TORONTO, Nov. 14, 2011 – A symposium co-hosted by York’s Learning for a Sustainable Future and BMO will seek ways to improve curriculum and education policy in the areas of health and the environment.
The 2011 What’s Worth Knowing: Health & Environment Symposium at the BMO Institute for Learning on Nov. 16, 2011, will bring together 120 leading policy makers, practitioners, academics, educators and students from across Canada to address the connections between health, the environment, the economy and education.
The event will culminate in recommendations for curriculum and education policy development. Key areas of inquiry will include health issues pertaining to toxins, food, air quality, technology and social inequality.
“This symposium will highlight the connections between health, the economy and the environment, and position education as a strategy for improving health outcomes,” says David Bell, chair of Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF) and former dean of Environmental Studies at York.
“Asthma, diabetes and mental health disorders are just a few of the preventable environmental health concerns that are challenging the sustainability of our health-care system,” says LSF Executive Director Pamela Schwartzberg, a graduate of York’s master’s in environmental studies program. “If current health-care spending continues, it will take a toll on other social programs, especially education. We need to think sustainably and that means emphasizing prevention and investing in our young citizens.”
Notable speakers include: Don Drummond, Matthews Fellow and Distinguished Visiting Scholar in the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University; Gerald Farthing, deputy minister, Manitoba Education; Bruce Lourie, president of Ivey Foundation and best-selling author of Slow Death by Rubber Duck: How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects Our Health; Diana MacKay, director of Education, Health and Immigration Programs at the Conference Board of Canada; Dr. Arlene King, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health; and Harvey Skinner, dean of York’s Faculty of Health.
LSF is a Canadian charity founded in 1991 with the mission to promote, through education, the knowledge, skills, perspectives and practices essential to a sustainable future. It is part of York’s Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS). LSF has strong ties to York University: Lisa Philipps, associate vice-president research, and Gerry Connelly, adjunct professor, Faculty of Education, are members of the LSF Board and many LSF employees are York alumni.
For more information, visit: http://lsf-lst.ca/symposium2011 .
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 55,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 240,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 faculties and 28 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.
-30-
Media Contact:
Melissa Hughes, Media Relations, York University, 416 736-2100 ext. 22097, mehughes@yorku.ca
