Theme | cei2018

Theme

The theme “Let’s Experience Nature” encourages all international delegations to choose topics that lead to environmental and ecological projects that enhance the communities in the participants’ lives. Each delegation should choose a complex issue, problem or challenge in their immediate surroundings that requires "Research and Academic Study". The projects should be carried out in the surrounding environment, where students can complete their project activities with guidance from their teachers. It is important that delegates choose a project topic that they are individually affected by.

Delegations also need to develop at least one partnership with an organisation or community partner to learn more about the project and/or to help to develop a sustainable implementation of their project in their local community.

Each project must be related to at least one of the following project sub-topics:

Climate Change
Conservation and Nature
Bioeconomics and Sustainability
Energy
Waste

Together, participants and organizations must collaboratively engage in an activity that enhances their local community.

NOTE: Begin collaborating with potential partners right away. Doing so will increase project efficiency.

Climate Change

Climate change has many faces. How do people in your region deal with the upcoming phenomenons and which strategies will they use in the future? are species in your area going to have advantages or disadvantages out of it?

Recommended Process for Participants:

Step One: Find Your Topic (November)

Identify environmental issues/problems, threats or impairments in your community.

The focus of this step is to have students accurately, comprehensively, and scientifically assess the conditions of an area so that their subsequent work addresses a genuine threat or problem.

It may be necessary to collect scientific data to support your inventory (To collect scientific data, students may need to take species inventories, water quality sampling, or other quantitative measurements. Additionally, it may be important to seek the advice of specialists and professionals.)

Step Two: Select Your Topic With An Outcome In Mind (November)

Use a decision-making process that supports a teamwork ethic.

Select at least one impairment or threat to be the focus of your project with some innovative solutions in mind.

This will become your project focus.

Step Three: Research Your Topic In Depth (November-December+)

Identify the human behaviours, policies, laws and regulations, current management practices, best practices,historical information, causes, effects, etc. related to the problem.

Identify key players (specialists, professionals, policy makers, etc.) regarding the problem to contact them for additional information – before you draw conclusions, ask questions.

Describe a variety of community opinions about the problem.

Based on what you have discovered from above, develop a recommendation for improving a policy or practice.

Step Four: Decide What To Do (December-January)

Develop and use criteria for selecting a strategy for this project.

Use a decision-making process that supports a teamwork ethic.

Select one strategy to be used when carrying out the project.

The goal here is to develop a list of strategies for bringing about lasting change to the selected problem or threat.

Include this with your research and submit it to the coordinators.

TEAM CHECK: The Impact of Capacity

Do you have enough capacity within your team to accomplish what you have decided?

Any barriers now or that you foresee? Can you stick to your work plan?

What rules do you need to break to make this happen?

What’s the plan if you hit a speed bump? Is someone or something dragging you down?

Step Five: Take Action (December, January through May)

Establish a plan of action with a timeline.

Seek an organization to partner with (share your research and previous work with them to encourage support).

Ideally, this partner should be willing to provide your delegation with financial support or sponsorship to attend the CEI Conference.

Advocate and spread awareness by engaging the public in multiple venues and document your advocacy with photos.

Remember to document all activities, even if some of the work previously occurred.

Step Six: Looking Back and Ahead (April-May)

Assess the impact of the project (include feedback from your collaborating organization).

Decide what, if anything, has been left undone.

Consider what you would do differently if you were to conduct a similar project in the future.

Address whether or not your solutions could be applied on a large scale for the benefit of society.

OUTCOMES

Project Presentation: Each delegation or team will be required to do a 10-minute project presentation at the conference. (Please practice meeting the required time limit.) Upon arrival, on Sunday, 8th July 2018, we will be asking for these presentations on CD, DVD or USB-stick. Best formats include Google Slides, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Prezi.

Project Poster Exhibition: All delegations must prepare a poster (60 cm wide / 80 cm high) containing information and pictures of the project. Each delegation will have time to present their projects using the poster. This poster presentation should be max. 5 min. long. Delegations will be separated in 2 main groups. There will be 30 minutes for the first group to present their posters and the second group will go to their most favourite posters to enjoy and discuss the presentations. After 10 minutes delegates move on to the next poster. After 30 minutes presenters swap and Group 2 will present their posters.

Conference Diary: All student delegates will get a booklet at the beginning of the conference and will be invited to keep a conference diary in which they will write about the activities they carry out during the conference and where they reflect on their experiences abroad. For each filled in activity students will get a certain number of points. The student with the most points will get a CEI reward at the end of the conference.

Climate Change

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Climate change has many faces. How do people in your region deal with the upcoming phenomenons and which strategies will they use in the future? are species in your area going to have advantages or disadvantages out of it?