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ICASE 2011 and
Beyond
1 January 2011
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Dr. Ben Akpan
President, International Council of Associations for Science
Education |
On
behalf of the International Council of Associations for Science
Education, it is an honor to greet you as your new
President. Together, with assistance from
the ICASE Executive Committee and all our member organizations
worldwide, we envision working hard to strengthen ICASE.
I would like to share some of the accomplishments from the July 2010
ICASE World Conference on Science and Technology Education (STE)
held in Tartu, Estonia, and to provide some indications of what lies
ahead as we forge our agenda for the next three years. The Tartu
event was well attended and resulted in the Tartu Proclamation, an
important statement regarding STE for the 21st century. We are all
grateful for the hard work put in by Dr. Jack Holbrook, ICASE Past
President, and the entire ICASE World Conference planning committee,
as well as the representatives from ICASE member organizations who
attended this important event. We also thank all outgoing board
members for their service and commitment to the ICASE.
The incoming leadership of the organisation is committed to the
Objectives of ICASE as cited in our Constitution and will work
diligently to meet these Objectives. For your convenience the
objectives from the constitution are listed below. :
-- To extend and enhance the quality of formal and non-formal
science and technology education for all, with particular reference
to the children and youth of the world.
-- To provide and support activities and opportunities that will
enhance formal and non-formal science and technology education
throughout the world.
-- To assist and support all members and other organizations
throughout the world that are involved in formal and non-formal
science and technology education.
-- To establish and maintain an international communication network
for member organizations and their members involved in formal and
non-formal science and technology education.
-- To encourage and support the establishment and development of
professional science and technology organizations, especially
teacher organizations in all countries.
We will strive to have an open administration, following a strategic
framework including the establishment of a permanent headquarters
office for ICASE in the near future, as well as financial autonomy /
improvement in the organization’s revenue base, modernization of
recordkeeping, and improved membership maintenance to ensure that
ICASE continues to be a world-class organization.
As we work to take these important steps forward, we hope to
establish a new level of cooperation and collaboration amongst us
all. We are encouraged by the growth of ICASE as new member
organizations join, and those that have been involved for years
continue their collaboration. In addition, our Web site will
continue to be transformed under the guidance of Dr. Bulent Cavas,
ICASE Publications Chair and Webmaster.
Our planned initiatives reflect a continuation of our important
objectives to foster collaborations with science education
organizations so they have greater impact on science education
policy, practice, and research. We will continue our efforts to
inform stakeholders about science education research and practices
related to the teaching and learning of science.
Another function of our growing organization is to assume more
active roles in helping policy makers understand the scientific
underpinnings of the science education issues that need to be
addressed. As you can see, we are eager to begin the challenge
before us to educate those who inspire and prepare the future
scientists and engineers for the work force of tomorrow and we look
forward to working with all of you.
We thank you all.
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