Tag Archive for: education for sustainability

Centre International Hassan II de Formation à l’Environnement joins the #8thWEED

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World environmental education day is celebrated on October 14, 2024. This international initiative, established by the WEEC Network, aims to raise awareness about environmental issues through education. The day emphasizes the vital role of education in preparing new generations to tackle the challenges of climate change and sustainability, engaging teachers, students, policymakers, and citizens. This year marks the eighth edition of this important day.

The importance of educators

While World environmental education day targets everyone, teachers play a central role. As role models and guides, they are essential in passing on knowledge and values related to environmental protection. They are not just conveyors of information; they also inspire responsible behavior, shaping citizens who are aware of ecological challenges.

To enhance this role, a conference will be held on October 14 at the Centre International Hassan II
de Formation à l’Environnement, available in a hybrid format. The main goal is to equip teachers with tools and teaching methods to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their curricula, regardless of the subjects they teach. Experts in environmental education and sustainability will lead the event, offering practical and interactive activities designed to boost educators’ skills and encourage their students’ active participation in eco-friendly practices.

Objectives of the day

The conference has three key objectives:

  1. Enhance educators’ skills in environmental education: Provide practical tools to incorporate environmental issues into every subject, even for those without specific training in ecology.
  2. Facilitate the integration of SDGs into school curricula: Assist teachers in developing educational projects related to the SDGs that are relevant to their classes, fostering an eco-responsible culture among students.
  3. Build a community of practice among educators: Encourage the sharing of experiences and best practices among teachers from diverse backgrounds, enabling them to collaborate on sustainable initiatives in their schools.

Expected outcomes

The training day aims for tangible results:

  • Improved teacher capacity to address environmental issues: Participants will learn how to effectively integrate the SDGs into their curricula and engage students actively.
  • Concrete educational projects: Each teacher will be able to develop a project for implementation in the classroom, such as creating a school garden, establishing a recycling program, or organizing environmental awareness days.
  • Increased student involvement in environmental actions: Through interactive teaching methods, students will be motivated to participate in eco-sustainable initiatives within their schools.

The role of teachers

Teachers are crucial in raising awareness among new generations about environmental issues. This day aims to strengthen their role by providing the necessary tools to educate young people about sustainability and contribute to a future where environmental protection is a shared priority. Therefore, World environmental education day 2024 is not only a time for reflection but also a practical opportunity to train educators and engage students and communities in building a more sustainable world.

Join World environmental education day

In October, World environmental education day will feature numerous events and projects worldwide. Organizations, schools, and interested groups are encouraged to share their initiatives, promoting a global exchange of experiences and best practices. For more details on events or to get involved, visit the official website. At the end of October, the WEEC Network will publish the Final report 2024, compiling projects shared by educational institutions and organizations globally. This document will serve as a valuable source of inspiration and a concrete example of how education can promote sustainable and conscious behaviors.

Join this important initiative! Contribute by sharing your project, participating in events, and making your voice heard for a greener and more sustainable future. Together, we can make a difference!

To support World environmental education day, sign the campaign on change.org.

Conferences, round tables and practical workshops in the Environmental Education Symposium of the City of Buenos Aires

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From May 31 to June 2, conferences with international exhibitors, round tables and practical workshops will be held in the City of Buenos Aires with the aim of debating and reflecting with experts on the current climate and environmental scenario and the role of education for sustainability.

It aims to provide a space that allows teachers, educators, researchers  to delve into the debates and current pedagogical challenges in the field of Environmental Education and promote greater knowledge of environmental problems in order to enrich their approach at school.

The Symposium is organized by the Undersecretary of Educational Technology and Sustainability and the General Directorate of Educational Planning , and has the support of the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI).

Environmental Education Context in Argentine

Since 2008, the City of Buenos Aires has adopted sustainability as a priority axis of its management. On the educational level, this commitment crystallized in 2010 with the creation of the Green Schools Program of the Ministry of Education, thus initiating an innovative policy on education for sustainability within the formal education system.

This current that puts sustainability in the focus of public policies, is accompanied by a series of laws that accompany the transformation that both the City and the rest of the country need to do in environmental matters. In 2005, the first Law No. 1687 on Environmental Education of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires was enacted , which promotes the incorporation of Environmental Education in the formal, non-formal and informal educational system.

