About Speaker

Title

Helping people to help themselves: Educating the community around water sustainability

Bio

Professor Tammie Ronen is a full professor at Tel-Aviv University. The head of the international MA program for sustainable development, the former Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences , and the previous head of the Renata Adler Memorial Research Center for child welfare and protection in Tel-Aviv University.
She was the previous president of the Israeli Association for Behavior and Cognitive Psychotherapies and part of the international association of positive psychology.
Professor Ronen is an expert in learning theories, theories of change and positive psychology. She integrates her knowledge into research and projects aiming to increase well being of the population, reducing aggression, coping with trauma anxiety and crisis, empowering the population in general and facilitates well being in health situations in particular. She developed an evidence based model for change while improving well being and apply her knowledge in evidence based projects for improving well being both in Israel and internationally, especially, India.

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”. One of the main achievement will be supplying pure, good quality water to the people.

What should be done for achieving it?

My ultimate answer is: Education. Educate people for applying change process.

The main questions are therefore: Can human change? Can human help other humans change? Are some forms of change better than others? What is the social responsibility that may help this process?

The main assumptions are that

• People can always be changed
• Change is a process -successful change necessitates, clear goals, motivation, clear process for achieving, change
• Integration of knowledge, training and application
• Clear reasoning – why change is needed, what will be better, how will be better

Based on Paul Gordon theories questions will be asked:

What change is needed? When change is needed? Where change can be applied? Why should we apply change? And the main issue is who can apply change process and how.

The lecture will focus on necessary elements for education people for sustainable change regarding use of water.