Anthony Okely
"Cross-sectoral collaboration between research, policy and practice in ECEC to sustain children's resilience in times of climate crises"
Anthony Okely er ein framståande professor i folkehelse og NHMRC Leadership Fellow ved University of Wollongong, Australia. Han er også adjunkt ved Høgskulen på Vestlandet. Han er meddirektør for WHOs samarbeidssenter for barns mat, ernæring og fysisk aktivitet.
Forskinga hans fokuserer på rørsleåtferd (fysisk aktivitet, stillesitjande åtferd og søvn) hos barn, med særleg fokus på låg- og mellominntektsland.
Anthony har leidd team som utvikla nasjonale 24-timars rørsleretningslinjer i Australia og gitt mentorskap for liknande retningslinjer i Sør-Afrika og Asia-stillehavsregionen. Han har konsultert for WHO, UNICEF og Verdsbanken om ei rekkje prosjekt knytt til barns fysiske aktivitet.
Han leier for tida ein internasjonal studie om rørsleåtferd i dei første åra kalla SUNRISE, som involverer 65 land, kor 48 er låg- eller mellominntekt.
Han har publisert over 400 fagfellevurderte tidsskriftartiklar som har vorte siterte over 39 000 gonger. Han har ein h-indeks på 93. Han har vore Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher sidan 2021.
Abstract:
Children bear considerable burden from the effects of climate change. They are highly vulnerable due to their physical and psychological stage of development. Post COVID-19, where it was not business as usual for many early childhood education and care services, climate events have resulted in many children being more vulnerable to not reaching their developmental potential.
This presentation will put forward the child-centred actions needed to mitigate and efficaciously respond to climate change. A rationale for child-centred approaches in times of climate crises and economic transition for many children, especially those in low- and middle-income countries will be discussed. How climate change impacts children’s learning and revisit children’s rights in the climate crisis will be reviewed. A global perspective will be provided on how collaborative efforts can ensure an optimistic future for our children. A particular focus will be case studies examining how cross-sectoral collaboration can drive innovation to address climate change and what criteria should be used to determine if children’s lives have improved. The role of children, researchers, practitioners, families and politics will be discussed, with a view to developing effective co-creation and knowledge-based innovations to protect the well-being of our children and to drive resilient and sustainable solutions.