For its part, the Comprehensive Environmental Education Law No. 27,621 for the Implementation of Environmental Education in the Argentine Republic, sanctioned in 2021 , constitutes a milestone in national educational regulations, since it lays the foundations to consolidate environmental education as a state policy. In its Art.1, the law establishes the right to comprehensive environmental education, while in its Art. 2, it urges the development of a National Environmental Education Strategy that reaches all formal and non-formal areas of education.

 Comprehensive Environmental Education Law

With the aim of promoting environmental education and incorporating, in compliance with current legislation, the new paradigms of sustainability in the fields of formal and non-formal education, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MAyDS) and the Ministry of Education (ME), together with the consensus of the provinces through the Federal Council for the Environment (COFEMA) and the Federal Council for Education (CFE), designed the Comprehensive Environmental Education Law .

The initiative allows the implementation of a national public policy on environmental education , whose main instrument is the National Strategy for Comprehensive Environmental Education (ENEAI) .

The ENEAI is the strategic planning instrument and, at the same time, a permanent and concerted national public policy that reaches all informal, non-formal and formal areas of environmental education. It is aimed at all ages, groups and social sectors, in order to territorialize environmental education through actions in the short, medium and long term, through the deployment of jurisdictional strategies that allow to implement and adapt its implementation at the provincial level and of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, through Jurisdictional Strategies for Comprehensive Environmental Education (EJEAIs).

Safaa Obeid, UNRWA teacher in Jordan, is the winner of the Earth Prize Educator of the Year

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© 2022 UNRWA Photo by Dima Ismail

Following the legacy of the original award, WEEC’s  Secretary-General, Professor Mario Salomone selected Ms Safaa Obeid , a teacher at the UNRWA Sweileh Preparatory Girls’ School in Jordan,  as the Earth Prize Educator of the Year and awarded a prize of US$ 12,500.

Ms. Obeid entered her students in the Earth Prize competition – an environmental sustainability competition for students between the ages of 13-19 – under the themes of concern to them as Palestine refugees in Jordan. These include, desertification of the Dead Sea by 2030, making camps more environmentally friendly and managing food waste in Jordan.

Ms. Obeid said:

“I am very proud to represent UNRWA in this international contest on environment sustainability and be awarded the “Educator of the Year” title. This amplifies my sense of responsibility towards my environment, my community and my students. I have been very keen to integrate environmental sustainability in the classroom by creating an enriching an environmental activity kit, which is user-friendly and easy to implement for the purpose of increasing my students’ awareness of environmental causes.”

In addition to Ms. Obeid’s students, 34 teams from 24 UNRWA schools and one vocational training centre registered their projects in the competition. Two UNRWA schools were named in the top 34 Earth Prize Scholar teams, namely the UNRWA Amqa Secondary Co-educational School in Lebanon and the UNRWA Gaza Training Centre, in Gaza.

The Earth Prize 2022 Educator of the year nominees were:

Pauline Herbommez, french teacher at Eton College, in Berkshire, England.  With other members of the school staff, Ms Herbommez helped create the Belkshire Schools Eco Network (BSEN) and the Environmental Action Group (E@E). The BSEN and E@E attended COP26.

Imani Hudaa, teacher at Raila Educational Centre in Kibra, Nairob, Kenya.  She has been involved in a number of school activities related the environment by encouraging learners to draw, act, dance and even write poetry about environment.

Ram Chandra Dahal, a faculty member at the Druk Gylalpo’s Institute in Bhutan. He believes that education is the key to making people live in coherence with nature and assume responsibility for its protection. At the school, he acts as a teacher, mentor, and the Coordinator for Emotional Area of Development.

Luc Arvisals, a teacher at Our Lady of the Snows in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. He has supported student work on a variety of projects: planning for rewilding of urban areas, institutionalising the use of aeroponic growing gardens at the school, fundraising for a solar testing system to gauge the economic viability of installing solar panels on the school.

Ruth Parry, has taught at the Institute Le Rosey in Switzerland for nine years. She has built links with over 20 local and international charities to support environmental and humanitarian issues, and has helped develop a whole school curriculum to support Service Learning projects and skill development.

Laurence Myers is the K-12 Service Learning Coordinator at the American School of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He supports student work on a variety of projects including the elimination of plastic water bottles, composting all landscaping and food waste, and establishing school-wide sustainability goal. He provides training and support educators in using systems-thinking for sustainability.

