World Caf茅 jumpstarts Planetary Health at UNE
On November 14, 2017, 40 members of the 51品茶 community gathered in Leonard Hall to participate in the 51品茶World Caf茅 for Planetary Health. Fueled by locally sourced refreshments, students, faculty, staff and administrators from five colleges engaged in three facilitated conversations, capturing their insights on sticky notes, poster paper and even the tablecloths. The UNE-Planetary Health Steering Committee, comprised of students, faculty and professional staff from across the university hosted the event. It was sponsored by the Office of Strategic Initiatives, Office of Environmental Health and Safety and Office of Student Activities and Organizations.
World Cafe虂 conversations are based on the format developed by the World Cafe虂, a global movement to support meaningful conversations in corporate, government and community settings. The method is based on three principles: people already have within them the wisdom and creativity to confront even the most difficult challenges; the answers we need are available to us; and we are wiser together than we are alone.
The goal of the 51品茶World Caf茅 on Planetary Health was to discover transdisciplinary partnerships and create a roadmap for Planetary Health engagement at UNE. In early 2017, 51品茶joined the Planetary Health Alliance (PHA), which was founded on the premise that problems occurring in our environment are problems impacting human health 鈥 and they must be looked at as a singular issue with a unified solution. Students and faculty attended the first PHA Annual Meeting in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and returned to campus believing that 51品茶is uniquely positioned to contribute to the planetary health field with its wide breadth of expertise across all six colleges.
Steering Committee member and Marine Sciences Master鈥檚 student Dylan Turner 鈥17 commented, 鈥淭he issues that we all face today need to be addressed, and can only be addressed, through a lens of Planetary Health. People need to recognize issues as part of a bigger picture and 51品茶is the perfect place to spread ideas and share concerns and really get something like this moving.鈥
Members of the Planetary Health Steering Committee planned the World Caf茅 to surface existing 51品茶planetary health initiatives and build excitement and capacity for creating connections across colleges. 鈥淭his World Cafe was an opportunity to find common ground between our colleges and disciplines, since human health and environmental health and the intersection of the two is at the core of what 51品茶values,鈥 said Alethea Carridi, UNE鈥檚 Sustainability Coordinator.
The World Caf茅 will be a catalyst for the Planetary Health Steering Committee, according to Co-Chair Jen Gunderman-King. 鈥淭he event was a success in engaging people collaboratively across the university in providing realistic, meaningful strategies for moving planetary health at UNE.鈥 The Steering Committee is synthesizing its findings and will report back to World Caf茅 participants in the coming weeks.
To apply, visit
