The International Zoo Educators' Association (IZE, short for IZEA) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the education programmes in zoos and aquariums.



Founded in 1972 by a group of European zoo educators, IZE’s aim was to create a forum where zoo educators could meet every two years to discuss and share ideas and common interests. The founding members included those from Frankfurt Zoo, Amsterdam Zoo, Paignton Zoo

Paignton Zoo

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, is a zoo in Paignton, Devon, England. The zoo is part of South West Environmental Parks Ltd which is owned by the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust . It is a combined zoo and botanic garden that welcomes over half a million visitors a year. WWCT also runs Living...

 and Copenhagen Zoo.


The first IZE President was Rosl Kirchshofer, head of education at the Frankfurt Zoo.



Proceedings were produced for the first time at the second international meeting in 1974 at Copenhagen Zoo. To facilitate communication among members the first newsletter was produced in 1977, edited by Jan Hatley, head of education at Paignton Zoo.



The IZE website states that the association's mission is to:



‘[...expand] the educational impact of zoos and aquariums worldwide’, ‘improve the education programs’ and ‘support excellence in animal care and welfare’.

History

The International Zoo Educators Association was established after a meeting of zoo education officers held in Frankfurt/Main, Federal Republic of Germany on September 6th, 1972.

Newsgroup

In November 1999 a group of IZE European members began a European regional internet discussion group to help educators network between conferences. This group started life as the ERNIZEERNIZE - the European Regional Network of IZE - was established as a means of structuring communications between European zoo educators who, it was felt, had little opportunity to do so in between conferences. Yahoo Group managed by staff at Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo is a zoological garden at Upton-by-Chester, in Cheshire, England. It was opened in 1931 by George Mottershead and his family, who used as a basis some animals reported to have come from an earlier zoo in Shavington. It is one of the UK's largest zoos at...

 in England. In June 2007 the IZE Board voted to make the group international and available to IZE members worldwide. The name changed to the IZE Yahoo Group and its management transferred to Edinburgh Zoo

Edinburgh Zoo

Edinburgh Zoo, formally the Scottish National Zoological Park, is a non-profit zoological park located in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland...

 in Scotland. Membership of the group is by invitation-only and its primary purpose is ‘to enable discussion, exchange of information and questions etc between zoo educators across the world’. In August 2010 it had 197 members.

Institutional membership and sponsored delegates

IZE offers institutional membership to zoos, aquariums, nature/wildlife centres and wildlife reserves. At least 50% of this annual membership fee is used in a scheme to enable sponsored delegates to attend conferences when they might not otherwise be able to afford to, and supports outreach to zoo and wildlife educators in the developing world.



Sponsored delegates must be qualified to seek full membership and be unable to pay regular membership fees. Sponsored membership applications must be approved by the Regional Representatives and IZE President. Approved members are entitled to all rights and privileges of full membership for two years.

Relationship with WAZA

World Association of Zoos and Aquariums

The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums is the "umbrella" organisation for the world zoo and aquarium community. Its mission is to provide leadership and support for zoos, aquariums, and partner organizations of the world in animal care and welfare, conservation of biodiversity, environmental...

Every year since 2000, IZE have reported to the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums

World Association of Zoos and Aquariums

The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums is the "umbrella" organisation for the world zoo and aquarium community. Its mission is to provide leadership and support for zoos, aquariums, and partner organizations of the world in animal care and welfare, conservation of biodiversity, environmental...

 (WAZA) about their achievements to realize the education goals formulated in the World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy.



In 2002 IZE becomes an affiliate member of WAZA.

In 2004 an IZE Central Office was established after a proposal to WAZA for assistance. It was decided during the 2004 WAZA Conference in Taipei

Taipei

Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...

 to offer room, equipment and a one day a week staff member in their headquarters at this time in Bern (now in Gland, Switzerland

Gland, Switzerland

Gland is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.-History:Gland is known to have been a prehistoric settlement. During the Roman period a farm called Villa Glanis was there...

), giving IZE a stable base for all kinds of activities. This also increased the efficiency of the management of IZE membership dues, allowing more sponsored delegates to attend the IZE Conferences. Since 2009, IZE have made a contribution towards the running costs of the headquarters.

Under a MOU

Memorandum of understanding

A memorandum of understanding is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in cases where parties either do not imply a legal commitment or in...

, the WAZA's Executive Office provides secretariat support to the International Zoo Educators Association (IZE).

WAZA encourages also zoo and aquarium staff to participate in local, national, regional and international networks such as the International Zoo Educators Association (IZE) and its regional groups.

