Who says that academia has to be detached from the real world?
The world of academia is notorious for being detached from the real world. There are plenty of good reasons why it’s called the “ivory tower”. Because sometimes you just don’t care why Jacques Derrida chose to spell the word difference as differance, and it really won’t make any impact on your daily life if you understand Heidegger. But even though academia is, by definition, motivated by pursuing knowledge (and not action), some pursuits of knowledge can be very useful in the real world. Tel Aviv University is hoping to prove that environmental research is one of them.
Tomorrow morning, Tel Aviv University will be hosting a conference (that is open and free to the public) titled Beyond the Ivory Tower: The contribution of academic research to the creation of environmental policy.
The university describes the motivation for organizing the conference as such:
“Israel has an abundance of academic research in the environmental field, with knowledge that can assist and promote decision making processes. However, in order for policy makers to utilize this academic information effectively, it is crucial to bridge the gap between researchers and policy makers by providing accessible and practical information that will create cognizant decision making.
The conference will address the potential for academia’s contribution to the design and implementation of environmental policies at the local government level. Specifically, the seminar will address the contribution of the Environmental Policy Clinic at Tel Aviv University to the implementation of the environmental bylaws of the Israeli Freedom of Information law in several local governments in Israel.”
The conference will be held in Hebrew (with simultaneous translation into English), and the keynote speaker is Professor Miranda Schreurs, the Director of the Environmental Policy Research Center and Professor of Comparative Politics at the Free University of Berlin.
The conference will take place tomorrow between 8:45am and 1pm in Hall 101 of the Naftali Building at Tel Aviv University. For more information go to the conference website.
Image via: Shlomi Fish
Read more about recent and upcoming environmental conferences::
Energy Conference in Israel Becomes Arena for Debating Natural Gas Deal with Egypt
Egypt to Re-Think Wastewater Treatment at Upcoming Conference
Israel Shares Strategies for Taking Back the Desert Oasis November 8-11, 2010
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
