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City of Aberdeen To Reap Economic Benefit of Global Conference

A global conference is set to bring approximately a quarter of a million of economic benefit to the city of Aberdeen. The 23rd Caretakers of the Environment International (CEI) Conference, ‘Sustainability Together: Working in Partnership, will see around 250 students and teachers from all over the world descend on Aberdeen University for a week long event taking place from 5 - 11th July 2009.

Caretakers of the Environment International is a global network of secondary school teachers and students with the common goal of promoting environmental awareness through education and taking an active role in the community to care for the environment and encourage others to take action. The groups' International conferences provide a platform for people worldwide to discuss issues and share ideas and outcomes of initiatives they have undertaken.

Jacky Selway, Business Tourism Manager of Aberdeen Convention Bureau, says, "We are privileged that Aberdeen has been chosen as the host city for this event. Previous conferences have taken place in Hong Kong, Greece, Russia, Kenya and South Africa. As the Energy capital of Europe, we look forward to showcasing what Aberdeen has to offer to the international delegates, most of which will have never visited the region before. We will be encouraging them to take advantage of the opportunity to explore Scotland by promoting all that the north east has to offer."

Scotland will be represented at the conference by a group of students from Aberdeen's Northfield Academy. With a passion and enthusiasm for teaching youngsters about the environment, Anne-Marie Begg, English and Media Teacher, at Northfield was the driving force behind Northfield Academy joining the CEI, which it has been a member of for more than fifteen years and attended the past fourteen conferences.

Anne-Marie, conference chair of the forthcoming event, says, "We are really thrilled to have the conference in Aberdeen once again. The delegates put in a lot of hard work in preparing for the conference and it is a unique opportunity for them to meet and interact with fellow students from all over the world."

The conference is supported by the European Youth in Action Programme. Aberdeen University, Aberdeen City Council, Petro-Canada and Scottish National Heritage as well as many other companies who have given time and expertise. To ensure that the conference fully realises its potential, sponsorship is still being sought, both for the theme groups, and to help fund delegations from poorer countries who find it difficult to access funding.

Businesses interested in supporting the conference should contact Anne-Marie Begg, Conference Chair, on 01224 699715 (Northfield Academy) X149 or by e-mail at either abegg@northfield.aberdeen.sch.uk or Annie4sky@aol.com