Success in Seoul for ʹڲƱ students
Two ʹڲƱ student teams mentored by the ʹڲƱ Cities Institute last week won the top prizes at the 10th Global Conference of the Alliance for Healthy Cities in Seoul.
Two ʹڲƱ student teams mentored by the ʹڲƱ Cities Institute last week won the top prizes at the 10th Global Conference of the Alliance for Healthy Cities in Seoul.
The ʹڲƱ Bush Tucker Trail Project, presented by ʹڲƱ Master of Environmental Management students , and won first prize in the Global Youth Health Forum: Healthy City Policy Contest for its proposal to address rampant biodiversity decline in urban centres, by implementing 'green corridors in university campuses as a means for biodiversity regeneration. Their proposal cited the Green Trail at ʹڲƱ as its positive example.
And the team of ʹڲƱ Bachelor of City Planning students Timothy Hutton, Tim Atkinson, and Jack Vella, won the second prize for their 'Utilising University Campuses and Promoting Sustainable Living' project, which looks at the potential of university campuses to enhance the experience of students living on and near campus, with particular regard to ʹڲƱ’s community gardens at the Kensington campus.
The ʹڲƱ Cities Institute, which is an associate member of the Alliance for Healthy Cities, encouraged the students to apply and they were mentored by ʹڲƱ Cities Institute Scientia Fellow Dr Jinhee Kim, who was also a key speaker at the Conference.
Anil Babu said the support of ʹڲƱ, particularly the ʹڲƱ Division of Societal Impact, Equity and Engagement’s Verity Firth and Alison Avery, meant the idea gained traction as an impactful example of change rather than just as a concept.
“The idea seems to have resonated with many because delegates from other universities approached me with interest in having green trails at their campus,” he said. They included World Health Organization delegates who want to collaborate on a training program to be launched next year as part of their own healthy city initiative.
He added the Bush Tucker Trail also aligned with Seoul’s plan to add ‘1000 Gardens by 2026’.
“I believe this shows great potential for cities across Australia to have more bush trails within the city perimeter,” Babu said.
The four ʹڲƱ students in Seoul (, , Hutton, and Atkinson) also led the launch of the Young Leaders Network of the Alliance for Healthy Cities at the Global Conference, which was held in collaboration with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and World Health Organisation (WHO).
The Conference proved to be a major success for ʹڲƱ, with a number of its leaders, including ʹڲƱ Cities Institute’s Peter Poulet and Dr Kim, ʹڲƱ Climate-Resilient Cities Research Lab’s Negin Nazarian, and ʹڲƱ Health Equity Research and Development Unit’s Fiona Haigh, facilitating sessions with government, research and policy leaders from across the Asia-Pacific.
(left to right)