The EcoRes Forum Call for Action

To the Research, Training & Education Sectors

We call upon scholars, professors, teachers and trainers:

• To use their positions wisely, with particular attention to those junctures at which environmental issues intersect with other aspects of their professional concerns in the interest of reaching both within and beyond their circles of influence;
• To look beyond personal issues of competition for funding, tenure, and personal
  prestige in addressing these urgent issues;
• To acknowledge disciplinary and philosophical differences while working at a higher, more foresightful and cooperative level; where necessary, to adopt a two-prong approach in looking at what must be done now, and what can be done in the future;
• To develop a common language to be used in cross-disciplinary and intercultural efforts, as well as in outreach to policy makers and the general public;
• To undertake research on the apathy, pessimism and seeming paralysis that often accompanies discussion on these issues, identifying underlying sources as well as methods and approaches to offset and overcome this condition;
• To develop educational curricula and materials with an environmental education component in mind, seeking to identify creative ways to capture the minds and imaginations of students of all ages and interests;
• To develop open-access materials that can be tailored to multiple audiences and to make those materials available to both academy and community in the form of publications, models, lectures, seminars, workshops, and so on;
• To actively reach across international and disciplinary borders in researching and addressing transdisciplinary issues, as well as suggesting policy and identifying implications of the same;
• To call on academic and research institutions to develop students’ skills in and knowledge of the value and necessity of transdisciplinary approaches, cultivating a holistic mindset in future academic circles;
• To train teachers on these principles, who in turn may train their students, cultivating a culturally sensitive, open-minded and caring generation, aware of and responsible to their societies and to the planet;
• To take a two-prong approach in their efforts by incorporating both theoretical and practical aspects in a transdisciplinary, cooperative framework; when focusing on specifics, to always bear in mind these interconnections;
• To take part in international initiatives on related topics both theoretical and practical; and
• To work to develop diverse leadership in the field among students and faculty alike.