TORONTO, April 14, 2009 -- A two-day conference at York University will examine how disenfranchised peoples adapt to climate change and how we can strengthen leadership for eco-justice.
The conference, taking place April 16-17, will bring together activists and scientists from Brazil, India, South Africa, and Arctic Canada to share experiences of how climate change is affecting local peoples and their regions. They will discuss strategies for addressing inequities in climate change causation, adaptation, funding, education, and politics, both locally and globally.
“When people talk about climate change, they often overlook the political and educational needs of disenfranchised groups,” says Dawn Bazely, Director of York’s Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS), which is co-sponsoring the event. “Our aim is to identify unique local challenges, as well as common experiences, share stories and find ways of addressing both the threats and opportunities presented by climate change.”
Bazely notes the event is carbon neutral; organizers will pay for renewable energy projects to offset the estimated greenhouse effects of travel, accommodation and other associated consumption.
Presenting participants will include:
- Adele Arendse, one of the co-directors of SouthSouthNorth (SSN) Africa, an NGO focusing on climate change and sustainable development.
Paulo Cunha, head of greenhouse gas mitigation at Petrobras, and a Brazilian activist leader on climate change and sustainability.Miriam Duailibi, Director of the Ecoar Institute for Citizenship in São Paulo, Brazil, an NGO focussing on climate change education, agro-forestry, urban socio-environmental organizing and sustainable local development.Bettina Koelle, Chair of Indigo Development and Change, an NGO dedicated to empowering disadvantaged groups and conserving biodiversity in rural areas of South Africa.Chaitanya Kumar of the Indian Youth Climate Network, a coalition uniting Indian youth and youth-oriented organizations concerned about climate change.Vivek Jha of The Energy and Resources Institute, focussing on vulnerability assessment, adaptation strategies, climate change policies and modeling activities from a developing-world perspective.Joe Linklater, Chief of Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, Yukon, Canada, an experienced political leader and program manager with extensive knowledge of building and implementing public policy and First Nation self-governance.Rhoda Malgas, Lecturer, Department of Conservation, Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, who studies how small-scale land users adapt to changing environments.Andy Norwegian, Language Specialist, Deh Cho Divisional Education Council, Northwest Territories, Canada, leader for the Dene Kede Curriculum.Aaju Peter, Inuit culturalist, translator/interpreter, and a member of the first class of Inuit lawyers to graduate from the Akitsiraq Law Programme, Nunavut.Eduardo Quartim, rural agro-forestry educator/organizer with small producers in São Paulo State.Joyashree Roy, Coordinator of the Global Change program at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.
Presentations, along with the conference’s final outcomes, will be published following the meeting. A podcast will also be made available.
The conference, titled “How Will Disenfranchised Peoples Adapt to Climate Change? Making Connections to Strengthen Leadership for Ecojustice,” is co-sponsored by Environment Canada, the Government of Canada’s International Polar Year Programme, York University’s Faculty of Environmental Studies, the Office of the Vice-President Academic, and York International.
For more information, visit www.iris.yorku.ca/conference .
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as more than 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 26 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
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Media contact:
Melissa Hughes
York University Media Relations
416 736 2100 x22097