Formalisation of Statutes under Swiss law in 2006

Under the name "International Zoo Educators Association" (IZE) exists, for an indefinite period of time, an association under the terms of articles 60 to 78 of the Swiss civil code. The association is a non-profit organization with international membership. The association office is located in Switzerland.

The IZE Constitution was adopted and put into force by the General Assembly at the 18th Biennal Conference in Pretoria, South Africa on 13th October 2006. It is revised annually and proposed changes are voted on by the General Assembly during the IZE Conferences.

Website

The IZE's website was first launched in 2001 with a major overhaul taking place in 2005. The website is currently maintained by Oregon Zoo, USA

Journals

The first Newsletter of the International Association of Zoo Educators was produced after the third conference in 1976. It was edited by Jan Hatley, head of education at Paignton Zoo

Paignton Zoo

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, is a zoo in Paignton, Devon, England. The zoo is part of South West Environmental Parks Ltd which is owned by the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust . It is a combined zoo and botanic garden that welcomes over half a million visitors a year. WWCT also runs Living...

, and published in 1977. The aim of the newsletter was to facilitate communication among members between conferences.



The newsletter was redesigned and edited for economic reasons with the help of the National Zoo

National Zoological Gardens

National Zoological Gardens may refer to;*Smithsonian National Zoological Park, United States*National Zoological Gardens of Sri Lanka...

’s Judith White and Judith King, and the sixth issue was published in 1981.



In 1986 the newsletter became the Journal of the International Association of Zoo Educators as suggested by Judith King:





The Journal describes itself as a resource for articles on conservation, interpretation, zoo education, methods and techniques, and evaluation. Its publication has been annual since 1999.

List of Journals

Issue No.	Year	Editor	Zoo
1	1977	Jan Hatley	Paignton Zoological and Botanical Gardens, England
2	1978	Jan Hatley	Paignton Zoological and Botanical Gardens, England
3	1978	Jan Hatley	Paignton Zoological and Botanical Gardens, England
4	1979	Jan Hatley	Paignton Zoological and Botanical Gardens, England
5	1980	Jan Hatley	Paignton Zoological and Botanical Gardens, England
6	1981	Judith White; Judith King	National Zoological Park, Washington D.C., USA
7	1981	Judith White; Judith King	National Zoological Park, Washington D.C., USA
8	1982	Judith White; Judith King	National Zoological Park, Washington D.C., USA
9	1982	Judith White; Judith King	National Zoological Park, Washington D.C., USA
10	1983	Judith White-Marcellini; Judith King	National Zoological Park, Washington D.C., USA
11	1983	Judith White-Marcellini; Judith King	National Zoological Park, Washington D.C., USA
12	1984	Judith White-Marcellini; Judith King	National Zoological Park, Washington D.C., USA
13	1984	Judith White-Marcellini	National Zoological Park, Washington D.C., USA
14	1985	Pegi S. Harvey	Zoological Society of San Diego Zoological Society of San Diego The Zoological Society of San Diego is a non-profit organization that operates the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and the Institute for Conservation Research. It was founded in 1916 under the leadership of Dr. Harry M... , California, USA
15	1986	Helen Freeman	Woodland Park Zoo Woodland Park Zoo Woodland Park Zoo is a zoological garden around the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Occupying the western half of Woodland Park, the zoo began as a small menagerie on the estate of Guy C. Phinney, a Canadian-born lumber mill owner and real estate developer... , Seattle, Washington, USA
16	1986	Malcolm Whitehead	Twycross Zoo Twycross Zoo Twycross Zoo is an zoo near the village of Twycross in Leicestershire, close to the border of Warwickshire . The zoo claims the largest collections of monkeys and apes in the World, and in 2006 re-launched itself as "Twycross Zoo – The World Primate Centre."The zoo attracts around 500,000 visitors... , Atherstone, Warwickshire, England