 

 

 

11th WEEC: Not sure about COVID and travel? Join us in building bridges online

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The 11th WEEC, as the first in its history, is applying the hybrid conference format. As a result, participants may choose between online and onsite participation. In light of the changing pandemic situation, participants may register either online or onsite and switch between these modes until the end of December 2021.

What does online participation look like?
As an online participant 
⦁ You can actively participate by submitting your presentation or participating without a presentation
⦁ You can choose whether to introduce your presentation in one of the virtual rooms in real-time and get immediate feedback or just upload it on the virtual platform and discuss it on the discussion forum
⦁ You will have access to the virtual platform with all of the ongoing online presentations and workshops, streamed onsite plenary sessions, and recordings of the parallel sessions (both online and onsite)
⦁ You can discuss selected topics with all of the WEEC participants
⦁ You can access the virtual platform up to one year after the closing of WEEC

The online presentation is reasonable if you want to be a part of WEEC but cannot come to Prague. Let’s join online!

Any questions about the online WEEC?
Contact Jan at cincera@mail.muni.cz

Abstract submissions close: 30th November 

Due to the covid’s situation, this time WEEC gives you the chance to choose between online and onsite participation

Earth Foundation: looking for university students mentors for the Earth Prize

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The Earth Foundation is looking for university students interested in involving as mentors for the young people applying the Earth Prize. Becoming an Earth Prize Mentor is a unique opportunity for university students to share and expand their knowledge on environmental sustainability and entrepreneurship, by advising participants in The Earth Prize, a $200,000 global youth environmental sustainability competition for students between the ages of 13 and 19.

Mentors will contribute to the development of students’ innovative project proposals by offering them guidance on their ideas and answering their questions. Mentors who will have demonstrated the highest levels of engagement will be given the chance to work individually with one of the ten The Earth Prize Finalists.

Each year, the most engaged mentor, as voted by the The Earth Prize participants, will be recognized with the Mentor of the Year award and a $12,500 prize.

All mentors will become part of The Earth Prize Alumni Association, a community of inspiring individuals and organizations offering mentorship, networking, internships, and professional placement opportunities.
Mentors  will have access to a unique network of entrepreneurs thanks to The Earth Foundation’s incubator partnerships and they will be able to connect with inspiring new start-ups leading the way towards environmental sustainability.
Mentoring for the The Earth Prize offers an excellent opportunity to develop and showcase transferable skills such as project management, problem-solving, and consulting. Each mentor will receive a certificate upon completion.
All mentors will have access to The Earth Prize learning platform featuring bespoke online materials on environmental issues, interviews with activists and social entrepreneurs, and real-world practical skill training on how to effect change.

Joining The Earth Prize as a mentor allow to actively contribute to projects striving to make a positive impact on the environment and to serve as a role model for younger students, inspiring them to become future changemakers.

Application will close June 30th.  Fill the form here to become a mentor.

 

 

 

Zayed Sustainability Prize 2022 Expands Global Reach with Submissions from Record 151 Countries

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Following a six-month submissions phase amidst the prevailing restrictions imposed by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Zayed Sustainability Prize, the UAE’s pioneering global award in sustainability, has officially closed entries for its 2022 awards. With a remarkable 4,000 applications received, the Prize marked a notable 68.5% increase in submission entries compared to the previous cycle.

Attracting submissions from a record 151 countries, representing over three quarters of the world’s countries, the Prize proves to be truly global in its reach and impact. This includes a significant number of entries from innovative, knowledge-based economies, all hoping to have their world-changing solutions and technologies recognised and scaled amidst a rapidly evolving global landscape.

The submissions for the upcoming awards, to be held in January 2022, reflect the current global climate in the lead up to COP26 and in the wake of post-pandemic recovery, with Food (1,201) and Health (879) as the top categories to attract a high number of pioneering solutions, followed by Energy (759) and Water (627). With 534 submissions, the Global High Schools category is perhaps one of the most inspiring results as completing entries in the face of extensive disruption and school closures is a clear sign of the global youth’s commitment to a sustainable future.

H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Director General of the Prize, said: “As the international community continues to unite around ambitious climate action in the lead up to COP26, the high level of participation registered this year further demonstrated that creative sustainable solutions can come from every part of the world, and importantly can deliver tangible economic benefits along with social progress.”

