Welcome to the 5th World Environmental Education Congress!

The vision for this World Environmental Education Congress is Earth as our common home. Caring for this household, in which all life exists, calls for strong ecological identity, solidarity, and sound action at this critical period of the Earth’s history when we need to profoundly and urgently realign human endeavour within the capacities, limits, and systems of our home.

Issues like climate change remind us that environmental matters are complex, controversial, and global. They affect this entire common home of ours. Other issues such as globalization, water supply, food sovereignty, poverty, violence, and war affect all lives on earth. We expect concern to grow as pressures upon Earth’s systems increase and as socio-ecological conflicts intensify.

Environmental education is on the cusp of an opportune moment, when environmental awareness has gone beyond the concerned minority to reach many people in all parts of the world. It has a crucial role to play. Prevention and resolution of environmental issues will require thoughtful, informed, and well-educated citizens to place pressure on political leaders and to make changes in their own lives and by taking action in their own communities.

Together we will celebrate the courage, creativity, and successes of environmental educators working in diverse settings. However our task remains great. This international gathering will allow participants to identify new and persistent challenges for taking our work further.

This Congress is for all educators: professors, researchers, teachers, university students, community leaders, civil servants, museum and park interpreters, consultants, journalists, artists, and all other actors in environmental education. Together, we seek to strengthen education in our neighbourhoods, villages, cities, and regions—to better inhabit Earth, our common home.

In May 2009 we invite you to enjoy springtime in the heart of Montreal,

between Mount Royal and the St. Lawrence River. It will be a pleasure to share our important work together.

The Board of Directors