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NIU will host international workshop on models of nature in primary food producers worldwide

August 8, 2011
Giovanni Bennardo

Giovanni Bennardo

NIU will host a two-day international workshop early next month examining the cultural models of nature and the environment held by primary food producers worldwide.

Department of Anthropology professor Giovanni Bennardo, organizer of the event, said results of the workshop will be of interest to area scholars, policymakers and individuals who are engaged in the search for solutions regarding climate change.

“The populations keenly aware of and most at risk of the effects of climate change are primary food producers — farmers, fishermen and herders,” Bennardo said.

“Participants will investigate how the different cultural models of nature held by primary food producers in 15 areas around the world influence the way they relate to their environment. We’re particularly interested in which cultural models contribute to sustainability.”

The workshop will held Friday, Sept. 2, and Saturday, Sept. 3, with sessions being held in the University Room of the Holmes Student Center.

The first day of the workshop is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The remaining day will be restricted to invited guests, including 18 scholars and graduate students from England, Germany, Japan, Kenya, China, Pakistan, Qatar and the United States.

NIU received grants totaling $12,000 for the workshop from its sponsors: the National Science Foundation; NIU’s Institute for the Study of the Ennvironment, Sustainability, and Energy; the Department of Anthropology; and the Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations.

For additional information, contact Bennardo at (815) 753-8574 or bennardo@niu.edu.