Since its launch in 2008, the US$3 million Prize has, directly and indirectly, transformed the lives of over 352 million people across 150 countries. Its global impact continues to grow, as it further catalyses humanitarian outreach and sustainable development. Each category winner receives a prize fund of US$600,000. The Global High Schools category winners split the amount among six high schools from six world regions, each receiving up to US$100,000.

The winners of the 2022 awards will be announced at the Prize’s awards ceremony that will take place during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, in January 2022

Happy World Oceans Day!

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credit: NOAA, Office of Ocean exploration and research

Join the official UN Ocean Day virtual event 2020, today here

The United Nations celebrates World Oceans Day every year on 8 June. Many countries have celebrated this special day since 1992, following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro.

In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly decided that, as of 2009, 8 June would be designated by the United Nations as “World Oceans Day”.

Every 8 June, we have an opportunity to raise global awareness of the benefits humankind derives from the ocean and our individual and collective duty to use its resources sustainably. Future generations will also depend on the ocean for their livelihoods!

Aquariums, science centers and research institutions, NGOs, communities and governments all around the world mobilize millions of people around events big and small. Let’s celebrate all that the ocean gives us every day: from the oxygen we breathe to the inspiration that moves our poets.

 

More than 170 events are planned. Plan your event here

https://vimeo.com/398659233

And for thw World Oceans Day 2020 several associations signed the following Open letter:

If we have learned anything from the Covid-19 pandemic it is that we are all inextricably connected with each other and the natural world. Without greater balance and cooperation we cannot survive as a species.
Human wellbeing is at the heart of what we do.  Our work, to protect the ocean is driven by the reality that humankind needs a healthy planet that can sustain life, for the sake of our homes, health, livelihoods and food.
Many have taken the rupture to our lives caused by Covid-19 to think about this and about how we can rebuild better, learning from the pandemic to achieve a greater balance and to protect the fundamentals which make life on Earth possible.
Doing so is a necessity. 
We do not have the luxury of choosing between paths which damage the natural world and those which do not.  If we continue to harm nature at the rate we have been, our world will not be able to sustain human wellbeing – from jobs to food security and health.
We have been given a stark warning. Once we emerge and start to rebuild, we need to do so in a way that protects the fundamentals that all human beings rely upon, foremost among these being a planet capable of sustaining human life. 
Governments will be put under pressure to drop environmental protections to make it easier for industry to operate; to privilege short term economics and job increases over other considerations. These will be presented as a choice – choose humans over nature – but it is not a real choice. For the good of humankind, we must achieve balance with the natural world, a coexistence which ultimately enables us to thrive.
If we do not achieve that balance, take action to do better now, the rupture in our lives will get bigger, we will face other, escalating global disasters.
We ask governments to protect human wellbeing and to make decisions which keep a functioning blue planet beneath our feet.

Aida
Deep Sea Conservation Coalition
David Suzuki Foundation
Ecology Action Centre
Global Fishing Watch
Global Ocean Trust
Greenovation Hub
High Seas Alliance
International Programme on the State of the Ocean
Marine CoLABoration
Marine Conservation Institute
Marine Conservation Society
New Economics Foundation
Oceans North
Our Fish
Seas at Risk
Turkish Marine Research Foundation
Thames Estuary Partnership
One Ocean
Shark Project International
Wild Trust
Zoological Society of London

Journalism Update Course for Sustainability, 100% online

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The Journalism Update Course for Sustainability is organised by CapacitaRSE – a pioneering center for teaching sustainability in Latin America – with the experience of 30 journalists or communicators (bloggers, podcasters or others) active in the field in the Spanish-speaking world.
Participating journalists will be able to review 100% online updated content on the Sustainable Development Goals and the Circular Economy and learn to interpret sustainability instruments such as reports and stock indexes, hand in hand with specialized teachers, between April 6 and 17 2020.

«Policies such as the Sustainable Development Goals govern the current response of the United Nations System to global causes such as the COVID-19 pandemic. We conceived this course as an opportunity to promote sustainable transformation and collective consciousness, a process in which journalists are key agents» says Estefanía Salazar, coordinator of the course.
The course will provide digital signature certification issued by CapacitaRSE in the State of Florida (USA) where it has its regional headquarters.