17	1987	Judith King	National Zoological Park, Washington D.C., USA
18	1987	Pegi Harvey	Zoological Society of San Diego, California, USA
19	1988	Stephen McAuley	Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo is the city zoo of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Officially opened on 7 October 1916, it is located on the shores of Sydney Harbour in the suburb of Mosman... , Mosman, Sydney, Australia
20	1988	Malcolm P. Whitehead	Twycross Zoo, Atherstone, Warwickshire, England
21	1989	Judith King	National Zoological Park, Washington D.C., USA
22	1989	Janet Jackson-Gould	Philadelphia Zoological Gardens, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
23	1990	Stephen McAuley	Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney, Australia
24	1990	Juliane Seger	Zoological Gardens, Dortmund Dortmund Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union.... , West Germany
25	1992	Phillip Coffey	Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust, Jersey, Channel Islands
26	1992	Christopher Cheng	Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney, Australia
27	1993	Stephen McAuley	Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney, Australia
28	1993	Stephen McAuley; Juliane Seger	Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney, Australia Zoological Gardens, Dortmund, West Germany
29	1993	Stephen McAuley; Christopher Cheng	Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney, Australia
30	1994	Stephen McAuley; Kim Stiles	Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney, Australia Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust is a wildfowl and wetland conservation charity in the United Kingdom. Its patron is Queen Elizabeth II.It was founded in 1946 by the ornithologist and artist Sir Peter Scott, initially as the Severn Wildfowl Trust... , Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, England
31	1995	Stephen McAuley	Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney, Australia
32	1995	Stephen McAuley	Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney, Australia
33	1996	Stephen McAuley	Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney, Australia
34	1997	Greg Hunt Greg Hunt Gregory Andrew Hunt , an Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since November 2001, representing the Division of Flinders, Victoria....	Melbourne Zoo Melbourne Zoo The Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, commonly known as the Melbourne Zoo, contains more than 320 animal species from Australia and around the world. The zoo is north of the centre of Melbourne. It is accessible via Royal Park station on the Upfield railway line, and is also accessible via tram... , Australia
35	1999	Robert Mindick	SeaWorld SeaWorld SeaWorld is a United States chain of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, and animal theme parks owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The parks feature captive orca, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals. There are operations in Orlando,... , Orlando, Florida, USA
36	2000	Robert Mindick	SeaWorld, Orlando, Florida, USA
37	2001	Robert Mindick	SeaWorld, Orlando, Florida, USA
38	2002	Stephen McKeown	Chester Zoo Chester Zoo Chester Zoo is a zoological garden at Upton-by-Chester, in Cheshire, England. It was opened in 1931 by George Mottershead and his family, who used as a basis some animals reported to have come from an earlier zoo in Shavington. It is one of the UK's largest zoos at... , Cheshire, England
39	2003	Stephen McKeown	Chester Zoo, Cheshire, England
40	2004	Stephen McKeown	Chester Zoo, Cheshire, England
41	2005	Martin Serafini	Edinburgh Zoo Edinburgh Zoo Edinburgh Zoo, formally the Scottish National Zoological Park, is a non-profit zoological park located in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland... , Scotland
42	2006	Natasha Silva	Royal Zoo Amsterdam Artis Artis, short for Natura Artis Magistra , is a zoo in the centre of Amsterdam. It is the oldest zoo in the Netherlands... , Netherlands
43	2007	Natasha Silva	Royal Zoo Amsterdam, Netherlands
44	2008	Natasha Silva	Royal Zoo Amsterdam, Netherlands
45	2009	Natasha Silva	Royal Zoo Amsterdam, Netherlands
46	2010	Natasha Silva	Royal Zoo Amsterdam, Netherlands

