Youth events at 2012 International Aquarium Congress
flowcomm’>Taken at the Two Oceans Aquarium. Photo courtesyflowcomm
The Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa is hosting the 2012 International Aquarium Congress (IAC) from 9 to 14 September 2012 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). With its proud tradition as a public education facility as well as an environmental education facility for schools, the Two Oceans Aquarium’s mission statement provides their focus: “To foster love, respect and understanding of our oceans to inspire support for their future well-being.”
First day of 2012 IAC to focus on education
Approximately 500 delegates from various aquariums around the world will attend the 2012 IAC.
For opening day, organisers have booked a large auditorium at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in order to accommodate an extra 500 invited high school, university and college students from South Africa.
The aim is to expose this school-related audience to the role that aquariums play in the conservation of our oceans, and to involve them in discussions on some of the key issues regarding education programmes in such facilities.
Schools are invited to apply to attend.
The three events that can be applied for are:
The Two Oceans Aquarium Youth Symposium: Sunday 29 July 2012
The Voices of the Future of the Oceans video conference: Friday 7 to Saturday 8 September 2012
The opening day of the 2012 IAC: Monday 10 September 2012
The Two Oceans Aquarium Youth Symposium
The Two Oceans Aquarium Youth Symposium is scheduled for Sunday 29 July. All interested high school and university students will be invited to present a speech of no more than five minutes, in which they propose the changes they would like aquarium authorities from across the globe to implement. These need to focus on engendering positive and lasting impacts on our marine ecosystems. A panel of selected guests and members of the symposium will adjudicate.
The winner will have the honour of addressing the entire IAC audience on the opening day of the congress.
The Voices of the Future of the Oceans video conference
At the symposium mentioned above, we will be selecting a group of 30 debaters who will be invited to attend an overnight video conference at the Aquarium on 7 September 2012.
This video conference will facilitate discussions between our team and similar teams at major aquariums across the world, including Hong Kong, Chicago, Monaco and Hawaii (read Waikiki Aquarium’s call for videos here).
Discussions will deal with certain points of discussion and areas of concern.
The final summary will be presented by their spokesperson to the IAC delegates on Monday 10 September 2012.
For more information and how to apply, please contact Katja Rockstroh
Application closing date: 29 June 2012.
2012 International Aquarium Congress Opening Day
For the opening day of the congress, 10 September, we invite schools to apply to participate at the CTICC. This event promises to be inspirational, especially for young scholars with a passion for developing solutions for problems facing our oceans and the life within.
We can accommodate 50 school groups of no more than 10 suitable candidates per school. The Two Oceans Aquarium will pay the registration fee for those selected.
Schools need to apply for this event in advance. Non-registered groups will not be admitted to the event.
Application closing date: 29 June 2012
For more information and how to apply, please contact Katja Rockstroh on
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