Keynote Speakers
Mr Colin Mortlock
Born 1936, Colin has a lifetime of personal adventure and outdoor education experience across all the age groups.
In his youth, he was a leading rock climber, mountaineer, sea kayaker, open boat sailor and he has been on expeditions all over the world
He was educated at Oxford and Loughborough universities and has given lectures in 7 countries including Australia in 2010.
He is an acclaimed writer on Adventure and Values, having written The Adventure Alternative (1984), Beyond Adventure (2001), The Spirit of Adventure (2009).
His work in Education:
- Teacher, Manchester Grammar School, 1962-65.
- Woodlands Centre, City of Oxford, 1965-71.
- Head of Outdoor Education, Charlotte Mason College, Cumbria, 1971-92
In 1992 – he retired and went on expeditions, mainly solo, till 2002, in the Alps and Pyrenees,(around 18,000 miles).
In 2003, Annette, his lifelong companion died of cancer.
Between 2003 - 2010 he had glimmerings of understanding of the values of relevant wild Nature experiences in a troubled modern world.
He then established the Spirit of Adventure Foundation to promote those values (see www.soadventure.org to find out more).
Professor Peter Becker
Professor of Anthropology and Sociology of Sports, Phillipps-Universität Marburg, Germany.
Peter Becker is a Professor of Sociology and Anthropology of Sport, and head of the Masters course “Adventure and Experiential Learning” at Philipps-Universität Marburg in Germany before he retired in 2008.He is one of the co-founders of the European Institute for Outdoor Adventure Education and Experiential Learning and was the Chairman from 1996 to 2004. He is currently the Vice-Chairman.
In 1986, Peter also co-founded bsj Marburg e.V.,a non-profit youth organisation which collaborates with the Department of Physical Education of the Philipps-Universität Marburg to work with socially disadvantaged adolescents using Outdoor Adventure Education and experiential learning activities. He continues in his position as scientific advisor to the organisation till this day.
Peter’s interests are in the concept of “Bildung”, education through adventure and experiential learning, social work using body and movement, and bodily cultures in modern times.
Dr Pete Allison
Pete Allison lectures and researches at The Moray House School of Education, The University of Edinburgh (Scotland). He has worked in experiential and outdoor learning throughout his life.
Pete is committed to educational expeditions and has participated in and led expeditions in Greenland, Africa, Central Asia and the Himalayas. His PhD explored the contribution of youth expeditions to the values, narrative and authenticity of participants. He currently sits on the expeditions committee for the British Schools Exploring Society at the Royal Geographical Society and is the chair of the Scottish Panel for the Young Explorers Trust. He is also a member of the strategic advisory group for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Scotland and a governor for Stirlingshire Educational Trust. Pete is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and co-founder of the Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning. He previously served on the Board of Directors for the Association for Experiential Education and reviews for several international academic journals.
Pete’s research interests are in philosophy and epistemology of experiential learning and personal and social development through experiential learning.
Professor Steven Simpson
Steven Simpson is a professor of recreation management and environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the United States.
He has written over 50 articles on experiential education and is co-owner of Wood N Barnes Books, a publishing company specializing in books about experiential education.
Steve is the author of three books, The Leader Who is Hardly Known, The Processing Pinnacle, and The Chiji Guidebook. He is currently working on a fourth book called Genuine Learning, Genuine Freedom, which is an experiential educator’s look at the philosophy of John Dewey. Steve is a frequent visitor to Asia. He has lived in Taiwan on two separate occasions, teaching at both National Taiwan Normal University and National Taiwan University. He has made keynote presentations in Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, and now Singapore. Steven Simpson can be reached at simpson.stev@uwlax.edu.