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Center launches new book on three continents
Almost half of the human population is under the age of 25. If we give young people education, political support, resources, skills, and hope, they will play a key role in creating a peaceful and sustainable future. The book Young People, Education, and Sustainable Development shows how to use this powerful opportunity for society.
The book includes 38 essays, representing a diversity of culture, geography, and generation. The 68 contributors come from 25 nations. They provide a global perspective on the theory and practice of education by and for young people. The Preface is written by Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai, the Foreword by Gus Speth, and the Afterword by Ruud Lubbers.
The publication was co-edited at the Center by Peter Blaze Corcoran and by Philip M. Osano with editorial assistance from Joseph Paul Weakland and Brandon P. Hollingshead. It is a contribution to the United Nations Decade on Education for Sustainable Development. The global launch of the book took place at the Twelfth General Conference of the African Association of Universities (AAU) on Tuesday, May 5, 2009, in Abuja, Nigeria!
 
(Left) Book contributor Akpezi Ogbuigwe reads from her chapter at the AAU Conference in Abuja. Akpez is head of Environmental Education and Training at the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP).
(Right) Goolam Mohamedbhai, Secretary-General Association of African Universities and Past President of International Association of Universities, shares his comments on the book.
Heila Lotz-Sisitka (middle) holds the Murray & Roberts Chair of Environmental Education and Sustainability at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa. She is reading from her chapter on utopianism and educational processes.
Philip Osano and Peter Blaze launched “kitabu” (our nickname for the project, taken from the word "book" in Swahili) in North America at the World Environmental Education Congress 5 in Montreal, Canada, on Tuesday, May 12, 2009. Several contributors read from their chapters, including Louise Chawla, Heila-Lotz Sisitka, and Kartikeya Sarabhai. Akpezi Ogbuigwe, Honorary President of the Congress, delivered impassioned remarks on the significance of our responsibility to future generations. We have included two photos from the launch below.
Contributor Arjen Wals discusses Dutch participation in the book.
Peter Blaze Corcoran and Philip M. Osano discuss the book's concept and structure.
More Information:
Click here for ordering information and to visit the book's website at Wageningen Academic Publishers.
The book is supported by kind contributions from the Dutch national education for sustainable development program "Learning for Sustainable Development." The Dutch program will host a launch for the book in Europe later this year.
Comments on Young People, Education, and Sustainable Development:
"The development of youth leadership has been a central concern of my professional work. Young people have a lot to offer to sustainable development and should participate in planning for our planet’s future. This rich collection of theoretical and practical approaches captures the growing response of young people to this challenge. I am particularly pleased with the attention paid to the role of often-underrepresented regions of the world, to the role of women, and to the Earth Charter in the creating a peaceful and sustainable future."
Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General of IUCN (International Union for Conversation of Nature), and former Rector of the University for Peace.
"This book is a rich, global tapestry depicting the inter-linkages among youth, education and sustainable development. What is particularly interesting is that it shows how education, at all levels, can be a powerful engine for promoting sustainability. This work is an important contribution to the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development."
Goolam Mohamedbhai, Secretary-General, Association of African Universities, and Past President, International Association of Universities
Ishmael Beah Returns to FGCU for Terry Tempest Williams Student Dialogue
Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, has agreed to be a panelist at the Center’s annual Terry Tempest Williams Student Dialogue, planned for early November 2009!
Incoming FGCU freshmen read A Long Way Gone in 2008 as part of the First Year Experience Readership Project. The book is a riveting memoir of Beah’s life as a child soldier in Sierra Leone, and how he struggled to regain his humanity and reenter the world of civilians. Beah also was the special guest speaker for the 2008 Convocation.
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