Reimagining Environmental Sustainability for the Academic Conference
Special Session: Reimagining Environmental Sustainability for the Academic Conference
Date: Sunday, June 24, 2018 • Time: 14:00–15:30
Sponsored by IAMCR's Environment, Science & Risk Communication (ESR) Working Group & Environmental Impact Committee (EIC) in cooperation with The International Environmental Communication Association (IECA)
Academic conferences and their umbrella organisations — and academics generally — are increasingly aware of the environmental impacts of their research. Regular air travel for fieldwork, research and to meet at annual conferences feature in these discussions, alongside a multitude of consumption and waste consequences characteristic of being a 21st century academic. Divestment too has been pursued by academic organisations, seeking to purchase and invest away from fossil fuel companies and their beneficiaries. At Eugene in 2018, this panel will focus their discussion on these and other environmental impacts of research seeking to again reimagine and revitalise discussions about current and future environmentally sustainable and responsible academic work.
Panelists will discuss their experience of environmental sustainability in the context of large academic organisations and their conferences.
• What are the core challenges to an environmentally sustainable conference?
• What efforts have past and present conference organisers, committees and communities made to ensure our conference legacy aligns with positive and progressive environmental futures?
• How might we change, if at all, existing practices to negate the environmental impact of the contemporary academic?
• What is the future of the academic conference in an era of environmental crises?
• What is our responsibility to the places we meet and the planet we inhabit?
• What might be our next steps?
Chairs/Facilitators:
Pieter Maeseele, University of Antwerp, Belgium — Environment, Science & Risk Communication (ESR) Working Group Chair
Kerrie Foxwell-Norton, Griffith University, Australia — Environmental Impact Committee (EIC) Chair and ESR Working Group Vice-Chair
Panelists:
Benedetta Brevini, University of Sydney, Australia — IAMCR Environmental Impact Committee (EIC) Member
Amparo Cadavid, Uniminuto, Colombia — IAMCR Local Organizing Committee (LOC) Cartagena
Nico Carpentier, Uppsala University, Sweden — past IAMCR Treasurer
Anabela Carvalho, University of Minho, Portugal — past International Environmental Communication Association (IECA) Board Member
Gabi Hadl, Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan — past IAMCR EIC Chair and IAMCR / IECA Liaison
Hanna E. Morris, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, United States — IECA Board Member
Graham Murdock, Loughborough University, United Kingdom — IAMCR Vice President and IAMCR EIC International Committee (IC) Liaison
Jeremy Swartz, University of Oregon, United States — IAMCR LOC Eugene Member and EIC Liaison
Elske van de Fliert, University of Queensland, Australia — IAMCR Treasurer
Nancy van Leuven, California State University Fresno, United States — IECA Board Member