Announcements

• Virtual Australia Tour
  July 2008 >>
  Includes participation in the 2008 Australian Association for Environmental Education (AAEE) conference
  

• 10-Day Professional Development Delegation - Cuba
  November 29 - December 8, 2008
  “Cuban Environment & Sustainability: Education Study Tour and Exchange” >>
  

• Promoting Diversity at the 2007 Conference
  NAAEE Renews Its Commitment to Racial and Ethnic Justice in EE at 2007 Conference >>

Chairs

Peta White - petajwhite at wn.com.au
Anthony Marzolla - ammarzolla at ucdavis.edu

Board Liaison

Joe Heimlich

Members

The IC is open to all NAAEE members via a self-selection process (NAAEE members need to personally add the IC to their profile).  IC members will have the right to use the IC website, vote, participate in IC activities, serve on various committees, and receive IC updates.

Description

The primary aims of the International Commission (IC) of North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) are to:

• Provide leadership towards international partnerships for environmental education by promoting, supporting and enhancing its profile internationally;
• Support networking, exchange, and dissemination of information and expertise available within NAAEE membership to environmental educators around the world;
• Help develop and establish joint international partnerships for environmental education;
• Highlight international activities of NAAEE and its membership; and
• Actively seek to diversify and increase the membership of NAAEE and IC by introducing the Association to a larger environmental education community.
  

Through the work of the IC, NAAEE responds to the needs of the environmental education profession globally as well as locally. A major goal of the IC is to serve as a networking arm of NAAEE, provide a platform for sharing and exchange of experiences, and act as a resource for environmental educators worldwide working with environmental issues.

Goals

• Providing examples of success stories and lessons learned in programs developed or managed by NAAEE members on a regular basis;
• Providing a forum for interactive discussions and exchange of information by establishing and managing a listserve, and/or a website giving opportunities for member involvement and interaction throughout the year;
• Acting as a forum for idea and information exchange during NAAEE's annual conference; and
• Sharing opportunities for professional development through an IC web site to be located via a link on NAAEE's IC web page.

• Building a presence for environmental education both within and beyond North America (including Mexico and Canada) through NAAEE activities;
• Actively soliciting, and responding to our members opinion, needs and desires;
• Establishing and managing an interactive on-line presence, a discussion group or a listserve; and
• Keeping abreast of, and involved with, trends, ideas, and major initiatives in environmental education internationally.

• Creating a higher profile for NAAEE, the IC and their international partnerships within the environmental and educational communities worldwide;
• Forming strategic, longterm alliances with international organizations;
• Promoting a greater understanding of the goals of environmental education to a wider audience, educators of other disciplines, for example;
• Building a comprehensive worldwide representation and communication network; and
• Extending the influence of our constituency and their work into new and related fields through capacity building activities.

Organisation

The IC Chair serves for three years.  This first year as Chair-Elect, one year as Chair carrying out responsibilities as leader of IC, and one year as Past-Chair for a smooth hand over to the new Chair. The Chair can serve only two consecutive terms.  By July of each year, the representatives of the Nominations Standing Committee (see paragraph below) in consultation with the IC Chair, Chair-Elect, Past-Chair and NAAEE Commission Coordinator to form a selection process and call for nominations.  Once the nominations are accepted they will be posted on the IC website.  The IC will vote on all positions at the conference IC meeting.

The following four Advisory Committees are active within the International Commission
These committees provide direction on policy matters, and assist the Chair in IC operations.  A major responsibility of each committee will be to provide advice on developing work plans for the year, strategic plans for future, and any amendments to the charter with NAAEE Board.  The number of members on each committee will depend on the need of the activity or project with a minimum of five and maximum of twelve members. These committees will be open to those NAAEE members who may be interested in serving in some capacity with the IC and have expertise to address specific objectives.  All positions are declared vacant and then filled at the IC Commission Meeting during the NAAEE conference.

Advisory Committees:

• Communications
• Diversifying IC membership
• Internationalizing NAAEE
• Supporting EE Internationally

Standing Committees

• Nominations committee (to ensure and oversea the IC office election processes) and
• Conference Committee (conference coordination)

The following is a list of the International Commission members who act as representatives on NAAEE Committees

• Awards Committee = Young Imm K. Song
• Communications Committee = David Zanvliet?
• Conference Program Committee = ???
• Diversity Committee = Rosetta Fackler?
• EE Advocacy Committee - Ian Signer?
• Governance Committee = Justin Dillon
• Membership Committee - Stephen (Hoppy) Hopkins?
• Nominations Committee = ???
• Publications Committee - Lou Ann Dietz?
  

Reports & Other Materials:

• International Commission Charter

• October 2007 International Commission Report
• 2007 Conference Report
• March 2006 International Commission Report

Listserv Information

cmsn_international at naaee.org
Subscribers: 175

EE-Link Resources

Links to International Projects & Organizations >>

A link to the NEW International Commission Website will be here soon.... watch this space!