Aguascalientes, Ags., January 27, 2023.- La Panamericana was the venue for the First Meeting of Environmental Education Experiences of the Midwest Region.. Symbolically, our institution was chosen to celebrate this event that commemorates World Environmental Education Day, which is celebrated on January 26th.
Several organizations that wish to care for the environment and raise awareness of the importance of this issue for the well-being of future generations participated in this meeting. They joined together to exchange experiences and strengthen environmental education actions.
La bienvenida estuvo a manos de los miembros del presídium, conformado por: el Dr. Gabriel Domínguez García Villalobos, Rector de la Universidad Panamericana campus Aguascalientes; la Lic. Sarahí Macías Alicea, Secretaria de Sustentabilidad, Medio Ambiente y Agua; el Mtro. Florentino Reyes Berlié, Secretario General de la Gobernadora del Estado; el Lic. Jaime González de León, Secretary of the Environmental Commission; Dr. Irma Laura Hernándes León, Undersecretary of Environment of the State of Zacatecas; Dr. Miguel Ángel Árias Ortega, President of the National Academy of Environmental Education and Mr. Héctor Eduardo Anaya Pérez, State Environmental Attorney.
Environmental education as a pillar for future sustainability
Sarahí Macías comments that "these events strengthen us and encourage us to work hard for our environment. We must be aware of the crisis we are living in our planet. The model: take, use, throw away, voraciously depletes natural resources and pollutes air, soil and water. [...] We must take local actions to obtain global results. The environment has no borders, and all the effort we put into our daily work will have positive results, and we will strengthen a society that is increasingly prepared to make decisions.
For his part, Dr. Miguel Ángel invites us to "configure this event as an opportunity to vindicate the objectives and the spirit that environmental education manifests in its multiple spaces where it is present on a daily basis. It is a moment that we can use to analyze and define new ways to relate among ourselves, with others and with nature".
During the congress, Dr. Pia Berger made a presentation on the projects currently being worked on at the university. She spoke about the circular economy, a topic she researches and works on on a daily basis.
Florentino Reyes affirms that "in this government we are working together to promote concrete actions for the protection of the environment, which is environmental education for sustainability. Planning with a vision for the future demands to have clear objectives to achieve. Today the deterioration of the environment is palpable and critical, we must strengthen our commitment to sustainable development. This development of society must guarantee that the needs of the present are met without compromising the capabilities of future generations.
Reuse what we already have
"The circular economy," says Pia, "is a scheme that helps us put an end to the linear economy. In it, we take a resource from the Earth, turn it into a product, and when it is no longer useful, we throw it away. We must put an end to this and reuse what has already been made. To put these products back in the cycle, you need good design. You have to plan a product well from the beginning so that, when its useful life is over, it is within its design to recycle it easily.
After the two days and conferences and learning from experts and enthusiasts on the subject, the closing ceremony was held on Friday by María Teresa Jiménez Esquivel, Governor of the State of Aguascalientes, where she gave awards to people who excel in this cause of educating people for a better environment.