Form of participation:  4 modules within Google Classroom with two virtual question and answer sessions and delivery of a final report

Registration form and cost: Those interested can apply until April 5, 2020 at this link

Course dates: April 6 to April 17, 2020 (2 weeks)

For more information: Estefanía Salazar – e.salazar@clasesderse.com.ar
Twitter: @CapacitaRSE // Instagram: @cursosderse

SDG Accord Report 2019: Progress towards the Global Goals in the Universities and Colleges

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The Annual SDG Accord Report 2019, titled Progress towards the Global Goals in the University and College sector was launched some days ago in New York at the UN High Level Political Forum. The SDG Accord – says Iain Patton CEO, EAUC-The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education – is a high profile international initiative that the Global Alliance developed to allow the tertiary education sector to demonstrate its commitment to playing its part in meeting the SDGs, and sharing best practice. This is a partnership initiative, endorsed by the UN’s HESI and many other global partners. It was launched in 2017, at 9WEEC in Canada, and it currently has official commitment to its tenets from 110 institutions, 103 support organisations and 817 individuals – all spread across 85 countries.

from the left: Iain Patton EAUC-The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education and Mario Salomone WEEC Secretary General at 9WEEC Vancouver (Canada) 2017

The SDG Accord provides a platform to come together in a movement, to inspire, celebrate and advance the critical role that education has in delivering the SDGs, and presents this in a coherent Annual Report for use by the UN, governments, business and wider society. While the sustainability journey of each institution will reflect its unique context, it is clear that connecting them together through the SDG Accord offers the opportunity for scaling of impact. Signatories of the SDG Accord commit to embedding the SDGs into their education, research, leadership, operations, administration and engagement activities.

«The SDG Accord brings institutions together, giving them a platform to share best practice and empowers them to be more aspirational on this agenda – says Sam Barratt Chief, Education and Youth for UN Environment and Chair of the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative – . The report shows that acting on climate change and education are the stand-out priorities, but positive action is being taken on all of the SDGs with real change taking place, just one year on since the last report. As ever, there is always more to do and certainly the UN and partners in the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative will look at the recommendations outlined in this report which will inform our thinking for the months ahead. We look forward to seeing institutions tackle these global challenges with the fierce determination and smart innovation of which they are so capable, with our door wide open to help in any way that we can».

Here you can read the Accord, full text  

The Accord can be signed on four levels.

  1. Leaders of institutions sign to make a corporate commitment – this must be the highest authority such as Vice Chancellor, Principal, President etc.
  2. Leaders of related university and college support organisations sign to make a corporate commitment to supporting the sector
  3. Leaders of student associations ie Students’ Unions or Student Guilds – this must be the president.
  4. Individual students, researchers, academics and operational staff can sign to make a personal and professional commitment to playing their part in advancing sector performance

Sign up here

 

Quebec coalition for environmental education and ecocitizenship

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The Coalition Education – Environment – Ecocitizenship is a group of organizations and individuals mobilized to stimulate the institutionalization and the full deployment of an environmental and eco-citizenship education in the Quebec society, both in communities formal education than in non-formal educational contexts.
This strategy is the result of the work of a collective of actors from 57 institutions and organizations of our educational society, aware of the need to vigorously promote the role of environmental education and eco-citizenship in Quebec.
The Coalition was structured within the framework of the work of a partnership platform set up by the research center in education and training related to the environment and eco-citizenship of UQAM. In order to contribute to the vast socio-ecological transformation that is required in our society, the Coalition pursues a twofold mission:
– Promote the advancement of environmental education and eco-citizenship in Quebec by bringing together the actors of the various sectors concerned and by democratically developing a concerted action to this end.
– Promoting the adoption and implementation of a Québec Environmental Education Strategy in the public space and with the various decision-making bodies in the fields of education, the environment and associated fields and eco-citizenship, which is reflected in public policy elements, accompanied by structuring action plans.

Given the collective and political nature of the mission, objectives and actions of the Coalition, the following principles must be respected:
– Adopt a democratic, coherent and concerted mode of operation; in this sense, any initiative taken on behalf of the Coalition should be shared, discussed and validated by the Coordination Committee before being carried out;
– Recognize and respect the right of dissent or reserve for certain actions or speeches that will not result in consensus; each initiative of the Coalition will result in a consultation of members to this effect;
– When speaking publicly on behalf of the Coalition, ensure that the statements in the Strategy are properly expressed, and that the Coalition’s approach is not partisan.

Statuts_Coalition Éducation Environnement Ecocitoyenneté

Stratégie (Détaillée) 2 avril 2018

Stratégie (Sommaire) 2 avril 2018