Outdoor Education Australia
events
16th National Outdoor Education Conference
Notre Dame University, Fremantle, Western Australia,
January 10-13, 2010
The 16th National Outdoor Education Conference was held at Notre Dame University in Fremantle, Western Australia from January 10 to 13, 2010. The Conference was attended by over 100 delegates from around Australia. Presentations covered a wide range of topics of great relevance to the practice and development of Outdoor Education in Australia. Conference proceedings are currently being reviewed and will be published here shortly.
A good deal of discussion circulated around a range of national issues facing Outdoor Education in Australia, including the development of the National Curriculum. In response to these issues and on behalf of their colleagues around Australia, delegates developed and agreed on a statement which has come to be known as 'The Fremantle Declaration'.
The Fremantle Declaration
We the delegates of the 16th Australian National Outdoor Education Conference affirm that, through interaction with the natural world, Outdoor Education provides unique opportunities to develop positive relationships with the environment, others and ourselves. These relationships are essential for the well being and future of individuals, society and our environment.
We believe that a national approach to advocacy, representation and support for Outdoor Education would best meet an emerging range of challenges and opportunities. We therefore commit our support to the further development of Outdoor Education Australia as the organisation most suited to represent and drive the initiatives required.
In order to strengthen our communities' chance to meet and grow through the challenges facing a sustainable future, we support the immediate commitment of Outdoor Education Australia to advocate for the inclusion of Outdoor Education in the Australian National Curriculum as a subject in its own right.
Special thanks are due to the following folks for their contributions to the wording of the Fremantle Declaration:
Rock Watson
Biance Barbon
Brad Newton
Gordon McDonald
Steve McMurtrie
Kathy Mann
Tonia Gray
Scott Polley