The Conference Legacy Initiative
The international conference in May 2008 brought scholars, policy makers and the interested public together to describe, analyze and assess the history, current status and future directions of protected areas, landscapes and heritage resources and their role in our society.
Parks and protected areas play a crucial role in society. In 1968 the newly established University of Calgary hosted an international conference that helped define the role of parks in Canada in light of international experience. Since then Canada has emerged as a world leader in parks and protected areas.
Four decades later, in 2008, we again gathered together Canadian and global partners to consider the role of parks and protected areas in our country and internationally in light of 21st century realities. Over 200 people met at the University of Calgary to share ideas about the past, present and future of protected areas.
Now, the University of Calgary is building Canadian Parks for Tomorrow with a variety of legacy initiatives in an ambitious, long-term engagement to advance knowledge, decision making and practice in a field of endeavour important to the wellbeing of Canadian and world ecosystems and human communities. Watch this website for university initiatives that will build on a half-century of research, teaching, acquisitions and information dissemination on Parks and Protected Spaces.