List of Conferences

Number	Date	Host	Host Location
1	September 6th 1972No proceedings were produced in 1972; the International Zoo Educators' Association was established after a meeting of zoo education officers held in Frankfurt/Main, Federal Republic of Germany on September 6th, 1972.	Frankfurt Zoo	Frankfurt, Germany
2	1974	Copenhagen Zoo	Copenhagen, Denmark
3	June 1976	London Zoo London Zoo London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. It was eventually opened to the public in 1847...	London, England, UK
4	September 26th - 29th 1978	National Zoological Park	Washington D.C., USA
5	September 30th - October 3rd 1980	Tiergarten Schoenbrunn	Vienna, Austria
6	September 25th - 29th 1982	Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a museum and zoo founded in 1952 and located in Tucson, Arizona. It contains a museum and two miles of walking paths on of this property, and is one of the most visited attractions in Tucson...	Tucson, Arizona, USA
7	September 2nd - 6th 1984	Edinburgh Zoo Edinburgh Zoo Edinburgh Zoo, formally the Scottish National Zoological Park, is a non-profit zoological park located in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland...  and Peebles Hotel Hydro Peebles Hydro Peebles Hydro is an early 20th century four star country house hotel and spa resort in Peebles, in the Scottish Borders at the south of Scotland....	Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
8	October 26th - 31st 1986	Melbourne Zoo Melbourne Zoo The Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, commonly known as the Melbourne Zoo, contains more than 320 animal species from Australia and around the world. The zoo is north of the centre of Melbourne. It is accessible via Royal Park station on the Upfield railway line, and is also accessible via tram...	Melbourne, Australia
9	October 2nd - 7th 1988	Metro Toronto Zoo	Toronto, Canada
10	September 9th - 15th 1990	Antwerp Zoo Antwerp Zoo Antwerp Zoo is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located right next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843.- History :...	Antwerp, Belgium
11	August 23rd - 28th 1992	Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo is the city zoo of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Officially opened on 7 October 1916, it is located on the shores of Sydney Harbour in the suburb of Mosman...	Mosman, Sydney, Australia
12	September 25th - 30th 1994	Los Angeles Zoo Los Angeles Zoo The Los Angeles Zoo , is a zoo founded in 1966 and located in Los Angeles, California. The City of Los Angeles owns the entire zoo, its land and facilities, and the animals...	Los Angeles, USA
13	1996	Copenhagen Zoo	Copenhagen, Denmark
14	1998	Taipei Zoo Taipei Zoo The Taipei Zoo , sometimes referred to as the "Muzha Zoo" , is a public zoological garden in Taipei City in Taiwan. It is the most famous zoological garden in Taiwan and a leader in conservation, research and education, and recreation...	Taipei, Taiwan, China
15	October 1st - 6th 2000	Guadalajara Zoo Guadalajara Zoo Zoológico Guadalajara is the main zoological park in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, and is widely considered the most important in Latin America...	Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
16	August 17th - 22nd 2002	Tiergarten Schoenbrunn	Vienna, Austria
17	September 4th - 9th 2004	Ocean Park Ocean Park Ocean Park may refer to:*Ocean Park, Denham, a public aquarium in the Shark Bay area near Denham, Western Australia*Ocean Park , a neighbourhood of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada*Ocean Park Hong Kong, a theme park on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong...	Hong Kong, China
18	October 9th - 14th 2006	National Zoological Gardens of South Africa National Zoological Gardens of South Africa The National Zoological Gardens of South Africa is the national zoo of South Africa. It is situated in the city of Pretoria and was founded by J. W. B...	Pretoria, South Africa
19	October 19th - 23rd 2008	Adelaide Zoo Adelaide Zoo Adelaide Zoo is Australia's second oldest zoo, and the only major metropolitan zoo in Australia to be owned and operated on a non-profit basis. It is located in the parklands just north of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It is a full institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium...	Adelaide, Australia
20	September 28th - October 2nd 2010	Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Animal Kingdom is an animal theme park located at the Walt Disney World Resort. The fourth park built at the resort, it opened on April 22, 1998, and it is the largest single Disney theme park in the world, covering more than . It is also the first Disney theme park to be themed entirely...	Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA

List of Presidents

Rosl Kirchshofer (Frankfurt Zoo, Germany; 1972 - 1976)

Han Rensenbrink (Amsterdam Zoo

Artis

Artis, short for Natura Artis Magistra , is a zoo in the centre of Amsterdam. It is the oldest zoo in the Netherlands...

, Netherlands; 1976 - 1980)

Jan Hatley (Paignton Zoo

Paignton Zoo

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, is a zoo in Paignton, Devon, England. The zoo is part of South West Environmental Parks Ltd which is owned by the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust . It is a combined zoo and botanic garden that welcomes over half a million visitors a year. WWCT also runs Living...

, England; 1980 - 1984)

Judith White (National Zoo, United States; 1984 - 1988)

Lars Lunding Andersen (Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark; 1988 - 1992)

Robert Ollason (Edinburgh Zoo

Edinburgh Zoo

Edinburgh Zoo, formally the Scottish National Zoological Park, is a non-profit zoological park located in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland...

, Scotland; 1992 - 1996)

Pegi Harvey (San Diego Zoo

San Diego Zoo

The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, is one of the most progressive zoos in the world, with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species...

, United States; 1996 - 2000)

Annette Berkovits (Bronx Zoo

Bronx Zoo

The Bronx Zoo is located in the Bronx borough of New York City, within Bronx Park. It is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States, comprising of park lands and naturalistic habitats, through which the Bronx River flows....

, United States; 2000 - 2004)

Chris Peters (Rotterdam Zoo, The Netherlands; 2004 - 2006)

Stephen McKeown (Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo is a zoological garden at Upton-by-Chester, in Cheshire, England. It was opened in 1931 by George Mottershead and his family, who used as a basis some animals reported to have come from an earlier zoo in Shavington. It is one of the UK's largest zoos at...

, England; 2006 - October 2010)

Katherine Lehnhardt (Disney's Animal Kingdom

Disney's Animal Kingdom

Disney's Animal Kingdom is an animal theme park located at the Walt Disney World Resort. The fourth park built at the resort, it opened on April 22, 1998, and it is the largest single Disney theme park in the world, covering more than . It is also the first Disney theme park to be themed entirely...

, United States; October 2010 - onwards)

External links

• IZE website
• Members list