Join us for the Sustainability Education Collective Conference Series, a three-day conference and workshop series that recognizes the link between the climate crisis and institutional racism to explore the systematic ways that education connects local issues to global environmental sustainability. This event will engage a diverse community of sustainability education researchers, educators, nongovernmental organization experts, and learners in identifying solutions to the current crises across multiple scales and methodologies. This hybrid conference and workshop series focuses specifically on sustainability education as a way to advance equity and justice in research and public education.
Event Dates
Thursday, June 22, 2023: Environmental Justice in the United States: Sustainability Education and Social Movements in the U.S.
8:15 Registration and Coffee (in-person participants)
Room 4035, Campus Instructional Facility, 1405 W. Springfield Ave., Urbana
8:30 Welcome and Introduction
Dr. Robert J. Jones, Chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Dr. Chrystalla Mouza, College of Education Dean
9:00 Panel: Coalition Building Across and Through Social Movements
Dr. Fikile Nxumalo, University of Toronto
Dr. Asif Wilson, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Dr. Jennifer Johnson, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Ms. Kim Wasserman, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization
10:30 Workshop: Justice-Centered Education: Mapping the Intersections of Climate, Race, and Justice
Dr. Fernando Sánchez, University of Montana
Ms. Nicole DelMastro-Jeffery, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and White House Intern
Ms. Wendy Dorman, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Ms. Kira Dolley, Columbus Public Schools
12:00 Lunch & Keynote: Dr. Carolyn Finney
Author of Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors
1:30 Local Tour (on-site participants only):
*Please plan to carpool or bike to the Pollinatarium
Thursday, August 17, 2023: Sustainability Education, the Global South, and Social Justice
8:15 Registration and Coffee (in-person participants)
Room 4035, Campus Instructional Facility, 1405 W. Springfield Ave., Urbana
8:30 Welcome and Introduction
Dr. Madhu Khanna, Director of the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment, UIUC
9:00 Workshop 1: Place-Based and Participatory Approaches to Sustainability Education and Evaluation in the Global South
Dr. Sirkka Tshiningayamwe, University of Namibia
Dr. Christina Ting Kwauk, Kwauk & Associates, Unbounded Associates
Mr. Khalil Bitar, Wyss Academy for Nature, University of Bern & Co-Founder and former Chair of EvalYouth Global Network
10:30 Workshop 2: Global and Social Representations of Climate Change and Resiliency Education
Dr. Rosa Guadalupe Mendoza Zuany, Universidad Veracruzana
Mr. Michael Fernández-Frey, Caras Con Causa
Ms. Joan Namaggwa, Rise Up Climate Movement, Uganda
Ms. Clare Nassanga, Rise Up Climate Movement, Uganda
12:00 Lunch & Keynote: Dr. Angelique V. Nixon, University of the West Indies, Institute for Gender and Development Studies
1:30 Local Tours (on-site participants only):
Friday, September 15, 2023: Resisting Climate Change and Injustice with Sustainability Education in Colleges of Education
Agenda
8:00 Registration and Coffee (in-person participants)
Room 314AB, Illini Union, 1401 W. Green Street, Urbana
8:30 Welcome and Introduction
Dr. Sarah McCarthey, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs, College of Education, UIUC
Dr. Yoon Pak, Department Head, Education Policy, Organization & Leadership, College of Education, UIUC
9:00 Keynote: Dr. Oren Pizmony-Levy, Teachers College, Columbia University
10:00 Panel: The Future of Public Sustainability Education: Teacher Education and Learning Across the Lifespan
Dr. Asli Sezen-Barrie, University of Maine, National Science Foundation
Dr. Alberto Arenas, University of Arizona, Editor-in-Chief Journal of Environmental Education
Dr. Marek Oziewicz, University of Minnesota
Dr. Elin Kelsey, author of Hope Matters: Why Changing the Way We Think Is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis
11:45 Lunch & Closing Address: Dr. Megan Bang, Northwestern University
12:45 Sustainability Education Collective Working Group
2:00 Local Tour (on-site participants only):
Solar Farm 2.0 tour
Registration
Registration for this hybrid conference and workshop series is free.
Space is limited for in-person participants. The majority of participants and presenters will engage online via Zoom.
Venue
In-Person Attendees:
Illini Union, Room 413AB
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Contact
For more information about conference themes, locations, participants, and speakers, please reach out to the conference organizers: Samantha Lindgren, Jon Hale, and Luis Rodriguez
This conference is made possible (in part) by a grant from the Spencer Foundation.
Conference Sponsors: College of Education, Institute for Sustainability, Energy & Environment, and the Forum on the Future of Public Education.