Keith Wheeler appointed Chair of the Commission on Education and Communication

24 May 2006

The Council of the World Conservation Union today appointed Keith Wheeler to succeed Denise Hamu as Chair of the Commission on Education and Communication. Juanita Castaño was appointed deputy Chair.

"It is an exciting moment to take up the leadership of the commission: we have greater focus, a renewed membership, and a series of innovative activities that are set to make a major contribution to learning for sustainable development," he said.

Keith Wheeler, the previous deputy Chair, was appointed following the resignation of Denise Hamu, who found with deep regret that she was unable to combine leadership of the Commission with the heavy workload of her current position as CEO of WWF-Brasil. The World Conservation Union thanks Denise Hamu for her tireless efforts as Chair over the past six years to lead the Commission and bring the expertise and dedication of its volunteers to the service of the Union.

Keith Wheeler, President of the Foundation For Our Future, and Juanita Castano, technical adviser for the German development agency GtZ, take over at a time when the Commission has refocused its work into three main areas of capacity building and communication for sustainable development, and is working on innovative education and communication programmes such as the World Conservation Learning Network. The Commission currently unites close to 500 expert volunteers.

For more information

IUCN Commission on Education and Communication