Tomorrow\u2019s conservationists and community leaders will help guide the future of the Earth\u2019s sustainability as part of a global conference hosted by Curtin Singapore and the Science Centre Singapore this week.<\/p>\n
High school students from Australia, Mauritius, India and Singapore will consider how to apply the United Nation\u2019s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their regions at the \u2018It\u2019s our Future Earth\u2019 Conference, held from December 4 to 6 as part of the Young Persons\u2019 Plan for the Planet (YPPP) Program.<\/p>\n
The YPPP Program was initially developed at the Australian National University (ANU) with the support of Questacon (Australia’s National Science and Technology Centre) to engage, connect and empower young people to deliver the SDGs. Operating for more than three years, the YPPP Program has continued to expand geographically, as well as now including Curtin University as a partner.<\/p>\n
Curtin Singapore Pro Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Linley Lord said the University was proud to be co-hosting the 2019 conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis international conference presents an exciting opportunity to hear how the next generation believes we should be tackling some of the world\u2019s greatest challenges,\u201d Professor Lord said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look forward to welcoming the delegates to Singapore and I\u2019m delighted they will be introduced to a new way of facilitating innovative thinking and collaboration around sustainability through ANU\u2019s YPPP Program in conjunction with Curtin\u2019s game-based learning program, Balance of the Planet\u201d. <\/em><\/p>\n Professor David Gibson, Director of Learning Futures at Curtin and the UNESCO Chair, will be running a workshop on how to use Balance of the Planet<\/em>, an online tool aimed at developing creativity, leadership and problem-solving skills.<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing the launch of Balance of the Planet<\/em> at last year\u2019s YPPP Program Conference at Curtin Mauritius, I\u2019m excited to take the program to a whole new group of high school students who are seeking to develop their knowledge and skills in a fun and interactive way while teaching key STEM, management and global competency skills to help address some pressing global issues,\u201d Professor Gibson said.<\/p>\n \u201cBy making use of this innovative learning program, the students will be tasked with creating a solution for a UN Sustainable Development Goal of their choice, ranging from gender equality to climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n The Director of the YPPP Program, Ian Chambers from ANU, emphasised the importance of giving young people a real voice in designing and delivering a sustainable future.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was captured well by one student from the program, who said: \u2018I was worried about the future, but I didn\u2019t have a voice. Now I have a voice\u2019,\u201d Mr Chambers said.<\/p>\n Balance of the Planet<\/em> was created using Curtin\u2019s unique Challenge learning platform, developed by the University\u2019s Learning Futures team, and utilises Cisco\u2019s WebEx Teams for global collaboration.<\/p>\n The three-day \u2018It\u2019s our Future Earth 3.0\u2019 Conference for the Young Persons\u2019 Plan for the Planet Program will be co-hosted by Curtin Singapore with Science Centre Singapore and Terra Village.<\/p>\n