Education is crucial in achieving sustainable development. The rapidly changing environment due to new technologies and increasing globalization suggests that education and training become critical elements for sustainable livelihood and economic competitiveness. Poverty education strategies are now emphasizing the development process especially the the rural sector. Such strategies need to address the provision of education for many target groups.

This is a big challenge for the new century, the reduction of poverty. Hence, the conference tried to recognize the evolved best practices in alleviating poverty in participating countries with its theme “ Best Practices in Poverty Alleviation through Education for the New Century ”.

The conference was participated in by 186 participants and guests coming from various institutions of South Korea , Japan , Philippines , USA , Germany , Iran and Netherlands . Delighted and exultant of the significant topics of the conference and the APEAEN activities, new membership increased.

The conference was organized by the Asia Pacific Educators Association for Agriculture and Environment/ Society of Korean Agricultural Education/ Department of Agricultural and Vocational Education, Seoul National University / Korean Association of Agricultural Education and the Korean Association of Agricultural Extension. This activity was sponsored by the Rural Health Administration, Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies, Korea Research Foundation, KYUNG NONG Corporation, Du Pont Korea , Asian Productivity Organization of Japan and the Food Agriculture Organization.

Keynote presenters in the conference were:

•  Dr. Malcolm Hazelman – Senior Extension and Communication Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok , Thailand

•  Dr. Anne Willem van den Ban – Free-lance Consultant on Agricultural Extension, Netherlands

•  Dr. Burton E. Swanson – Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana , Champaign , USA

•  Dr. Ji Woong Cheong – Professor, Seoul National University , Korea

•  Dr. Charles John Maguire - Former IBRD Specialist and FAO Consultant on Agricultural Education

•  Dr. Heinrich K.F. Hoffmann – Free-lance Consultant in Agricultural Education and Training, Germany

In the concurrent sessions, a total of 16 participants presented papers in the conference:

Dr. Hiroki Inaizumi (Japan), Drs. Jin Mo Kim & Sung Soo Kim (Korea), Dr. Atsushi Tajima (Japan), Dr. Carolina Santillana (Philippines), Mr. Kanzo Nagayama (Japan), Dr. Young Saing Kin (Korea), Dr. Mohammad Hossein Emadi (Iran), Dr. Hiroshi Satomi (Japan), Dr. Rhodelia Gabriel (Philippines), Dr. Marylin Perlas (Philippines), Drs. Pyeong Ik Choe & Myung Hee Kim (Korea), Dr. Josefina Dizon (Philippines), Drs. Byeong Min Yu & Soo Wook Kim (Korea), Dr. Josephine Aloc (Philippines) and Drs. Seung Il Na, Chyul Young Jyung & Yong Hwan Lee (Korea).

Eleven posters were also presented: Mitsuko Ukai ( Japan ), Dae Yong Hwang & Ji Yeon Lee, Eun Sik Park & Dae Yong Hwang, Jeong Sook Ko & Han Ki Lee, Young Sook Cho et. al., Drs. Eun Ja Kim et al., Kyung Suk Lee & Tae Sun Kang, Kyung Ran Kim & Ji Sung Lee, Tae Sun Kang & Hyo Cher Kim, Hye Min Kim & Jin Kyung Kim ( Korea ).

APEAEN elected its new set of officers during the conference. The 3 rd conference is slated to be held in Iran on 2006.

Effective Educational Strategies for Poverty Alleviation 

Charles J. Maguire

Asia Pacific Association of Educators in Agriculture and Environment (APEAEN) 2nd International Conference on Agriculture Education and Environment

Suwon , Korea , October 13 – 16, 2004

Poverty Alleviation

Poverty alleviation is a major goal on today's development agenda. The focus on poverty is not new and, in recent times, there have been a number of international meetings and publications that highlighted the plight of the poor and proposed strategies for bringing about change. Of these, the Millennium Declaration of September 2000 signed by 147 heads of state and passed unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly set challenging goals for the world community. A 25-year period from 1990 to 2015 was chosen as the timeframe within which the evaluation of the Millennium Goals of reducing the proportion of people living in poverty by fifty percent, the provision of education to all, the improvement of health, and the preservation of the environment would be measured... Get Full Article..

Best Practices in Education and Training Rural Youth in Asia

S. Malcolm Hazelman

Senior Extension, Education & Communications Officer
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

The paper presents a global and regional scenario of youth population and its relationship to poverty. Of the 1 billion world's population (2004), 18% belong to the youth between 15 to 24 years. Approximately 85% of them live in developing countries. It was stressed that the growth in youth unemployment between 1995 to 1999 reached 8 million already. Get Full Article..

This might be the last issue of the APEAEN Agri-vironment Educator in hardcopy. Succeeding issues can be uploaded in the upcoming website. We encourage members to contribute stories for possible publication. Please send your article contributions to:
The APEAEN Inc. – UPLB Post Office
P.O. Box 35012 , College, Laguna 4031
Philippines

Reminders:
•  If you have changes in addresses, please inform us by mail or email.
•  We are currently updating our directory to be published in the web, please send us the following:
•  Latest curriculum vitae (CV's) with 2 x 2 photo
•  Latest field of specialization
•  Recent accomplishments – publications etc.
•  New address and contact numbers

3. Payment of annual dues and membership fees can be made through:
The APEAEN Inc. and Land Bank of the Philippines
UPLB Branch, College, Laguna 4031 Philippines
US $Account No: 1894-0034-01
Swift Code: THLBPPHMMXXX

4. Please recruit members – membership forms will be available in the web by March 2005.

Life Members (Starting 2005) :

MANCEBO, Samuel
SUNG Soo Kim

Regular Members:

PHILIPPINES
ALOC, Josephine
CAPACIETE, Eugenita
DIZON, Josefina
ENRIQUEZ, Cynthia
LABANIEGO, Genoveva
Maningas, Ruel
Mendoza, Isabel
Bayabos, Lilia

JAPAN
NAGAYAMA, Kanzo
OMURO, Kenji
SUEMITSU, Kenji
TAJIMA, Atsushi
UKAI, Mitsuko

KOREA
Seon Ha Lee

NETHERLANDS
Anne Willem van de BAN

GERMANY
HOFFMANN, Heinrich K.F.

USA
SWANSON, Burton E. USA