News Archive

With sadness we inform you that January 18, 2024 a great Caretaker, Former President of CEI, Dan Hoynacki, passed away. This message plunged us all into deep sadness. We share the pain after Dan passed away with His family. We have lost an expert, a person with enormous knowledge and experience in environmental education, a man extremely friendly to people. Dan will remain in our cordial memory.

On October 13, 2023, eligible members and advisors of the current CEI management team elected a new International Board of Directors consisting of: President: Anne Marie Begg, ScotlandVice President: Stien J. Matakupan, IndonesiaSecretary: Nurten Selda Mersinlioğlu, TürkiyeTreasurer: Julien Beuken, The Natherlands Mrs. Anne Marie Begg is the most experienced caretaker, widely known and liked by caretakers around the world. Ms President has organized CEI annual conferences in Scotland three times, in Aberdeen, 1994 and 2009, and in Ardlui, Loch Lomond, 2013.

The recruitment of candidates for CEI2023 alumni has begun. The terms and application form can be found here .

We provide information about the project speed dating event and teacher information session. The session aims to enhance collaboration and partnerships between schools to work together on their CEI 2022 projects. This is also a chance for teachers to ask any questions to the organising committee. The event takes place at 08.00 Costa Rica/ (GMT -6) on February 19th on Zoom. Details in Newsletter2.

The final version of Global Forum for Environmental Education volume 32 is now published and ready to be downloaded from the CEI website. To download go to Global Forum tab.

Even if you are not registered, if you are over 18, you are welcome to observe sessions of the conference. You can follow via the alumni social media (alumnicei.org) and via our YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UCWfFn_YXh1LYPW2meaMrH4QSome sessions will be livestreamed and all the talks are scheduled to go live about half an hour after they happen "live" at the conference.

More on alumnicei.org

We're rapidly approaching the conference and there's quite some jobs to be done! So make sure to keep checking our submission guidelines page: https://www.alumnicei.org/submission-guidelines   1. UPDATED DELEGATION NAMES AND DISTRIBUTIONS A reminder that if you did not fill in names when registering, or if names or details of delegates have changed to please send us an email. If your school also has multiple project groups, please also send an overview of this to us if you have not already done so.    2.  THE TIME AVAILABILITY FORM IS CLOSING Remember that you must fill in a time availability form for your delegation. Observers/individuals must also fill this form in! You can fill out the form here: https://forms.gle/BDJQzQvoKxtsgpmx9  If you have multiple project groups, please fill in this form for each project group! Observers and individuals should indicate which sessions they want to observe or take part in!  We made a video to help you fill in the form which you can find in the form itself!    The form will close tomorrow, and if you have not filled out the form, we will assign your timeslots and if you don't attend those timeslots you will not receive a conference certificate - this applies for project presentations, so make sure you fill it out!! No switching will be possible due to the high numbers of participants! 3. CEI 2021 ART CONTEST & POSTER CONTEST For CEI 2021 there will be an art contest where we invite students to share their vision for a sustainable community in the future. All information can be found here: https://www.alumnicei.org/cei-2021-art-competition  There will also be a prize for the best project poster at CEI 2021:  https://www.alumnicei.org/project-posters. Only posters that are being presented in the Virtual Poster Exhibition are eligible to win the poster competition. However all posters will be displayed on the website prior to the conference4. SUBMITTING POSTERS AND GLOBAL FORUM SUMMARIES A reminder that project posters and global forum summaries are due on June 14th. All information, including templates and submission forms can be found here: https://www.alumnicei.org/submission-guidelines, If you have any questions about any of the above, please contact us at alumnicei0000@gmail.com. If you did not receive previous newsletters but would like to, please also send us an email. All information concerning the programme, timing, required submissions and more can be found on our website: https://www.alumnicei.org/cei-2021 5. YOUNG REPORTERS UPDATE Our Young Reporters have been hard at work writing articles for the Alumni blog. These articles are relevant to teachers and students, so make sure to subscribe to our website to get email notifications about them and check the articles out over the coming weeks https://www.alumnicei.org/blog    

The hosts of CEI 2021 conference, Andrew Cox and Laura Kelly, are welcoming to participation high school students and teachers, who are a passionate of the environment. Registration for participants is open now.Please watch the promotional video for more details.

The 35th Caretakers of the Environment International Conference will be a fully virtual conference hosted by Ireland from July 5th - July 9th 2021. The theme for the conference is: Sustainable communities: working together locally and globally for a sustainable future. The organising committee is excited to welcome you virtually to Ireland! The interactive virtual conference programme includes projects, workshops, cultural performances and more! This conference is jointly run by CEI Ireland and the CEI alumni. The conference hosts are Andrew Cox (former CEI President/Chairman of CEI Ireland) and Laura Kelly (Senior Alumni Secretary/CEI Ireland Secretary). Promo video CEI 2021 More information on tab Annual conference and here.

