Academy for Educational Development

One Degree Matters: World Premiere at AED Coincides with Copenhagen Talks,
Where AED is Official Observer

AED’s environmental experts are in Copenhagen this week as official observers of the U.N. Climate Change Conference. Leading the team is Richard Bossi, vice president and director of the AED Center for Environmental Strategies, which launched its new Web site this week.

During the conference's first week, AED hosted the world premiere of the environmental film One Degree Matters in Washington, D.C. in conjunction with the European Environmental Agency, which  simultaneously screened the film in Copenhagen. The film follows social and business leaders as they travel to Greenland and witness the dramatic effects of the melting of the ice cap. It also brings to the screen the latest science from the arctic and shows how a further rise of just one degree in global temperature will matter for the future of humankind.

Directly following the screening, attendees were encouraged to pledge to make environmentally sustainable changes in their lives, and to use the tools available on the website www.bendthetrend.net.

“Every individual needs to commit to changing his or her life in a way that will help our environment,” Bossi said. “If we continue with business as usual, we’re headed for an iffy future and we’re not going to get the change we need to keep the temperature steady.”

Promoting Sustainable Fisheries

Bossi’s center works on five continents to address problems related to water, energy, agriculture, tourism, enterprise development, and fisheries. The center’s approaches range from social marketing to satellite mapping, and from conflict resolution to organizational development.

Just last week, the center held an event to introduce the public to the Global FISH Alliance, one of its many initiatives. The project balances economic, environmental, governmental, and social interests in order to promote sustainable fisheries and aquaculture practices.

Through a partnership with USAID, Darden Restaurants, and other organizations, “G-FISH” has formed a network that cuts across different sectors to work with fisheries around the world. Their first order of business is an effort that aims to save spiny lobsters and spur job creation in Honduras and Nicaragua.

“As a Honduran, I feel so proud of this initiative,” said Jimmy Andino, AED’s senior program manager of the Spiny Lobster Initiative in Honduras, at the event. “There are many people who depend on fisheries, and we want to help them. I really believe we can make a difference.”

For more information on the Global FISH Alliance, visit www.globalfishalliance.org.

For more information on the screening of One Degree Matters and the Bend the Trend event on December 13, visit http://aed-design.org/bendthetrend/index.html.