INTERNATIONAL
INTERDISCIPLINARY
CONFERENCE ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
OUR HISTORY.
The Interdisciplinary Environmental Association (IEA) was created in the early 1990s by economist Demetri Kantarelis and geographer Kevin Hickey. While researching for their course in environmental economics, Kantarelis and Hickey found little literature review to draw from and little opportunity for scholars to go beyond their field to experiment with broader approaches to environmental issues. Suspecting that there were more scholars with similar interests in an interdisciplinary approach to environmental concerns, the Drs. initiated the IEA in the spring of 1994 and set out to organize scholars through a massive internet campaign referred to as the “Internet Bottle”. Their campaign reached over 1400 individuals across the globe.
The first International Interdisciplinary Conference on the Environment (IICE), was held in Boston in June of 1995 and included over 100 attendees representing 18 foreign countries and 14 disciplines. This initial group of participants became the core of the IEA and because the first conference proved to be so successful, a second IICE was organized for June 1996 in Newport, Rhode Island, where again over 100 participants attended. As interest in the IEA grew, succeeding conferences were moved around the country and beyond. Within three years of IICE’s initiation, 34 countries had been represented at a conference, and by 2000 a conference was held in Montreal Canada. 2019 marked the IEA's 25th anniversary, which was held in San Juan Puerto Rico. In 2020, the IEA transitioned to online conferences in the wake of Covid-19. The decision proved fruitful in terms of attracting global institutions and individuals and provided more accessibility for presenters who could not travel due to visa restrictions and financial constraints. As of date, the IEA has hosted twenty-eight conferences on two continents, across four countries, and twenty-two cities.
IICE
TODAY.
The International Interdisciplinary Conference on the Environment, IICE brings together academics, researchers, and practitioners to approach environmental issues from an interdisciplinary perspective.
The mission of the IICE is to facilitate the exchange of information among people from different countries and disciplinary backgrounds so that participants can listen, discuss, and consider new concepts to implement in their area of study. We believe that a cross-discipline and cross-boundary exchange is beneficial and essential if we address the complex, multifaceted environmental issues of the present day and the future. Our goal is for conferencegoers to obtain new professional connections in a safe, inclusive, and diverse space. ​At the IICE, you'll expand your professional network, and learn about today's most pressing human and planetary problems presented in a scholarly research format, while also attending interactive discussions, workshops, and keynote addresses.
OUR OBJECTIVE.
The IICE's purpose is to bring together academics, researchers, and practitioners who have an interest in approaching environmental issues from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Our goal is to facilitate the exchange of information among people from different countries and disciplinary backgrounds so that participants can listen, discuss, and consider new concepts to implement in their area of study. We believe that a cross-discipline and cross-boundary exchange is not only beneficial but essential if we are to address the complex, multifaceted environmental issues of the present day and the future.
IICE attendees organize PowerPoint or poster presentations, attend round table discussions, engage with keynote speakers, and obtain new professional connections in a safe and diverse academic space.
PAST IICE'S.