Caretakers remember Fátima - a few memories

The CEI Pre Conference online will take place on August 8. Welcome speech by Ms. Jo Kumala Devi, Director of Environmental Partnership Ministry of the Environment and Forestry, Indonesia. Two sessions are planned: Seven Green Principal by Ms. Tri Puji Hindarsih and Green School by Karen Warlin in the first session, and Sustainable Cosmetics by Nadia Young and Technology for Empowering People by Dandy in the second session. Due to COVID-19 pandemic  the host CEI Conference 2020 and CEI Board decided organize VIRTUAL CONFERENCE on September 27th to October 3rd, 2020.Registration and more on cei2020.org.

We regret to inform you that last night a great Caretaker, Vice-President of CEI, Fátima Matos Almeida, passed away. This message plunged us all into deep sadness. We share the pain after Fátima passed away with Her family. Fátima will remain in our memory, as a radiating memoir.Fátima was the spirit of Caretakers. Her intelligence, friendliness and beauty affected all of us deeply for so many years. Her commitment to youth and the environment was unmatched and inspiring; thousands of young people from all over the world were touched by her presence. As a co-founder of ASPEA, the Portuguese Environmental Education NGO, she became a key figure in the Portuguese EE movement.  Prof. Arjen WalsFormer President of CEI  

Fátima Matos Almeida, co-founder and former President of ASPEA, was awarded the Career Award from the Portuguese Confederation of Environmental Defense Associations (CPADA) and delivered by the Minister for the Environment, Dr. João Pedro Matos Fernandes.The Ceremony took place at the headquarters of the National Listening Body, in Lisbon, during the National Meeting of NGOs (ENADA 2019), on 29 November. ASPEA was represented by the Vice-President, David Ramos Silva, and the project manager, Laura Gonzalez.Fátima was as President of ASPEA for more than 20 years, having been one of the main drivers in the materialization of the Pedagogical Journeys of Environmental Education, which are 25 years old, and the Journeys of Art'Ambiente, with 10 years old. She was also a member of the CPADA board and coordinator of several national and international projects in environmental education at ASPEA.Congratulations! reprinted from aspea.org

As part of the celebration of the World Environment Day, CEI India is organizing on Friday, June 5, 2020, a webinar on: How will we treat our Mother Nature post COVID-19 Lock down?More information on the CEI India website.Report from the event Webinar poster.

   The 50th Earth Day will take place on April 22 and I hope that many Caretakers students and teachers will celebrate by planting a seed. CEI has had a “Seeds of Biodiversity” project for many years. This could be a delightful project that can be done while confined at home.             There are 2 kinds of seeds you can plant:    1. A seed from a green plant – from a fruit, vegetable, tree or shrub.Put it in a small pot with soil, water it, and record when its roots and leaves appear, and how tall it grows. You will be amazed at how fast nature can change.     2. A seed of knowledge – about climate change, loss of coral reefs, pollution, recycling, loss of species or other issues. Express your idea in a poem, painting, skit, dance, or other art.A seed is a symbol of regeneration, something to celebrate on Earth Day.After that, I hope Caretakers will share what happened to our seeds during beautiful days when we take a walk, or when we talk on virtual meetings on Zoom or at the CEI conference in July. Isabel AbramsCEI Co-founder and Director/Communications  

Due to the health risk, travel and gatherings of people restrictions in most countries of the world, caused by the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, the organizers of the CEI 2020 conference in Indonesia and the CEI Board have decided to cancel the conference in 2020.Indonesia has rescinded its invitation for any Caretakers delegations to arrive in Jakarta this July.Further provisions regarding 34th CEI conference will be published as soon as the global epidemic situation allows for responsible planning. Conference Host and CEI Board

The website of conference CEI 2020 is published now.  https://cei2020.org

Taking into account the current state of information about the CEI 2020 conference and responding to members' suggestions, the CEI Board decided to postpone the deadline for submitting application to be an alumni.According to the Board's decision, a new deadline for submitting applications to be an alumni is in force: November 30, 2019.Details and online form in About CEI/Alumni tab.

The recruitment of alumni to CEI conference in Indonesia is open now. A link to application form is posted in Alumni subpage.

