sustainable eating"
     Dr. Sylvia Karlsson (Sweden)
     "Schools and Agenda 21: Participatory approach to creating a better school environment" (summary in report, powerpoint 39,431 k)
     Dr. Konstantia Tamoutseli, Advisor on Environmental Education (Greece)
     “Community Supported Agriculture” (summary in report, powerpoint 13,385 k)
     Dr. Christos Vasilikiotis (USA)

THE ROLE OF EDUCATION
"Teaching Responsibility" (Powerpoint 208 k; full paper as a Word document 713 k)
Keynote: Assistant Professor Victoria Thoresen (Norway)

PUTTING PRINCIPLES INTO ACTION

"Measuring Sustainable Lifestyles and Sustainability": (html, also powerpoint 277 k)
Dr. Sylvia Karlsson (Sweden) and Dr. Arthur Dahl (Switzerland)

"Making Thessaloniki a Sustainable City"
Mr. G. Tosikas, Head of Transport Planning, Thessaloniki (Greece)

"Engaging in the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development in Greece, Europe and the World"
Keynote: Dr. Arthur Dahl (Switzerland) replacing Michalis Modinos, President, National Centre of Environment and Sustainable Development (unavoidably detained)

Closing remarks.

The Annual General Assembly of the International Environment Forum was held immediately after the conference.

Dr. Arthur Lyon DAHL of Geneva, Switzerland, is a retired Deputy Assistant Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), where he was Deputy Director of the Regional Seas Programme, Coordinator of UN System-wide Earthwatch (earthwatch.unep.net) and Director of the Coral Reef Unit (coral.unep.ch). He is now a consultant to UNEP and other international organizations on environmental assessment, observing strategies, indicators of sustainability, coral reefs, biodiversity, islands (islands.unep.ch), environmental education, and social and economic development. He holds an AB in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and a PhD in Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. A specialist on coral reef ecology and small island developing states, he spent many years in the South Pacific and organized the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme. He represented the Baha'i International Community at the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment (1972), was in the Secretariat of the Rio Earth Summit (1992) to help prepare Agenda 21, and organized several parallel events at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002). He participated in the Symposium on Religion, Science and the Environment in the Black Sea organized by the Orthodox church in 1998. He is President of the International Environment Forum (www.bcca.org/ief) and on the governing boards of the European Baha'i Business Forum (www.ebbf.org) and the Global Islands Network (www.globalislands.net). He has published many scientific papers and books including "The Eco Principle Ecology and Economics in Symbiosis".

Ms. Victoria Wyszynski Thoresen is Ass. Professor in education at Hedmark University College and project manager of the Consumer Citizenship Network, an international network of researchers, educators in cooperation with UNESCO and UNEP. Thoresen has specialized in curriculum development, global education, peace education, value-based education, lifelong learning and consumer education. In addition to many years of experience as a teacher and teacher trainer, Thoresen has been a member of the Norwegian board for the revision of the country's core curriculum. Thoresen has written textbooks for schools and teacher training and has been project leader of several Nordic and European projects. As well as functioning as an international educational consult, she is a member of the Norwegian Baha'i Office of Social and Economic Development. Thoresen is also head of the board of the Norwegian Peace Center.

Dr. Sylvia Karlsson is based in Uppsala, Sweden, currently as an independent scholar. She has an M.Sc. in Biology/Ecotoxicology from Uppsala University and a Ph.D. from Linköping University, Sweden, where her research focused on cross-level environmental governance. She held a position as Postdoctoral Fellow at the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy in 2003/04. Her research project there analysed the negotiation process of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Between 2001 and 2003, Dr. Karlsson worked as International Science Project Coordinator at the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP) in Bonn, Germany. She has worked shorter periods for UNEP Chemicals and the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank. In parallel to her studies and research, she has been actively engaged in the NGO processes of the Rio Conference and the World Summit for Social Development. At the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg she headed the delegation of the International Environment Forum for which she serves as Secretary General since its foundation in 1997. She is a member of the Young Think Tank of the Club of Rome (tt30).

Ms. Yasmina N. Mata Contreras is a Science PhD student and researcher at the Complutense University of Madrid Spain, where she obtained a degree in Biology. She has experience in "The Virtues Project" and other value-driven initiatives. She is a member of the International Environment Forum and part of the coordinating team for the 8th Annual IEF Conference in Thessaloniki 15-17 October 2004.