Sources:
FoEME blog: http://foeme.wordpress.com/2013/08/24/2013-gwn-regional-teachers-seminar-2/
More than 70 teachers from Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have come together in Aqaba, Jordan, for the annual Good Water Neighbours Regional Teachers Seminar. The three-day seminar sought to coordinate and develop environmental communication and teaching methods, and provided an opportunity to exchange experiences and methodologies, while deepening understanding of environmental concerns among the three neighbours. The “Good Water Neighbours” (GWN) project is funded by the European Union under the EU Partnership For Peace programme.
The seminar also introduced the FoEME (Friends of the Earth Middle East) Teachers’ Resource Guide in order to introduce educators to the activities and concepts in the book.
The Regional Teachers Seminar is held each year to promote environmental ideas and to build teachers’ capacity for relaying these ideas to their students. A diverse array of participants helped make the group dynamic and displayed a wide range of opinions and approaches to teaching about environmental issues in the region. High school teachers, staff members and representatives contributed greatly through proposing techniques and teaching methodologies that can enhance students’ understanding of issues related to the environment in general and to water in particular.
Topics discussed included technologies for sustainability, development versus conservation, the cycle of environmental degradation, agriculture policy in the Jordan Valley, ecotourism, and groundwater. One session focused on environmental activism, such as the human right to water, conducting independent research, transforming conflict into opportunity, thinking global while acting local, competition versus cooperation, etc. Each representative discussed the integration of environmental issues in school curriculums to exchange experiences.
The “Good Water Neighbours” (GWN) project was established by EcoPeace / Friends of the Earth Middle East in 2001 to raise awareness of the shared water problems of Palestinians, Jordanians, and Israelis. The project is funded by the European Union under its Partnership For Peace programme. (EU Neighbourhood Info)