The report published July 2019 “Climate crisis: The unsustainable use of online video – A practical case study for digital sobriety” was led by Maxime Efoui-Hess, an engineer specialized in climate and computer modeling, who graduated from ISAE-SUPAÉRO, Université Paul Sabatier and the French Meteorology University. The environmental impact of digital technology is now recognized as unsustainable, but continues to grow. The energy consumption of digital technologies is increasing by 9% a year, and already represents 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The use of digital technology accounts for 55% of its energy consumption, compared to 45% for the production of equipment. This was demonstrated by our report “Lean ICT – Towards digital sobriety” published in 2018. Getting this impact under control implies requires a transition from digital intemperance to digital sobriety. This means prioritizing the allocation of resources as a function of uses, in order to conform to the planet’s physical boundaries, while preservingthe most valuable societal contributions of digital technologies. 4 main types of contents generate 60% of global data trafic. We live in a world where only one form of digital use, online video, generates 60% of of world data flows and thus over 300 million tons of CO2 per year. This use is far from being “dematerialized”. On the contrary, it represents 20% of the greenhouse gas emissions of all digital devices (use and production included), and 1% of global emissions, i.e. as much as Spain. The rest of the uses of digital technologies comprise 20% of other types of video, and 20% of non-video uses – the latter covering all the non-video possibilities opened by digital technologies. Online video, which is the subject of this report, is therefore a particularly significant practical case for the implementation of digital sobriety. In this 60% of global data flows generated by online video, there are 4 main types of content, none of which is negligible. Source: https://theshiftproject.org/en/article/unsustainable-use-online-video/ Full report: The Shift Project 2019

Over 180 delegates from 14 countries meet in Istanbul at the annual CEI conference entitled: Sustainable Living in a Big City. They will present their projects by 6 July, take part in debates and workshops related to environmental issues in the big city.

Through December 2 to 14, 2018, the COP 24 was held at the International Conference Center in Katowice. Over 20,000 delegates from 196 countries took part in it.Negotiators in Poland have finally secured agreement on a range of measures that will make the Paris climate pact operational in 2020.Last-minute rows over carbon markets threatened to derail the two-week summit - and delayed it by a day.Delegates believe the new rules will ensure that countries keep their promises to cut carbon. Delegates to the UN climate conference in Katowice, Poland have reached agreement on how to implement the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, which comes into force in 2020. Acceptance of the so-called Katowice rulebook means that we have the first international agreement that obliges all parties to perform specific actions. The document counts several hundred pages and there is no doubt that it is historical. Turkey and Brazil did not want to agree to sign it for the longest time. Brazil had been pushing for a weaker set of rules on carbon markets, despite strong opposition from many other countries. Developing countries believed that countries that have already developed should pay for transforming economies. India at the last plenary session said they did not agree to all the records but did not want to block the deal. In the end, a common position was worked out.The Katowice agreement aims to deliver the Paris goals of limiting global temperature rises to well below 2C. UN documents  

We are excited to announce the 33rd annual CEI Conference will be hosted by the TED Istanbul College Foundation Private High School and the Turkey Branch of CEI in Istanbul, Turkey, June 30 through July 6, 2019. As soon as conference hosts have a website, we will post that link, as well as other pertinent information. At the same time, we would like to inform you that an online application form has been opened for qualified for "Alumni" of this and optionally subsequent CEI conferences. The form is available here.

The Global Environmental Education Partnership has created a pledge for reinvigorating Environmental Education world-wide in light of urgent sustainability challenges. In the pledge the global environmental education community is asked to work toward three visionary goals. Hundreds of educators around the world have vetted these actions and helped outline key areas of focus for the field.Details here.

On September 8, hundreds of thousands of people worldwide displayed the growing strength and diversity of the climate movement. From Sydney to San Francisco, on 7 continents, in 95 countries, with about 900 actions, people demanded real climate action from their local leaders.

Are you looking for a network of educators to exchange experience and ideas, the Climate Educator Network CEN, is an one of possibilities. CEN supports and facilitates capacity building and exchange between educators like teachers, group leaders or trainers around the world in the fields of sustainable development and climate protection.This is one of the activities of MYCLIMATE, the Swiss Non-Profit Organisation, which wants to shape the future together with its partners through consultation, education and climate protection projects. myclimate pursues this as a science-based and business-orientated non-profit organisation.For more information myclimate.org.

We regret to inform you that Edward Radatz, founder of CEI and the first among caretakers, passed away. Will remain in our memory. In Memoriam Edward Radatz

Twenty-five years ago, the Union of Concerned Scientists and more than 1700 independent scientists, including the majority of living Nobel laureates in the sciences, penned the 1992 “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity” (see supplemental file S1). These concerned professionals called on humankind to curtail environmen-tal destruction and cautioned that “a great change in our stewardship of the Earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided.” In their manifesto, they showed that humans were on a collision course with the natural world. They expressed concern about current, impending, or potential damage on planet Earth involving ozone depletion, freshwa-ter availability, marine life depletion, ocean dead zones, forest loss, biodiver-sity destruction, climate change, and continued human population growth. They proclaimed that fundamental changes were urgently needed to avoid the consequences our present course would bring.  The full text of the article by William Ripple and others.

