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Urbanization and Global Environmental Change (UGEC) Project:

Role of Higher Education in Promoting Action

William SoleckiDepartment of Geography, Hunter College

City University of New York

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Outreach, Engagement, and UGEC

• Fundamental to UGEC’s role has been the ambition to bring new and emerging knowledge to a variety of audiences– Young scholar workshops– Regional meetings– Topic specific workshops– Broader conferences– Website and newsletter

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UGEC experience - reflections

• Regional meeting to promote information distribution have been very successful – local stakeholders appreciate connection to local scientists

• Innovation comes from interdisciplinary perspectives• Workshop meetings at academic institutions – catalyst

for breakthroughs; workshops have been incubation sites for activities

• Engagement with stakeholders needs to be continually worked on.

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Lessons Learned – Where to go from here (How to connect science to action)

• Integrate with emerging Future Earth protocols– Collaborative learning– Co-production of knowledge– Synergistic interaction

• Engage with local decision makers as well as NGOs and private sector

• Need to build in science-policy connections at the beginning and consistently

• Advance local science – local policy collaborations• Higher education extension service – identify transformation

pathways and accelerate transition to urban sustainability