Program and Abstracts

Photographs online!
1st Day (29. July 2007)
2nd and 3rd Day ( 30./31. July 2007)
Field Trip (1. - 3. August 2007)

 

Symposium Report

The IGU-CGE Symposium „Geographical Views On Education For Sustainable Development” was a great success: 90 delegates from twenty different nations in Europe, North and South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand attended the Symposium, a remarkably diverse group by any measure. The programme involved both plenary lectures and parallel paper sessions, a guided walk in the city of Lucerne (sponsored by www.asiaintensiv.ch) and a follow-up field trip to Central Switzerland and the Canton Valais. 46 presenters informed us about epistemological questions, their research, curriculum and teacher training issues in their countries, outdoor education and best practices concerning Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Geography.

The participants took advantage of the opportunity to build networks and discuss options for common research, mutual cooperation and collaboration inspired by the beautiful environment of the Villa Bellerive and its park. The highlight of the symposium was the proclamation of the „Lucerne Declaration on Geographical Education for Sustainable Development” drafted by the Professors H. Haubrich, S. Reinfried und Y. Schleicher and reviewed by many delegates. Prof. Lex Chalmers, chair of the IGU-CGE, signed it on July 31st, 2007. The declaration explains the importance of ESD for Geography education, includes criteria for the development of geography curricula for ESD, and informs about the importance of new technologies for ESD in the teaching and learning of geography.

The Italian delegation provided us with a surprise: their chair, Prof. Gianfranco Battisti, awarded Prof. Hartwig Haubrich the honorary membership of the „L’Associatione Italiana Insegnanti di Geografia“ to acknowledge and honor Prof. Haubrich’s commitment and his hard and ceaseless work for the advancement of Geography education on an international level.

The Symposium was followed by a three-day field trip to the Alps during which a group of 28 participants studied issues of sustainable development concerning tourism, energy production, transportation and settlement development, traffic problems, agriculture, environmental and landscape protection and disaster prevention.

The program and the abstracts concerning the Symposium can be downloaded from this homepage. The conference proceedings that include the full versions of the papers and the „Lucerne Declaration on Geographical Education for Sustainable Development” will be published in English in the Geographiedidaktische Forschungen (= Research in Geography Education). The volume (vol. 42) will be available in November 2007 (see cover). Registered Symposium participants will receive a copy by mail. Additional copies can be ordered via Prof. Dr. Sibylle Reinfried, Teacher Training University of Central Switzerland, Lucerne (sibylle.reinfried@phz.ch) or via Prof. Dr. Yvonne Schleicher, University of Education Weingarten (schleicher@ph-weingarten.de).

Prof. Dr. Sibylle Reinfried
Full member of the IGU-CGE
Symposium Convenor