Five leading New Zealand minds for Eco-Minds

Five leading New Zealand minds for Eco-Minds

Auckland, 19 March, 2009 Five leading university students have been selected to represent New Zealand at the prestigious Asia-Pacific regional Eco-Minds sustainable development forum, being hosted by The University of Auckland on May 25 – 29 in Auckland and Rotorua.

The five students are: Daniel Scott, Melissa Wong (Auckland University), Fiona Southall (Massey University), Elana Hawke (Canterbury University) and Rebecca Williamson (Waikato University).

They will be joining 20 other top Eco-Minds students from eight countries throughout the Asia Pacific region.

Held every two years, Eco-Minds is a sustainable development forum that brings tertiary-level students together to learn more about sustainability and to work on a case study.

The forum is the result of a global partnership between Bayer and the United Nations Environment Programme. In New Zealand, Bayer has also formed a partnership with the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO and The University of Auckland, which will deliver the academic programme.

The theme for Eco-Minds 2009 is Sustainable Energy Systems: Challenges and Opportunities.

Bayer New Zealand corporate communications manager William Malpass said he was thrilled with the quality of the five New Zealand students, who were selected through a national Bayer-sponsored competition.

“The passion for and understanding of environmental issues that these students have is exceptional and their desire to act as leaders for other young people gives me confidence in their ability to deal with the challenges that lie ahead.

 “We’re thrilled to be able to include them in such a dynamic forum as Eco-Minds where they can learn more from prominent sustainability experts and share their ideas with other students from the region.“

Over the course of the five-day forum, the student delegates will participate in group work, lectures from local energy experts and site visits to New Zealand power generation sites, including the Huntly power station,  Lake Karapiro hydro dam and the geothermal fields at Wairakei.

Students will also work on creating innovative and practical solutions to address the challenge of sustainable development and ensure sustainable energy supply.

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