TROP ICSU

Introduction

Climate Change is one of the most significant issues of our times and a key impeding factor affecting the pace of sustainable and equitable development of every country. Educating forthcoming generations about the causes and effects of global climate change is imperative as implementing solutions depends on their scientific, technical, and leadership abilities. As the climate change problem is complex and requires multi-disciplinary approaches to the solutions, existing cross-disciplinary collaborations between geoscientists, biologists, and ecologists must be broadened to assimilate input from the human and behavioural sciences, from law and politics, and even media and the creative arts.

In this context, there is an urgent need to develop new education modules and pedagogical methods to inculcate environmental understanding in today’s students, in such a way that, every future citizen would be better equipped to identify appropriate solutions to mitigate climate change and reverse its impacts.

TROP ICSU (“Trans-disciplinary Research Oriented Pedagogy for Improving Climate Studies and Understanding”) is a global project funded by the International Council of Science. The project is led by International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) and co-led by International Union For Quaternary Research (INQUA).

Agenda

13.30 to 13.35: Welcome remarks (Prof. Nathalie Fomproix, IUBS)

•13.35 to 13.45: Opening remarks (Prof. L S Shashidhara, IUBS, TROP ICSU)

•13.45 to 14.05: TROP ICSU Project: Introduction, overview, and methodology (Dr. Rahul Chopra, TROP ICSU)

•14.05 to 14.25: Online educational resources of the TROP ICSU Project (Ms. Aparna Joshi and Daniel Ramos)

•14.25 to 14.40: TROP ICSU workshops with climate experts, teachers and educators: Overall summary and feedback received (Ms. Anita Nagarajan)

•14.40 to 14.50: Closing the loop: From climate experts to educators to climate experts — Examples of teacher- submitted lesson plans (Dr. Megha Nivsarkar)

•14.50 to 15.05: Value addition to TROP ICSU from WMO, WCRP, UN CC:Learn (Dr. Boram Lee)

•15.05 to 15.10: Memorandum of Understanding between IUBS (on behalf of TROP ICSU and its project partners) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

•15.15 to 15.30: Coffee break

•15.30 to 16.00: Remarks/Comments on the TROP ICSU Project (Speakers: Dr. Lucilla Spini, Prof. Hiroyuki Takeda, Prof. John Buckeridge, Prof. Zhibin Zhang, Mr. Raymond Katebaka, Dr. Moemen Hanafy, Prof. Yongbiao Xue, other partners of the project)

•16.00 to 16.20: Open discussions: Feedback on the project and teaching resources, suggestions for further improvement (facilitated by Prof. L S Shashidhara)

•16.20 to 16.30: Concluding remarks and future plans: Promoting the implementation of the TROP ICSU ideas and resources across the world, translation of key content from TROP ICSU, etc. (Prof. L S Shashidhara)

General Programme