Paris, 4 February 2008


EFITA newsletter / 347 / European Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment


Rural Futures: Dreams, Dilemmas and Dangers
1-4 April 2008 - PLYMOUTH, England
With over 100 oral and poster papers, workshops and exhibitions, and providing a great opportunity to meet and learn from rural practitioners, academics and citizens, the 2008 Rural Futures conference is an event you can’t afford to miss.
The conference aims to bring together those who live and work in rural areas with those who make and implement policy, and those who teach and research rural issues.  It will draw on specialists from a wide range of disciplines to encourage a stimulating cross-fertilisation of ideas and experience.  It will be truly international, with a strong representation from continental Europe and attendees from Pakistan, India, Australia, New Zealand, USA, China, South Africa and elsewhere.  And it will be fun as well as worthy.
Headlining the conference will be Jan Douwe van der Ploeg, Professor of Rural Sociology at Wageningen University, The Netherlands, who is renowned world-wide for his work on agricultural and rural development, and the human processes involved. For each of the six themes of the conference, we have an excellent keynote speaker:
- Dr Kate Braithwaite, Director of Carnegie UK Trust (Connecting Communities)
- Professor Stephen Daniels, Professor of Cultural Geography, University of Nottingham (Art, culture and society)
- Ian Dent, Specialist in methodologies for agency / community consultation (Making it happen)
- Fabienne Goux Baudiment, Head of proGective, Research Centre for Futures Studies, Paris (Constructing the future)
- Dr Charles Kenny, Senior Economist, World Bank (Information, communication and technology)
- Professor Bill Slee, Leader of Science Group for Socio-Economics, Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen (Sustainable solutions)
See: http://www.ruralfuturesconference.org/
Contact: Susie BISSELL
E-mail: susie.bissell(a)plymouth.ac.uk


Advances in Energy Studies
29 June - 2 July 2008 - GRAZ, Austria
This workshop aims at bringing together experts from different disciplines for the discussion of the latest results in research regarding energy technologies, energy systems and their political, social and economical impacts. We aim at sharpening the scientific focus and building a critical mass and collaborative network among scientists researching energy issues. We will discuss the question of future energy scenarios and their implications in a circle of open minded people representing different approaches in order to gain new momentum in these years as societal attention once again shifts toward policy debates and decisions concerning sustainable use of energy and resources and their relationship to the economics of humanity and the future of the planet as a convenient habitat.
See: http://www.aes08.tugraz.at


The IAMFE Denmark 2008
30 June - 4 July 2008
IAMFE is an International Conference and Exhibition on mechanization of field experiments.
Believing field experimentation is the key to modern and sustainable agriculture, the objective is to provide insight, knowledge and motivation as inspiration for organising and implementing scientific field experiments and trial.
See: http://www.lr.dk/iamfe2008
Contact: Lars Byrdal KJÆR
Mél : lbk(a)agrotech.dk


Engineering Education for Sustainable Development 2008 - Bridging the Gap
22 – 24 September - GRAZ, Austria
The EESD 2008 is the fourth conference in a series of biannual international conferences dealing with all aspects of the education of engineers for sustainable development. Over the years the EESD has developed into the prime platform for the exchange of ideas among scientists, academic educators, university staff and students who are interested in making future engineers fit for the challenges of sustainable development as well as in transforming technical universities, universities of applied sciences and engineering colleges into sustainable institutions, serving society and their respective region.
With ever increasing pressure to find sustainable solutions for global warming, depleted resources like crude oil, utilising limited resources like fertile soil or water and the global fight against poverty and illness, engineering education becomes increasingly relevant for sustainable development in general. As the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development approaches its midterm the EESD 2008 will be an important event with a high impact on the future development of institutions of higher education for engineers.
See: http://www.eesd08.tugraz.at/


New e-Learning Initiative on Organic Agriculture & Agroecology
A new European project, Organic.Edunet, which aims to raise awareness about Organic Agriculture and Agro-Ecology in schools and agricultural universities, was recently launched. The project is coordinated by the Greek Research & Technology Network (GRNET S.A.), involves 15 partners from 10 European countries, and is expected to facilitate the access, usage and exploitation of digital educational content for teaching topics related to Organic Agriculture and Agro-Ecology.
In this direction, it will set up a network of online repositories with educational resources from various content producers. This network will be accessible from the Organic.Edunet Web portal, a multilingual environment that will facilitate end-users' search, retrieval, access and use of the educational resources.
Organic.Edunet also plans to study educational scenarios that will use digital content to support teaching of concepts related to Organic Agriculture and Agro-Ecology in schools and agricultural universities. Until the end of the project (September 2010), pilot demonstrators in more than 10 European countries are expected to be organized.
Overall, Organic.Edunet aims to inform European Youth about the benefits of Organic Agriculture and Agro-Ecology, and to cultivate a sustainable and ecological way of living and working among future consumers and young agricultural experts.
See: http://www.organic-edunet.eu/
Contact: Xenofon TSILIBARIS
E-mail: xtsili(a)grnet.gr


Squirrels
A small town was having a problem. Squirrels had invaded four churches in the town. Each church tried different ways to get rid of them.
The Baptists decided to wait until the squirrels wandered into the baptistery and then they would close the lid and trap them. But the squirrels were too fast for them and they ran away, only to return the next day.
The Methodists decided that they could not do anything to harm God's creatures and so they did nothing. Squirrels overran them.
The Presbyterians decided they would catch the squirrels and take them out into the country and release them, which they did. However, a few days later the squirrels found their way back.
The Catholics took a different approach. They baptised the squirrels and made them members of the congregation. Now they only see them on Christmas and Easter.


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