Friday, September 12, 2008

Youth Video Contest OPEN!

YOUTH VIDEO CONTEST OPEN!

NCSE is pleased to provide a forum for young people to share their actions, perspectives, and passion for biodiversity through new media channels by hosting a video contest, Voices and Visions from the Next Generation of Conservationists, as part of the Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing World Conference.

We invite persons ages 12 to 25 (individuals or groups of up to 5) to submit a short video (up to 5 minutes) focusing on how today’s youth are and will be addressing the challenges that threaten biodiversity. The contest deadline is October 31, 2008. A team of expert judges will review each submission and determine the top three in four age categories (12-14, 15-18, 19-22, and 23-25). The winning videos will be showcased at the Voices and Visions from the Next Generation of Conservationists reception and award ceremony at the conference on December 9, 2008, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.

Visit the Voices and Visions from the Next Generation of Conservationists website for more details!

--=Fast Fact Recap=--
Who: Committed and Enthusiastic Youth ages 12-25
What: Voices and Visions from the Next Generation of Conservationists Video Contest
When: DEADLINE: October 31
Where: Washington, DC @ the Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing World Conference
Why: Have the opportunity to showcase what you are, will, or want to do to brighten the future of biodiversity

Youth Website Main Website Register

Update: Keynote Address

Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, Cristián Samper to Keynote

Cristián Samper, PhD, Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, will deliver the opening keynote address at the Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing World Conference on Monday, December 8, 2008. Samper will speak to the biodiversity crisis in the context of a rapidly changing world, raise key issues, and encourage the public to work and act together with science as their guide.

Prior to his position at the Smithsonian, Cristián Samper has served in a number of roles in the conservation field. He is widely known for his work in the Andean Cloud Forest, environmental policy, and conservation biology. Samper served as director of the environmental division of the Foundation for Higher Education in Colombia until 1995 after which he became founder and director for the Alexander Humbolt Institute in Colombia. He has also served as Chief Science Advisor for Biodiversity to the President of Colombia and the Acting Secretary of the Smithsonian Institute until the appointment of G. Wayne Clough. Samper received a bachelor’s degree at the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota, Colombia followed by a Masters and Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University.

picture from: newsdesk.si.edu

Registration OPEN!




THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT (NCSE) invites you to participate in the 9th National Conference on Science, Policy, and the Environment: Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing World, to address the challenge the changing world poses to biodiversity (and to humanity). The conference will provide an opportunity to look at what is happening to biodiversity in the context of radical climate disruption, human population rise, land use changes, globalization and other economic forces. We will collectively develop a 21st century biodiversity science and conservation strategy.

REGISTRATION HAS OFFICIALLY OPENED! Register online before October 6 to receive the early registration rate! Visit the website to register and view the conference agenda, speaker bios, and important information on travel and lodging.

December 8-10, 2008
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington, DC
http://ncseonline.org/Conference/Biodiversity/

JOIN US to put biodiversity back on the political agenda of the US and the world, and to consider approaches to conserving biodiversity in a world of rapid global climate disruption, land conservation, population growth, economic change, globalization and other forces. Come hear from conservation leaders including:
= Cristian Samper, Director, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
= Edward O. Wilson, Pellegrino University Research Professor Emeritus, Harvard University
= Peter H. Raven, Director, Missouri Botanical Garden
= George Rabb, President Emeritus, Chicago Zoological Society
= Thomas Lovejoy, President, H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment
= Eric Chivian, Founder and Director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment, and Assistant Clinical Professor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School
= Rita Colwell, Former Director, National Science Foundation
= Ron Pulliam, Former Director, National Biological Service
= Stephen Hubbell, Founder and Chairman, National Council for Science and the Environment
= Susan Haseltine, Associate Director for Biology, U.S. Geological Survey
= William J. Sutherland, Miriam Rothschild Professor in Conservation Biology, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge
= Jane Elder , Principal, Jane Elder Strategies

Skill-building
workshops, targeted breakout sessions, and plenary sessions will provide participants with an expansive understanding of conservation strategies in a 21st century context. The conference will explore key ecosystem types from the ocean to forests, agriculture and other human-dominated landscapes, consider critical issues such as values, health, communication, evaluation, funding, law and policy. Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing World will look at challenges such as invasive species, conservation-reliant species, protected areas in the context of rapid change. We will learn about projects such as the Encylopedia of Life, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, and the National Commission on Science for Sustainable Forestry.

Visit the conference website to learn about our Biodiversity Partners
Exhibition, Poster Session, Youth Video Contest, and many other opportunities for participation!

Register Soon! Early registration ends October 6!
Questions? Call 202.530.5810 or email conference@ncseonline.org

Registration Codes will be required to register:
Individual attendee code: INDIVIDUAL
Full-time Student code: STUDENT

PLEASE NOTE: University Affilitate Members, nonprofit organizations, congressional members, press, and volunteers please visit the
website for more information about your registration code.