Sustainability Conference

Sustainability through Renewable Energy and Aquaculture

November 13-15, 2013

University of South Florida-Sarasota/Manatee

PROGRAM COMMITTEE
Raymond Young, Ph.D., Chair, Harry Dunn, Gloria Grenier, Dave Harralson, Ph.D., John Buechler, Ph.D., Erin Martin, Ph.D., Andrew Ezzell 

BACKGROUND
One of the major missions of Sarasota Sister Cities Assn. Inc. (SSCA) is to foster international relationships between Sarasota and its sister cities through exchanges in areas of culture and education.  SSCA’s objective is to develop respect, understanding and cooperation through citizen diplomacy. In furtherance of this objective, SSCA is planning a three day conference on “Sustainability Through Renewable Energy and Aquaculture” for November 13-15, 2013 at the University of South Florida – Sarasota/Manatee.  The goal of the conference is to bring together both professionals and students from Sarasota area institutions and institutions located in our Sister Cities in a forum based on Sustainability.  

OBJECTIVES
The program is near final form and the three major objectives of the conference will explore the following:

• Sustainability, exploring issues such as sustainability concepts, sustainability management, sustainable agriculture, and energy transfer and distribution

• Renewable Energy Alternatives, exploring such issues as new developments in solar energy, photovoltaics, fuels from biomass and ocean wave technology.
• Sustainability of Ocean Resources, exploring such issues as closed-circuit, non-polluting aquaculture, aquaculture of giant prawns, sturgeon, and caviar.

PRESENTERS & PARTICIPANTS

The topics for the conference will emphasize expertise in the Sarasota area as well as in our Sister Cities.  Additional subject area expertise will be provided by outside speakers.  A special student session is planned where local and sister city college and high school students will have the opportunity to interact through both poster and summary oral presentations.  Area high schools will include Pineview (solar energy), Riverview (aquaculture), Booker, Suncoast Polytechnical and Sarasota High School.

Regional presentations are planned from the University of South Florida, State College of Florida, Ringling College of Arts & Design, and University of Florida-Extension in the areas of Sustainability; from Florida Solar Energy Center, Florida Inst. of Technology and the USDA in the area of Renewable Energy and from Mote Marine Laboratories and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration in Aquaculture.  This will be complimented by Sister City presentations in these topic areas from University of Perpignan, Perpignan, France, Carnegie College, Dunfermline, Scotland, Autonomous University of the Yucatan, Merida, Mexico, The Interdisciplinary Center, Tel Mond, Israel, University of Padua, Treviso, Italy and Jimei University, Xiamen, China.  It is planned that a professional speaker from each of the sister city institutions will be accompanied by several college and/or high school students for participation in the conference.  Additional tours will be provided for the sister city delegates.

Additional attendees to the conference would include students and professors from area colleges and high schools, employees of government and public institutions, Mote Marine, energy firms, green architects and interested Sarasota general public.