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Presidential Quarterly Update

By IZE President Chris Peters

March 2003

Rotterdam Zoo, Netherlands
c.peters@rotterdamzoo.nl

Dear IZE members,

At the moment we are all living in a very uncertain period. What will happen after the war with Iraq? When will the local and world economy recover? And so on, and so on. All this uncertainty diverts attention from climatic changes, endangered species and the vulnerable ecosystems of our planet earth. The leading politicians of the world have spoken of the danger of terrorists as the most important threat of this moment. And although the need for personal safety cannot be underestimated, we must not forget the threats to our environment. In today’s political climate, conservationists face a very difficult decade. The need for strong nature conservation action is enormous. Together with IZE, WAZA (World Association of Zoo & Aquariums) is busy with rewriting of the World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy, based on the foundations of the excellent first document published in 1992.

As I wrote in the last column, a steering group has been established under the chairmanship of Jo Gibbs, Director of Bristol Zoo Gardens and chair of WAZA (World Association of Zoos and Aquariums) Conservation Committee. A core group will manage and coordinate the project: Jo Gibbs, Peter Olney (editor), Miranda Stevenson (project coordinator), Onnie Byers, Peter Dollinger, Bert de Boer and Chris West.

The input from the IZE will be impressive. For example our Secretary, Stephen Woollard is doing a great job as the lead author for the education chapter. But many IZE members from all the continents are involved in the complex process of research and selecting information. The first draft will be ready before the WAZA Conference in November '03 to be held in Costa Rica.

After the IZE Conference in Vienna, comes the year of regional conferences. The IZE Regional Representative for Latin-America, Maria Eugenia Martinez, is very busy organizing the regional Latin-American Zoo Educators meeting in May (7-10) at Guadalajara Zoo in Mexico. Major issues such as those below will be on the agenda:

• How can we improve the role of IZE in Mexico and the rest of Latin-American zoos and aquariums?
• How can we make a work plan for the region and coordinate it with the Latin America Network of educators in zoos and aquariums?
• How can we contribute to the environmental education within our places of work?
• How can we formulate minimum standards for zoo education in Latin-American zoos and aquariums?
• Conference attendees will also discuss the education chapter of the WZCS to provide the Latin-American point of view.

The Regional Representative for Africa, Francis Maina, is doing a great job by organizing the 3rd African Zoo and Reserve Educators Network (AZOREN). For those of you who don't already know, AZOREN is the African wing of IZE which brings together education practitioners working in zoos, reserves, sanctuaries and aquariums across Africa to enhance the understanding of conservation issues and to share information on effective informal education methods.

This 3rd AZOREN conference will be hosted by Munda Wanga Environmental Park, Zambia from September 8-11th, 2003 in association with the Zambia Network of Environmental Educators and Practitioners (ZANEEP). Munda Wanga Environmental Park, is a Zambian institution that is embarking on a rehabilitation program to rejuvenate a neglected botanical garden and transform an old menagerie style zoo into a modern-day wildlife park and sanctuary.

For the very first time the hosting organizations hope to bring together the members from AZOREN, the Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa (EEASA) and other organizations across the world in this 3rd AZOREN conference. The conference will provide an opportunity for exchanging knowledge, experience and ideas from all over Africa. Both ZANEEP and Munda Wanga are proud to be hosting this event and looking forward to giving the delegates a truly Zambian welcome.

The conference has been generously sponsored by Chester Zoo (UK). Thanks to their grant we are able to subsidize the attendance of a number of delegates coming from institutions with limited funds. These subsidies are limited and will be distributed on a first come first served basis, only to those whose institutions are unable to afford attendance.

More information is available on the official conference website. Links are also posted on our own website and on the Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa (EEASA) site.

In Europe for the first time there is unique cooperation between the Education and Exhibit Design Committee of the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The European Zoo Educators (EZE) Conference will be held in Leipzig Zoo, September 14-16, 2003. The EZE is the regional branch of IZE.

The first day’s theme will be Formal Education. Speeches and workshops will provide possible answers to questions such as:

• How to link school education to zoo collections.
• How to get the zoo into your classroom.
• How to infuse local and global nature conservation as a topic for school children.
• The second day will focus on Informal Education. Keynote speakers will give presentations on:
  • How to use different media to make zoo collections more educational.
  • Which media are most effective in getting the nature conservation message across?
  • The theme of the last day of the European conference will be the educational approach to collection planning.

As IZE’s President-Elect I plan to contribute IZE’s perspectives at the American Zoo and Aquariums (AZA) 2003 annual conference which will be hosted by the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Columbus, Ohio on September 7-11, 2003.

Hopefully all these activities will strengthen the IZE and place more focus on nature conservation worldwide. I strongly ask for your dedicated support and enthusiasm to realize the important goals of the global zoo educators’ community.

Chris Peters
IZE President-Elect