Worldwide Indigenous meet at Murdoch

MURDOCH University hosted a landmark international conference in July that saw a unique sharing of information between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.

The three-day Community Technology (CT) 2001 conference was officially opened by the Minister for the Kimberley, Pilbara and Gascoyne, the Hon Tom Stephens MLC.

At the conference, speakers from as far afield as Canada, Africa, Kenya, Indonesia and the United States gathered to discuss and critique current approaches to service delivery in developing and indigenous communities.

The aim of the International Conference on Governance and Sustainable Technology in Indigenous and Developing Communities was to provide a forum for discussion of ideas and experiences in community and regionally-based self-management.

It featured international individuals working constructively in Indigenous communities.

Women at forefront of renewable energy solutions

THIRTY-ONE women from 24 countries attended a six-day seminar at Murdoch recently to discuss reliable and proven renewable energy technologies for development in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the developing world.

The Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Renewable Energy (ACRE) hosted the world’s first United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Seminar for women leaders on the uptake of renewable energy technologies.

“Women in developing countries tend to be the principal consumers, decision makers and users of household energy and public transport,” said Dr Frank Reid, Managing Director ACRE.

“They are often the victims of environmental pollution and as primary educators of their children’s future they mould their attitudes to energy conservation and consumption habits.”

Dr Reid said the seminar provided these women leaders with insights, shared experiences and a critical exchange of renewable energy technology knowledge that would help developing countries adopt renewable energy solutions and make a lasting contribution to their communities.

Sessions over the two days focused on E-commerce, information and communications technology, the Internet and telecommunications, with particular emphasis on the impacts, risks, barriers and opportunities.