The organization Global Environmental Education Partnership focuses on using the potential of environmental education in solving pressing global problems, both environmental and social.One of GEEP's scientific advisers, Professor Arjen Wals from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, publishes a questionnaire on his blog, which is to be used to determine the direction of GEEP's strategic activities for the next 10 years. In this research should not lack the opinions of environmental educators and not only. We encourage you to participate in shaping the global GEEP action plan for environmental education by filling out the questionnaire available here.  

From yesterday, registration of participants of CEI 2018 conference is open.More information you can find on this site or on the official CEI 2018 website.

To all caretakers, sympathizers and visitors of the site, we wish you a happy, successful New Year!

The CEI-Hosts 2018 have finished the homepage for the 2018 CEI Conference in Austria!The page has the following address:  https://cei2018at.wixsite.com/cei2018Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1923510601223178/Twitter address: https://twitter.com/CEI_AUSTRIA2018Instagramm: https://www.instagram.com/cei2018at/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy2BLrZ5S1UohEqOlKvlZ2w Data provided by Bernd Fiechtl  

CEI Poland is organizing Teachers Training Course for teachers from Poland and abroad, from 6th to 10th of November this year. This is one of the tasks under the ERASMUS+ project „EduCO2cean - STS Education models to transmit to society the challenge of global change in the ocean”, coordinated by the ASPEA (CEI Portugal), in collaboration with the University of Vigo Spain, Ciencia Viva Portugal, Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland, CEI Poland and schools in Portugal, Spain and Poland. The aim of the five-day course is to present methods for creating student activity and promoting good practices in environmental education. Classes will be conducted in English and Polish language, 8 hours a day, by academic staff of the University of Silesia. The partner is the Scientific Information Center and the Academic Library in Katowice, and the event is covered by the Honorary Patronage of the President of the City of Katowice and the Dean of the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia. This demonstrates the great importance of ecological education for local authority. But environmental education is also very important in the world, for international organizations and universities. Very inspiring and compelling to think in this regard are words from interview with Arjen Wals* Transgressive learning in times of global systemic dysfunction, quoted below:Well we need nothing less than a radical re-orientation of education. The one single species that has been able to alter the Earth’s ecosystems, climates, ocean levels, biodiversity in detrimental ways, must now find a way to do better. Indeed positivistic, reductionist, empirical analytical science and a neo-liberal economic system that demands continuous growth and innovation has broad us loads of possibilities and has made live for many very comfortable – although certainly not for all, but we now are beginning to understand that the ‘side-effects’ of this way of thinking are accelerating and limiting the futures for humanity and the other species we are dragging into our mess. Note: for people from abroad, interested in participation, there are still several places for free. Accommodation in Katowice on your own cost. Info by contact box. Detailed program of TTC. anToni Salamon *) Arjen Wals is Professor of Transformative Learning for Socio-Ecological Sustainability at Wageningen University, also Founding Board Member and Past President of CEI.        

This year we have conference number 31 in a long row of successful conferences where students and teachers from many different countries and cultures have met to learn, to study, to network and to enjoy both formal and informal education all with the purpose to encourage environmental education and to encourage the younger generations to be aware of and to act on environmental challenges. These are the words of Ms. Elisabeth Brune, the President of CEI, at the opening of the 31st CEI Conference. Whole speech on conference opening you can find  on this site, in Global Forum vol. 28 nr 1...  

This is my polite request addressed to the hosts of past conferences (1987 - 2004) and participants: If you have material from these conferences - reports, programs, photos, reviews, etc., share them with us and send to the address help(at)caretakers4all(dot)org. Your cooperation will enrich the knowledge of CEI in the world. Thank you in advance. web host

Dear Caretakers, Happy New Year. We hope that participating in CEI2017 conference is one of your New Year's resolutions.    The theme of the Conference is Sustainable Design. Check the website http://www.cei2017.org/ for information, particularly about Project Requirements to help you with the project you are expected to develop in your school and community and of course, also check some funding ideas to help you find the necessary funding to attend the CEI2017 conference in Salem, USA. The application for attendance of the conference as an alumni is open until January 15th, should you fit the required conditions. Take care  Fatima Matos Almeida ASPEA - Associacao Portuguesa de Educacao AmbientalCaretakers of the Environment International/Portugal Affiliate of the Earth Charter www.aspea.org

Hello fellow Caretakers and our guests, We are excited to welcome you to our newly updated website! Please take a few moments to browse and become familiar with its features. We shall continue to digitize over 30 years of Caretakers accomplishments, stories and memories in the coming months, and look forward to our next annual conference. Whether you have already been engaged in our incredible journey and network, or are considering your first Caretakers conference, please feel free to contact any of us, or simply share your feedback. Best regards and take care, CEI Board of Directors