Former Minister of Education in Bhutan, Lyonpo Thakur S Powdyel, at 10WEEC
The WEEC Permanent Secretariat is proud to announce that Mr. Lyonpo Thakur S Powdyel (former Minister of Education in Bhutan) will be a key note speaker at 10th WEEC (Bangkok, Thailand, 3-7 November 2019)
Lyonpo Thakur is the founder and great supporter of the concept of Green Schools in Bhutan. He wrote a book called “My Green School”. He calls it a meditation on the core function of education. In “My Green School” he develops eight elements that are the vital claims that education systems and educators must affirm and advance to make teaching and learning more purposeful and integral. There are some fine examples or models of Green Schools in Bhutan, which Lyonpo Thakur can refer to.
Thakur S Powdyel was awarded the prestigious International Gusi Peace Prize in 2011 for Life-time Contribution to Education, and the Global Education Award in 2012 for Outstanding Contribution to Education. He has experience in speaking at many international meetings and conferences.
We hope you can find his speech very motivating and inspiring. We look forward to seeing you soon at 10th WEEC!
The Thai laws of 2002 and 2006 for the protection of the forest heritage as well as those for the protection of the most valuable areas, have allowed the slowing down of a process of progressive elimination of the forest component. At the beginning of 1900, 70% of the territory of Thailand was covered with forests, with fine mahogany trees, various types of walnut, oak and beech trees, as well as different types of pines. Gradually this natural “green lung” decreased to a skimpy 25% of the total around 2000. Since then there has been a vigorous swerve that led to the current stabilization, with a consolidated “green” presence of around 35% of the territory. Especially with many new areas for special protection or, in some cases, integral.
Tous nos points de repères sont entrain d’être chamboulés. Nous ne devons plus chercher à regarder le vieux sage pour trouver la voie, il faut au contraire chercher la jeune écolière en grève assise seule dans le froid. Nous ne devons plus chercher les princes, s’il n’y en a déjà eu, il n’y en a plus, c’est dans les classes moyennes que se trouvent celles et ceux qui nous sauvent.
A great tragedy has hit the world of environmentalism. The Ethiopian Airlines aircraft crashed yesterday after take-off near Addis Ababa, caused the death of 157 people who were on board, including passengers and crew members.
From the young Swedish student Greta Thunberg, the successful example of how the message on the urgency of change can reach hearts and consciences. She deserves all our applause and support. From his courageous gesture a movement is born that mobilizes groups of young people all over the world. The events of “Fridays for future” and the global strike of March 15th are a sign of hope that must leave its mark. This is why the WEEC Secretariat invites all the people involved in the defense of the environment and all the members of the largest international network of environmental educators to join, to be in the front line and to give maximum support to the campaign for the respect for commitments against global warming. «Greta» said among other things the WEEC Secretary General Mario Salomone «spoke also to the great people of the Earth, COP24 and the WEF of Davos. They heard her, but it is not said that they listened to her. It is up to all of us to help extinguish the burning house fire. Women and men of every generation side by side».
Press and Media are warmly welcome to attend the 10th World Environmental Education Congress in Bangkok (3-7 November 2019). In order to attend as press you need to submit an official press ID specifying media affinity to media@weecnetwork.staging.19.coop and wait for an acceptance letter from the Organizing Committee in order to register as media. Fill the 
We want to analyze how an experimental curriculum in Environmental Education in the era of Anthropocene requires a multi-disciplinary and a multi-scale approach. Through the presentation of examples and case studies, we intend to show how an environmental thinking framework has to include simultaneously:
The World Bank estimates that there are about 370 million Indigenous people living worldwide in over 90 countries, accounting for 4,8% of the world’s population. Almost 80 percent of these are located in Asia and more than one-third in China alone. This type of ancestral knowledge and expertise on how to adapt, mitigate and reduce disaster risks has been internationally recognized as a support for the modern methods to cope with the imminent effects of climate change. Further, indigenous education can be an example of what a sustainable life means: a non-anthropocentric experiential transmission of coexistence with nature, based on mutual respect and a deep sense of belonging. Any knowledge (epistemology) can “be useful or useless, politically salient or meaningless, socially relevant or irrelevant, empirically testable or irrefutable, ideologically open or blind, without reference to whether it is indigenous or scientific” (Arun Agrawal). However, conitnuing pressure to maintain living standards in the industrial countries imply devastating socio-economic and territorial changes for indigenous peoples all over the world. The Their livelihoods are contaminated by raw material extraction and deforestation processes, and actions that force them to enter into market dynamics as the only way to survive and protect their territory.