International Student Conference on Environment and Sustainability

5th Jun – 8th Jun 2013 13:14

The deterioration of environment and the depletion of resources pose challenges to the well-being of mankind. Under the circumstances and following the proposal of Prof. WANG Guangtao, Chairman of Environment Protection and Resources Conservation Committee of National People's Congress of China and Chairman of the Advisory Board of UNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD), the “International Student Conference on Environment and Sustainability (ISCES)”was initiated as an annual event to provide international students with a platform to work together, exchange ideas and understanding on critical environmental issues and create new solutions. Supported and funded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Tongji University and Beijing Green Future Environmental Foundation, ISCES has been successfully held in the last two years (2011 and 2012), attracting approximate 400 students from more than 40 countries in the world and making great contributions to the spread of practices and concepts of environment and sustainability.

The first ISCES was co-organized by UNEP and Tongji University in Shanghai from June 5th to 8th, 2011. During this conference, nearly 160 young students from more than 30 countries and well-known specialists and scholars came together to discuss the latest topics on environment and sustainability, including water and forest, green mobility, eco-urbanism and cultural heritage, etc. As one of the most significant outcomes of this conference, “Global Youth Tongji Declaration” was issued at the closing ceremony. The Declaration emphasized that “the conference at Tongji University was an optimal platform to promote the important role of youth in large-scale decisions.”

In 2012, with the approaching of“Rio+20 Conference (United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development)”, university students got together again at Tongji University in Shanghai to attend the “2012 International Student Conference on Environment and Sustainability (ISCES 2012).” The participants were divided into five thematic groups, which were “water and ecosystems” “green economy and youth employment opportunity” “green-economy-and-design-driven innovation” “future cities green multi-model mobility”, and “urban and rural integrated development.” A series of activities were arranged, such as lectures, group discussions, posters competitions and field trips, for participants to exchange their insight and understanding on relevant environmental issues. At the end of the conference, nine students won the Best Posters Award and the “Global Youth Tongji Declaration” for the 2012 ISCES was issued. The outcome documents of ISCES 2012, including a booklet with posters of ISCES 2012, proposals, summary reports of participants and other forms of research material were distributed by Prof. Gang PEI, President of Tongji University, and Prof. Jiang WU, Vice President of Tongji University and Dean of IESD at “Rio+20 Conference.”

Also, during ISCES 2012, the “Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability (GUPES)”, initiated by the UNEP and Tongji University, was officially launched at Tongji University. Prof. WU Jiang was elected as the President of GUPES. IESD, as the secretariat of GUPES, assumed great responsibility to coordinate activities among member universities and integrate the concepts and practices of sustainable development into higher education. ISCES is one of the most influential international events organized by IESD to fulfill the above-mentioned duties by attracting students who will be future leaders, policy makers and activists and informing them of the recent challenges and developments in the area of environment and sustainability.

The “2013 International Student Conference on Environment and Sustainability (ISCES 2013)” will open again on the World Environment Day (June 5). As the first conference after the “Rio+20 Conference” and in response to the proposal to build a beautiful China by Chinese government, the topic of the ISCES 2013 will be “Food, Health and Sustainable Development.” We plan to expand the number of participants to around 400 so that the conference could engage more students who are interested in the issues of environment and sustainability. We believe that with the support of the UNEP, Tongji University and Beijing Green Future Environmental Foundation, plus the experience gained in the last two years, this year’s conference will be a success in the promotion of practices and concepts of sustainable development among university students.

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