Students interested in pursuing a career with a conscience can engage with a number of ethical issues at a November conference on world poverty, human rights and the environment.

Organisers are expecting up to 850 university students and sixth formers to attend the tenth Shared Planet conference in Sheffield.

“It's a chance for ethical job seekers to get an insight into hundreds of ethical issues,” says Joe Greenwood from student campaigning network People & Planet, which is organising the event. “You can formulate your approach to ethical issues and work out where you think your energy will be most useful in a career.

“And you can link up with others interested in similar issues which will increase your chances of finding out about jobs coming up in that area.”

The two-day event, from the 16th to 18th November, will feature workshops, discussions, debates and addresses from inspirational speakers from around the world.

There'll be 10 different campaign update sessions run by People & Planet groups focusing on issues such as the fashion industry's impact on garment workers and unfair trade rules.

Workshops, led by representatives from organisations like ActionAid, the CND and Corporate Watch, will discuss everything from Exposing Corporate Spin to How to Set Up a Co-operative and Dismantling Corporate Power. There will also be three panel debates including one on the advantages and disadvantages of gap years.

Although the conference is aimed at students, Greenwood says anyone with an interest in ethical issues is welcome to attend.

“There's so much going on at the conference, there's something for everyone,” he says. “You can be introduced to issues you didn't know you were interested in.”

Shared Planet
http://peopleandplanet.org/events/sharedplanet

ActionAid
www.actionaid.org

CND
www.cnduk.org

Corporate Watch
www.corporatewatch.org.uk