CONSTITUTION
Earth Sciences Education Working Group (YEÇG)
Goal
Earth sciences education covers the efforts of researching, learning and teaching the natural features of the Earth such as geophysics, climatology – meteorology, hydrology, pedology, physical geography, geomorphology, oceanography, cartography and ecology. Societies generally have very limited knowledge about the Earth where they provide their living resources. There is a non-governmental organization (NGO) named as International Geosciences Education Organization (IGEO), which operates for acquiring awareness about the importance of the Earth in the life of human and other living things at an early age; at the pre-school, primary and secondary education ages. IGEO Representative of Turkey is Prof. Dr. Nizamettin Kazancı (Ankara University) and his assistant is Assoc.Prof Dr. Alper Gürbüz (Niğde Ömer Halisdemir Uni.). In the JEMIRKO meeting held on December 7, 2019, the Earth Sciences Education Working Group–YEÇG, which will operate on a voluntary basis, was established to carry out IGEO activities domestically and to increase the awareness of nature in the society.
YEÇG aims
I. To ensure that earth sciences education is provided at all levels (primary education, secondary education and university) at international level in Turkey.
ii. To work to increase the quality of earth science education to the international level;
iii. to encourage activities that disseminate the consciousness and awareness of the society, especially among young people.
Scope and Basis:
The working group is an independent group established for scientific purposes. The working group is supported by the Chamber of Geological Engineers, universities, and relevant institutions and organizations. It is open to anyone who works on matters related to geosciences, who is interested in this subject and accepts these principles.
Organization
Earth Sciences Education Working Group (YEÇG) consists of the executive board and working committees.
Board of Directors; It consists of the President, Vice President, Secretary and 10 members (This number can be increased). The members of the Board of Directors, together with their substitutes, are determined by voting in the general assembly from among the members of the Earth Sciences Education Working Group. The board of directors elects a chairman, a vice chairman and a secretary among itself. The President represents the Board of Directors. It calls the Board of Directors to the meeting and manages the meeting. It ensures that the General Assembly convenes when the time comes. The Vice President carries out the presidency in the absence of the president. The secretary is responsible for notifying the members of the meetings and asking for the opinions of the members in order to determine the agenda items before the meetings. The secretary distributes the agenda to the members before the meeting. The secretary sends the minutes of each meeting to each member within four weeks after the meeting.
The General Assembly meets each year during the Geological Congress of Turkey (TJK) by invitation of the Board of Directors and elects the Board of Directors and a chairman, gives the duty the Board of Directors and supervises the task.
Majority is not required for General Assembly meetings. The majority of votes of the present members shall be applied in making the elections and taking the decisions in the General Assembly. Each member has one vote
The Board of Directors is assigned for two years. In case the members of the Board of Directors are unable to attend the meetings, changes may be made upon the agreement of the chairman.
Working Groups; The Board of Directors can establish fixed-term Working Groups to deal with specific topics that will appeal to different branches of the Earth sciences.
Activities of the Earth Sciences Education Working Group:
i. To follow the international developments at all levels for earth science education and to inform the relevant people about the subject;
ii. To promote communication between earth science educators at all levels;
iii. To liaise with national and international bodies related to earth science education;
iv. To liaise with national and international professional earth science bodies;
v. To liaise with international bodies related to natural science education.