Using Social Networking to Promote Multi-Cultural Dialogue on Biodiversity Conservation Based on case study entitled : “Multi-Cultural Dialogue on Biodiversity Conservation Using SNS : A Case Study of the Biodiversity Cyber Dialogue Project for CBD COP10 Conducted by RCE Chubu” Authored by : Reita Furusawa, from RCE Chubu-Chubu University, Japan Presented by : Reita Furusawa, at Asia Regional Forum on Biodiversity, Cha-am, Thailand, November 2011 Gone are the days when organizations were limited to phone, fax and face-to- face interaction to reach out to their audiences. Traditionally, conferences and meetings are conducted to serve as venues for dialogue among multi-audiences. In the past decade, however, the world has witnessed the increasing popularity of social networking among various sectors. They are tapping the power of the Internet to reach audiences from many parts of the globe. Recognizing that the Internet provides a venue for instant dialogues, RCE Chubu tried an innovative approach to promoting multi-cultural dialogue on biodiversity conservation – social networking. RCE Chubu is one of the 88 Regional Centers of Expertise (RCEs) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) acknowledged by the United Nations University (UNU). The UNU RCE is an initiative for promoting the United Nation’s Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (D-ESD) 2005-2014. Although the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is the lead agency of the D-ESD, UNU is another key international organization implementing D-ESD promotional activities. The UNU RCE aims to create “a network of existing formal, non-formal and informal education organizations, mobilized to deliver education for sustainable development to local and regional communities.”1 How it All Began The Tenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP10) was held in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan from 18 to 29 October in 2010. Discussions among the State Parties to the CBD took center stage, while various stakeholders such as international organizations, the private sector, non-government organizations, research and educational institutions conducted side events and exhibitions. As focal point for a network organization based in Aichi and neighboring areas for promoting ESD, RCE Chubu saw an opportunity to conduct a side event during COP10. In 2009, it proposed to the global RCE network to spearhead a project called Biodiversity Cyber Dialogue. Objective of the Cyber Dialogue The Biodiversity Cyber Dialogue is based on the idea that discussions made via the Internet are meant to provide a worldwide overview of the diversity of ideas about biodiversity, including opinions from the South and from the different sectors of the civil societies who have less access to the global discussion among the State Parties to the CBD. Entrenched on the idea of ESD, the Biodiversity Cyber Dialogue invited individuals and groups concerned with the unsustainable global trends and developments to share their concerns and raise their voices to call the attention of the State Parties, the corporate sector, media practitioners, and the research communities on the various political-economic and socio-cultural dimensions that negatively impact or reduce cultural diversity and biodiversity.2 The Cyber Dialogue was aimed at bringing in different voices, which are often unheard, on board in shaping the direction for sustainable ENCOURAGING PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN BUSINESS AND COMMUNITIES FOR BIODIVERSITY 99
In Celebration of His Majesty the King of Thailand’s 84th Birthday Anniversary
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