Print version Recommend this page Press release
09/ 2010
Bonn, 17.03.2010
UN recognises BIBB exhibition on sustainable development as an official Decade Project
A considerable degree of recognition was achieved by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) as the jury of the National Committee of the UN Decade of "Education for Sustainable Development" declared the touring exhibition "Renewable Perspectives - occupations in forestry and the timber industry" to be an official German Decade Project. The Decade logo, flag, stamp and certificate - which the exhibition will be permitted to use for advertising purposes from now on - will be officially presented to two representatives from the BIBB project team at 12 noon today, Wednesday, as part of the UNESCO Day at the "didacta" educational fair in Cologne. The National Committee makes this award for a period of two years to projects and initiatives which "promote exemplary sus-tainable thinking and actions".
The exhibition itself, which also includes interactive elements, is part of the BIBB project "Vo-cational training for a sustainable forestry and timber industry" and is mainly aimed at young adults who are thinking about possible future careers. Visitors are able to obtain information on occupational activities within the forestry and timber industry value-added chain and famil-iarise themselves with the influence these exert on achieving climate-friendly, environmen-tally sound and sustainable development within the branch.
BIBB President Manfred Kremer praised the award and said that it reflected the quality of the work BIBB had undertaken in an area of great importance in social policy terms. "The exhibition provides impressive evidence that vocational education and training is making a significant contribution to sustainable development." Kremer also feels that the forestry and timber industry has the potential to provide a large number of future-oriented fields of work and employment opportunities of which young people are often unaware.
Visitors to the exhibition are provided with a sensual introduction to the themes of forestry and sustainability in the form of chainsaw noises, the twittering of birds, hiking songs and a panoramic wall. There are numerous pictures and interactive elements, and use is made of simple language to clarify the responsibility of various areas of activity within the forestry and timber industry for sustainable practice. Account has also been taken of the very latest results from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funded "Sustainable forestry" project, and people are afforded an opportunity to demonstrate their forestry skills in the "forest of the future". Career entrants can learn about the nature of the responsibility for sustainable forestry which can be assumed in the occupation of technical agricultural assis-tant or discover how forestry machine operators manage to remove tree trunks from the for-ests in an environmentally friendly manner despite the heavy vehicles involved. This method is adopted to present a large number of training occupations. The exhibition is easy to handle, capable of flexible deployment and constructed almost entirely in wood. The BIBB project which has enjoyed recognition has been in place since 2005 and receives financial support from the BMBF.
Background information: official Decade Projects are recognised within the scope of the UN Decade of "Education for Sustainable Development" (ESD), which runs until 2014. These projects are presented in a database at www.dekade.org/datenbank or www.bne-portal.de/dekade-projekte , where a brief description and a photograph are provided. The database is published by the office of the Chairman of the National Committee in Berlin. The ESD portal is operated by the German UNESCO Commission in Bonn, which has also ap-pointed the Natio¬nal Committee.
The BIBB touring exhibition has been presented at such events as the "Green Week" and the "bautec" in Berlin. For further tour dates and information, please visit www.bibb.de/nachhaltigkeit/ausstellung
Press photographs are available at www.bibb.de/pressefotos
Point of contact at BIBB: Anne Roth, Tel. 0228/107-2528, e-mail: anne.roth@bibb.de
Reprint free of charge - voucher copy requested.
