Keynotes

Keynotes

Dr Paul Vare

University of Gloucestershire, Chair of National Association for Environmental Education, UK

Paul is Chair of the National Association for Environmental Education-UK, a member of Teach the Future’s Adult Advisory Board and academic advisor to the UN Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) Steering Committee on education for sustainable Development (ESD) having co-authored the UNECE ESD Strategy in 2005.

Currently, Paul leads the University of Gloucestershire’s EdD programme where he researches on ESD. He led A Rounder Sense of Purpose, a research project that developed educator competences, winning Green Gown Awards in 2020 and 2021.

Paul once ran an international charity, established an ESD coalition in south-west England, worked on community projects in sub-Saharan Africa and UK and was, primordially, a secondary school teacher. 

He has published and several research articles and book chapters and co-authored three books:

• Scott W. & Vare P. (2018) The world we'll leave behind: grasping the sustainability challenge. Abingdon:Routledge
• Scott W. & Vare P. (2021) Learning, Environment and Sustainable Development: a history of ideas, Abingdon: Routledge. 
• Vare P., Rieckmann M. & Lausselet N. (Eds) (2022) Competences in Education for Sustainable Development: Critical perspectives, Dordrecht: Springer

Keynote Address:

Love in the time of climageddon? Confronting crisis with connection and care

Today’s young people are the first generation living with the knowledge that their world is likely to become less habitable as they grow older. The implications of this for their well-being – and for us, their educators – demand careful consideration.

This is the backdrop to a keynote address that will explore the question of how educators might respond to the current epoch we now call the Anthropocene. It will draw on Paul’s research on educator competences and his role as a teacher educator. If this all sounds rather ominous, rest assured, Paul is not a depressive type. He has always sought pragmatic ways of working with wicked problems and recognises the human need for meaningful sources of hope.

Prof Bridgette M. Bewick

School of Medicine, University of Leeds, UK

Professor Bridgette Bewick (she/her) is a British and Aotearoa New Zealand citizen. From a working-class background, she was the first in her family to achieve the New Zealand equivalent of GCSE and study at university. She’s an LGBTQIA+ role model at the University of Leeds and is passionate about increasing bivisiblity in higher education. Bridgette’s international career is dedicated to advancing our understanding of developing and implementing compassionate pedagogies, facilitating belonging, supporting wellbeing and reducing mental distress and injustice within higher education.

• Bewick, B.M. Why do we need a compassionate campus? And how do we get there? essay and podcast
• Bewick, B.M. A place where we belong: Integrating belonging and inclusion into healthcare education
• If queering the curriculum is of interest to you, then Bridgette has suggested you visit the ‘queering the curriculum’ blog (co-written with a student. There is also Bridgette’s LGBT+ History Month blog ‘A joy worth fighting for: Activism for social change’.
• If mental health and wellbeing is of particular interest then you may be interested in Bridgette’s short ‘prioritising mental health and wellbeing in higher education’ blog. Bridgette’s conversation with Adla in 2021 (Improving the wellbeing of students in higher education) may also be of interest (an English version is available at point of download).

Keynote Address:

Is compassion the answer to sustainable wellbeing in higher education?

As the narrative around university life becomes increasingly defined by emotional fatigue, disconnection, and structural inequities, could compassion offer a transformative and sustainable alternative? In this keynote, Bridgette delves into the potential of compassion to reshape academic culture-cultivating inclusion, belonging, and enduring wellbeing. Through a rich blend of research, lived experience, and practical strategies, this session invites us to reimagine higher education as a space where wellbeing is not only sustained, but where flourishing is collectively cultivated and shared by all.