Bayer - Eco-Minds

About Eco-Minds

Welcome to Eco-Minds

Eco-Minds is a new youth program of Bayer and UNEP which encourages the youth to think of creative and practical uses of science and technology in an interdisciplinary way in order to address the challenge of Sustainable Development. While the primary focus of Eco-Minds is on scientific and technical innovations, the initiative also includes consideration of socio-economic and cultural factors at all stages.

The international background of the participants introduces a multi-cultural dimension to the program. The Eco-Minds Youth Forum shall bring together 27 participants from nine Asia Pacific countries: the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, China, and Korea.

Three selected participants from each of these countries will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to New Zealand to attend the Eco-Minds Forum 2009.

Eco-Minds focuses on Sustainable Development in a unique way by bringing together young scientists, engineers, social scientists, economists, and management experts from different countries to participate in a solution-oriented group work. If you are a student of science or engineering, you will be able to work with social science and management students to solve real-world problems of Sustainable Development. If you are a social science student, you will be able to work with science/engineering and management students to predict the social impacts of the proposed solutions. And if you are a commerce or management student, you can work with science/engineering and social science students to test the viability of the proposed solutions.

Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, Member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director about Eco-Minds

Dr. Wolfgang Plischke,
Member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG, and responsible for Innovation, Technology and Environment

Dr. Wolfgang Plischke:
As a research-based enterprise, Bayer places great emphasis on awakening enthusiasm for science among young people. In partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Bayer organizes and supports a number of specific projects aimed at increasing environmental awareness and improving knowledge of the environment. Support for youth forums such as Eco-Minds is a major focus of this commitment.

A global task such as the sustainable protection of our environment is not only a challenge to global companies like Bayer, it is a challenge to us all. We can all make our own personal contributions.

Science and technology are widely acknowledged as key factors in promoting sustainable development. However, it is equally clear that socio-economic and cultural factors also play an important role. Only interdisciplinary cooperation can put ideas for sustainable development into practice. Eco-Minds therefore is an important forum for bringing together young people from various countries representing a wide range of academic disciplines.

It provides a fantastic opportunity to meet like-minded people, share knowledge and work together to develop practical solutions in the framework of sustainable development.

I therefore encourage all students, whether you are working in the areas of natural sciences, engineering, technology, social sciences or management, to take up the Eco-Minds challenge.

Your minds could make a difference to our future!

Achim Steiner,
UNEP Executive Director

Achim Steiner:
We live in a time of exciting - and sometimes frightening - change. On the positive side, new technologies are opening worlds of opportunity for a growing number of people across the globe. On the other hand, global warming and other environmental changes threaten to derail decades of progress. This is a concern for everyone.

Finding solutions to these issues will need clear and courageous thinking, and the application of the best minds in search of the most innovative answers. UNEP is convinced that those minds belong to the young people of the world.

With the support of Bayer, UNEP is putting into practice its commitment to making sure that young people - who represent nearly half the planet’s population - are given a voice, and are listened to. Whether the solutions are technological or political, we will need strong and inspirational leadership to face the challenges of the coming decades. The Eco-Minds programme is an important initiative for identifying and nurturing tomorrow’s leaders today.

Prof. Stuart McCutcheon, Vice-Chancellor, The University of Auckland.

Prof. Stuart McCutcheon,
Vice-Chancellor,
The University of Auckland.

The University of Auckland recognises that addressing the world’s environmental issues will require a concerted effort across all sectors of society.

As New Zealand’s premier university, we have an important role to play and we are committed to contributing towards the transition to sustainability. We are pleased to be able to partner with Bayer, UNEP and the NZ Commission for UNESCO in hosting the Eco-Minds forum in 2009.

As the global community moves away from an era of relatively cheap energy sources, the question of how to secure sustainable energy supplies will become increasingly critical. The forum’s theme of ‘sustainable energy supplies’ is therefore timely.

We look forward to providing a valuable opportunity for young people from across the region to learn about and develop innovative solutions to what will be one of the more important issues of their time.