Are you a fearless speaker with a passion for the planet?
Earthwatch is inviting an enterprising member of the public to take on the experts at its annual debate, From Tsunami to Drought, hosted by award winning broadcaster Andrea Catherwood on November 19 in London.
For the first time, the charity is offering a ‘wild card' entry the chance to compete against three water experts, to offer a unique solution to the looming crisis of access to water for drinking and sanitation.
Drought is predicted to become an increasingly universal problem that may well bring neighbouring states into conflict over access to water - not just for agriculture, but for drinking and sanitation. Each speaker will have 10 minutes to outline their ingenious solutions to this looming crisis, before being interrogated Dragon's Den style by a panel of experts. The audience will have the final vote and the winner will receive a fictitious $1,000,000,000 cheque to put their ideas into practice.
Earthwatch Executive Vice President, Nigel Winser said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for young scientists and budding environmentalists to compete against leading experts in the field. We're looking for someone with creativity and passion for the subject - innovation is just as important as experience."
If you are aged 18 to 30 and you think you have the ‘gift of the gab', persuasive powers, knowledge and confidence to take on the experts, then please send a brief (no more than 200 words) abstract of your argument to Earthwatch Events Officer Simon Laman, events@earthwatch.org.uk. The deadline for submissions is Monday 12 October.
Earthwatch will select the best three submissions and the three ‘speakers' will then be invited to the Earthwatch office in Oxford to pitch their ideas. At the debate in November, the successful candidate will join a line-up of experts including Dr. Tom Le Quesne, Senior Policy Advisor in WWF's Freshwater Programme, and Professor Howard Wheater, Professor of Hydrology at Imperial College London.
From Tsunami to Drought will take place at the Royal Geographical Society in London from 7-9pm on 19 November 2009. For the second year running the event will be chaired by award-winning broadcaster Andrea Catherwood. It will be the charity's ninth annual debate. As well as being entertaining and fun, the annual Earthwatch debate is designed to be both informative and thought-provoking, encouraging members of the audience to consider serious environmental issues.
The debate is free to students and current Earthwatch donors; otherwise a donation will be requested on the door. For tickets call 01865 318856, or email events@earthwatch.org.uk.
Editor's Notes:
- Earthwatch is an international environmental organisation whose mission is to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment.
- Earthwatch makes research grants of over £3 million in support of around 130 projects each year. Earthwatch recruits volunteers from the general public and partner organisations to share the costs of a research project, and to join it as research assistants. In the past 30 years, Earthwatch field assistants have contributed 10 million man-hours to research internationally.
- Earthwatch has four priority research areas: ecosystem services, climate change, oceans and cultural heritage.
- Earthwatch welcomes proposals for long-term support. Around 18 per cent of our projects have been supported for over 10 years.