Delegates are heading to Paris ahead of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria’s (EAZA) European Zoo Educators Conference (EZE), which kicks off in the French capital tomorrow (13 March) at Parc Zoologique De Paris.

With this year’s theme being 'Diverse tools to engage audiences with nature: How creative design sparks conservation education diversity in EAZA zoos and aquariums', the event opens with an EAZA Academy Seminar, taking place ahead of conference registration at Paris Zoo.

The conference gets into full swing on 14 March, with an opening session hosted by Bruno David, president of the National Museum of Natural History, Dominique Duché, director of Aquarium Tropical de la Porte Dorée, and Myfanwy Griffith, EAZA executive director.

Susan Clayton, professor of psychology and and chair of Environmental Studies at the College of Wooster, will deliver the keynote speech for this year’s conference. Clayton, whose research focuses on the human relationship with the natural world, how it is socially constructed and how it can be utilised to promote environmental concern, will discuss these areas and how that can be applied to a zoo environment.

Through the day a number of topics will be discussed, including arts and culture programmes in zoos and aquariums, conservation storytelling and groups with additional needs at the zoo. The day will conclude with a cruise on the river Seine.

Day three will start at Aquarium Tropical de la Porte Dorée, with a session highlighting programmes involving teenagers, young adults and other hard to reach groups through examples of conservation education activities that are delivered outside the zoo grounds and the pros and cons of an “out the zoo” approach.

Following a tour of Paris Zoo, the afternoon will consist of a series of interactive workshops exploring a number of topics including animal dissection as an education tool, an introduction to education strategy development, and innovative and collaborative teaching in the zoo.

The final day will feature a presentation on the results from the previous day’s workshops, followed by a session on promoting biological literacy. After a number of sessions, the conference will conclude with an update from EAZA’s ‘Let it Grow’ campaign, also introducing its next campaign ‘Silent Forest – Asian Songbird Crisis’.

Attractions Management will be on hand at the event. For more about EZE 2017, click here.